Late afternoon, going into sunset , May 18, 2013 (100UTC May 19, 2013) … several plumes appeared in central west Mexico — quickly followed by large prominent columns (steam or smoke?) produced near the Texas border.
Location .. somewhere very close to:
29°12’52.46″N , 102° 1’15.06″W
If you look at the area on Google earth, you will quickly come to see
1) It is a desert
2) There are several very old (dormant) volcanoes at this location
Last update: September 30, 2012 at 11:49 am by By Ashish Khanal
Earthquake in Irving, Texas
The epicenter was only 3 km from Irving, Texas. The extremely shallow depth of 5 km resulted in a very strong experience, even with a relatively weak Magnitude. A max. MMI of IV has been reported by the USGS (light shaking).
The earthquake happened at 23:05 local time.
The reason of the earthquake will have to be researched by seismologists. Texas had multiple small to moderate earthquakes the last couple of years. Today’s earthquake is one of the weaker ones.
Some people even felt the shaking in Ennis, which is relatively far away from the epicenter.
We can confirm that the epicenter is below Irving as most on the people online in this site are coming from Irving.
The mainshock was followed by a lower intensity aftershock about 5 minutes later.
We appreciate the many I Have Felt It reports from people who have felt the shaking.
Earthquake-Report.com does not expect any serious damage or injuries from this earthquake, however small cracks in walls and falling objects will certainly have happened here and there. Update 04:54 UTC : Aftershocks can be expected as the earth layers are looking for a balance. These aftershocks are rarely bigger than than the first shock. The night may be disturbed by such events. They will normally only be felt very close to the epicenter, in this case Irving. Update 05:05 UTC : Luckily and as expected, we could not detect any damage so far Update 05:21 UTC : USGS listed the epicenter at 32.847°N, 96.956°W.. That’s just southwest of Las Colinas Country Club near North McArthur Blvd. and West Rochelle Road. It was southeast of DFW International Airport. However, this has to be taken with a serious error margin. Seismology is a very complex science and in this case the horizontal error margin was set at 11.7 km and the vertical one at 3.1 km. The exact epicenter will only be located later on. Update 05:34 UTC : We will have to wait until tomorrow morning before a final assessment has taken place. Hopefully all of you will have an undisturbed sleep. Update 11:42 UTC : 6 hours after our latest update, we can now confirm that local authorities did not receive any report of damage or injuries. In addition to what we have told so far, we also mention that the greater area has been hit by a number of similar quakes since 2008.
Textbooks, which are assigned and shared, in a classroom at Hutto High School in Hutto, Texas, April 5, 2012. (Photo: Ben Sklar / The New York Times)
from the article: “The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against “critical thinking” instruction couldn’t be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.
The Texas GOP’s declarative position against critical thinking in public schools, or any schools, for that matter, is now an official part of their political platform. It is public record in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform. With regard to critical thinking, the Republican Party of Texas document states: “Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.” (page 20, Republican Party of Texas, 2012).
Yes, challenging beliefs or claims is considered insubordinate, immoral and could lead to rebellion, disobedience or perhaps worse: revolution. For the Republican Party and their followers, thinking is subversive, imagination is a sin and the Republican Party in Texas and elsewhere is working to codify this into public policy. The plutocrats can’t have a working-class citizenry that is asking questions of those in power, be they parents or bosses; instead, the people must be taught the ideology of what is morally acceptable, what rules and regulations to follow. and even more importantly, how to accept and internalize hierarchical authoritarianism. Critical thinking is a direct challenge to the “leaders” and their claims on authority, and any opposition to vertical arrangements is ethically unacceptable to those in power.”
And there is much more in the article. To read the full article, go to:
Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 4.3
UTC Time : Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 08:12:01 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 03:12:01 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 5 km (3.1 miles)
Geo-location(s) :
Very close to Timpson, Texas
45 km (27 miles) NE of Nacogdoches, Texas
Update 14:23 UTC : A lot of people are very concerned that an even bigger earthquake may be striking the area. First of all we have to say that aftershocks which are stronger than the initial mainshock are only happening now and then. The vast majority of aftershocks are less powerful than the mainshock and are gradually getting weaker. Although very rare, it can not be excluded neither as today’s aftershock is showing. Aftershocks may also be expected in this case.
