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
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