The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, October 01, 2009

A second earthquake in Indonesia causes death toll to surge

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Welcome all sky fans!!! I might not have time to respond to you, but I will try my best to visit!!!

Our hosts: Klaus Sandy Ivar Wren Louise Fishing Guy

Thanks, also,to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us!
Today's shot is one of my favorites involving crepuscular rays... actually, it was taken Tuesday. Crepuscular rays are beams of light radiating from the sun, in this case extending from the horizon before sunrise, almost looking like a fan of light. You see crepuscular rays because of dust of haze in the atmosphere, actually obstructing light, which makes the sunlight more apparent. They are named for their typical appearance during crepuscular hours when the differences between light and dark are more obvious. Incidentally, the illusion that they are converging at sunrise is just that. They actually run parallel to each other. I love how this one actually looks like spotlights.

Turmoil in Indonesia
Padang, 30 September: A man runs past burning houses (Photograph: AP) The death toll in Sumatra, Indonesia has tripled since the initial reports to now a shocking 467 529 777 lives lost in the earthquakes there yesterday. After the first 7.6 magnitude, a second 6.9 magnitude quake struck that killed more people...

529 confirmed dead and thousands feared trapped in rubble in western Indonesia as second quake strikes 180 miles from first. The second powerful earthquake has hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a day after the first devastating quake left more than 500 dead, thousands of people buried in rubble and a major city cut off from the outside world. At least 500 buildings in the city, including two major hospitals, collapsed in the quake. Its epicentre was reported to be about 30 miles offshore from Padang, a city of 900,000, at a depth of about 53 miles. Padang lies on one of the world's most active fault lines, which was responsible for the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people on Boxing Day 2004.
source
The strong expectation is that this number will continue to rise drastically.

Outside of that horror, back in the states, the weather is expected to get bad in the midsection. An area of slight risk for severe weather, including an unlikely risk for tornado development exists in the plains. It's not looking as enticing as it had been, as the thermodynamics might not support the outbreak initially suggested. It looks like the atmosphere might not unleash the instability, leaving things tightly capped... then, there is the possibility that it will all squall out and be a big wind event. Sorry plains chasers... welcome to my world. Should the cap break, the rest of the dynamics support activity, so people in that area should remain mindful of changing conditions in the weather. The maps are linked to the current activity, so you can get updates by clicking on the images.

Have a great day... continued prayers.
~Dewdrop

26 comments:

  1. Hello Dew. Beautiful rays!
    I'm learning so much.

    Thank you posting the flood safety rules last week. I linked the post in my SkyWatch today. Because we have another big typhoon coming!

    Regards. Have a nice weekend.
    Regina

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  2. that is some major league crespuscular rays. never seen one this glorious. it's like a spotlight or something from one.

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  3. Fantastic rays photo.

    Storms coming here tonight.

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  4. Amazing SWF as always, those rays are fabulous.

    Have a great weekend
    Guy
    Regina In Pictures

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  5. Those rays are magnificent!
    Have a nice weekend :)

    Anna

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  6. Those are fantastic! I have seen them here in Seattle, but didn't know what they were called! Thanks for the info! Also, thanks for the update on Indonesia, it is heartbreaking to realize how much so many have suffered.

    Sylvia

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  7. Those rays are always a favorite of mine, and the ones you have captured here are truly spectacular!

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  8. Beautiful shot, and I learned something from your post.
    I was impressed while watching the noon news about the disasters happening now. In both cases, people who had gone through the worst were already busy helping restore order.

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  9. I love how the clouds look like three fingers =)

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  10. I didn't know crepuscular rays were parallel. It makes sense. I've always wondered above the streaks of clouds we have often in our skies here that seem to radiate from a single point below the horizon. I've always thought it had to be an illusion, but just wasn't sure. Now I'm convinced they are.

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  11. I've always been fascinated by the sky--weather, clouds, constellations, the universe. I very much enjoyed your blog today. I learned something new.

    And your photo of pink sunset spotlights is absolutely gorgeous!

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  12. Dew: Beautiful capture and such a great explanation of the happening.

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  13. Beautiful rays, Thanks for sharing the explanation and the photo.

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  14. Quite a contrast - the first photo is lovely, breathtaking.

    And then the horror of the earthquakes and their aftermath. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

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  15. Those crepuscular rays are amazing. These are just gorgeous. Thanks for educating me about what is going on with the weather these days.

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  16. Love that sky. Thanks for the info.

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  17. Gorgeous shot... my heart and prayers are with those suffering...

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  18. Beautiful sky photo. Thank you.

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  19. those colorful rays of light, wonderful photo.

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  20. I've never seen them looking better than these Dew...

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  21. Gorgeous rays!

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  22. Wonderful Photograph...great capture!!

    Bob
    aka Eaglesbrother

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  23. Gorgeous picture with wonderful colors!

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  24. Lucky you to catch the rays of the sun, beautiful view. Nature sure can be wild at times, the Pacific sure is rocking this week.

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  25. It is certainly interesting for me to read that post. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.

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Dew comment, please...