Update 14:14 UTC : news-journal.com (PanolaWatchman.com) writes that Shelby County Sheriff’s dispatcher Jacob Allen said the only injury report received so far was an elderly woman who fell out of her bed and cut her arm. Allen said the quake caused broken windows and fallen dishes, but no major damage had been reported.
Update 14:13 UTC : Following the Texas State Historical Association, earthquakes were reported in Rusk in 1891, Center in 1981, and Jacksonville in 1981. In other words, they are extremely rare in this area of the country.
Update 14:10 UTC: The home security camera inside a Texas house (location unknown) shows the kind of shaking that was experienced. Based on this footage, we believe that it must have been not too far from the epicenter. Although the origin of the video cannot be traced, earthquake-report.com has no reason to believe that this was a setup.
Update 09:31 UTC : Earthquake-Report.com does thank the Texas people for sharing their experience with the rest of the world (especially with their fellow Texans). I Have Felt it descriptions are still the best Earthquake value to be found. Magnitudes and Focal depths are of course important, but every earthquake (even with the same values) will be felt differently all over the world.
Update 09:28 UTC : On May 10, we had a surprisingly “more than normal” number of earthquakes in unusual areas. It all started in Timpson, Texas with later during the day moderate quakes in Indiana and Oklahoma! We are of course very curious to see if a similar occurrence will be the case today. Normally, we do not expect it to happen again.
Shaking map courtesy USGS – Greenish area is the Moderate shaking area
Update 09:14 UTC : Last earthquake gave only few moderate aftershocks, which hopefully will be the same today.
Update 09:09 UTC : Timpson and Tenaha are the towns where a Moderate shaking will have been experienced. Center, Carthage, Logansport, Nacagdoches, San Augustine, Tatum and Henderson will have experienced a (theoretical) light shaking. The area beyond this radius a weak to very weak shaking. These theoretical scenarios are based on the earthquake parameters in combination with the Felt intensity of historic earthquakes.
Update 09:07 UTC : Today’s earthquake happened in the middle of the night (03:12 local time), which is always a very scary experience for the people living close to the epicenter. A very shallow hypocenter adds to this experience.
Update 08:56 UTC : EMSC (European seismological agency) reports an initial M4.6 at a depth of 2 km. As you can imagine, we prefer the USGS data as most accurate in this case as USGS has a lot of equipment all over the territory.
Update 08:53 UTC : Based on theoretical estimates, 14,000 people will have experienced a moderate shaking and 143,000 people a light shaking. At Earthquake-Report.com, we can confirm these intensity expectations (based on the felt reports we have received).
Same epicenter area than the May 10 earthquake which was (only) M3.9. Only 6 km from Simpson, TX
The Experience report we received minutes after this aftershock, was right in stating that it felt stronger then the initial one. Serious damages are not to be expected, at max. a few cracks in walls and objects who are falling from shelves etc.
Earthquake May 10 – M3.9 This is what we wrote on the May 10 earthquake : Moderate earthquake below Timpson, Texas
” I was sitting at the computer when the entire house shook. I thought someone had ran into the house.” said Caroline Davis from Timpson. The earthquake was initially reported as a M3.9 earthquake and later decreased to a M3.7 at a very shallow depth of 5 km. Some local media are reporting the epicenter just South East of Garrison, although USGS maps the epicenter clearly below Timpson. Based on the Magnitude and the kind of shaking Caroline Davis has felt, we think the present location below Timpson is right. Defining the exact epicenter of an earthquake is always very difficult. It needs complex computing and an error margin is always included in the reporting of the seismological agencies. In this case the Horizontal error margin is 10.4 miles and the vertical 1.9 miles.
The max. shaking intensity as reported by people who have felt it was MMI IV (light shaking) to V (moderate shaking), enough to be scared seriously if you feel it.
The earthquake was felt well in a radius of 15 to 20 miles around the epicenter. Felt by few people in a radius up to 75 miles.
Some people reported a shaking of ca 10 seconds.
No damage or injuries have been reported so far. Earthquake-Report.com, following earthquakes worldwide every day of the year, expects NO damage or injuries from this earthquake. Fallen objects are always a possibility though. Update : According to a meteorologist at the NWC, no damage has been reported in the area. He said he did not know how an earthquake could have hit the area, as there are no significant fault lines. Update : A resident from Garrison county said the earthquake caused cracks on bricks at his house.
An artist’s interpretation of Bigfoot.
CREDIT: Karl Tate, LiveScience Infographic Artist
Anyone seeking ultimate proof of the existence of Bigfoot should head south. In Texas, it is legal to shoot and kill this legendary giant ape, known in other parts of the world as Sasquatch or Yeti, which has never been discovered.
According to an official with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, Bigfoot isn’t listed as an endangered species, so you’re free to kill as many as you want.
“If the Commission does not specifically list an indigenous, nongame species, then the species is considered nonprotected nongame wildlife,” David Sinclair, direction of the law enforcement division at Texas Parks and Wildlife, wrote in an email response to a curious Bigfoot believer. “A nonprotected nongame animal may be hunted on private property with landowner consent by any means, at any time and there is no bag limit or possession limit.”
John Lloyd Sharf of Salem, Ore., contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife to inquire whether Bigfoot was protected in Texas. As one of the 29 percent of Americans who believe Bigfoot inhabits the country’s remote woodland areas and is just really difficult to find, Sharf was apparently motivated by the concern that the as-yet-undiscovered creature could face extermination in the state.
“So, it is the case all individuals of an unknown species … could be exterminated without criminal or civil repercussions — essentially causing extinction?” Sharf said he replied to Sinclair. At Cryptomundo, a popular “cryptozoology” discussion forum and blog, Bigfoot believers are forming a plan of action to deal with what they see as the potentially disastrous outcome of this loophole in the Texas hunting laws, which would allow Bigfoot to be hunted to extinction before a living specimen could be studied. [Hunter Captures UFO in Nevada]
“I would advocate a small group of trained hunters, under close supervision and observing all necessary safety precautions shooting a SINGLE individual to provide a type specimen,” wrote a user who goes by the name AreWeThereYeti. “Then, once the existence of Sasquatch was proven, immediate steps could be taken to attach an endangered/protected status to both the species and its habitat.”
What do you think? Would you shoot Bigfoot? [Vote here]
Lightning Medicine Cloud, a rare white buffalo born in 2011, and his mother were found dead at the Lakota Buffalo Ranch in Texas this week just weeks after the calf’s father was fatally struck by lightning.
The rare animal, sacred to the Lakota Sioux, was about to celebrate its first birthday during a powwow on May 12.
NBC 5 has learned the calf was found mutilated and skinned on the ranch northeast of Dallas. The next day, the calf’s mother was found dead as well.
Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks has opened a criminal investigation into the livestock deaths, although Meeks said they have not yet classified the crime. The Texas Rangers and other state agencies are assisting.
“I feel very confident we’ll work together with a renewed vigilance to find whoever this is that perpetrated this heinous act,” Judge John Horn said during a news conference at the ranch Friday.
Arby Little Soldier, the owner of the ranch, would not comment on the specifics of the white calf or his mother.
Lm Otero / AP
A rare white buffalo walks in a corral in Greenville, Texas, in June 2011. The calf and its mother were found dead this week.
“I will not say what has happened to this animal,” he said. “I will not say what has happened to the mother. Ben, the dad that protected this calf was struck by lighting April 3 when we had the tornado when it hit Lancaster. Lightning … struck Ben, and I seen him go down. My people, my brothers, my sisters are hurt by what has happened here on this ranch. You don’t think things like this are going to happen to such a sacred animal, a sacred family.”
Little Soldier said Lightning Medicine Cloud’s legacy will carry on and that the powwow scheduled for May 11-12 will go on as planned — only now, they will memorialize the rare animal as well.
“The powwow will continue on. I welcome you all to come grieve with us, mourn with us and celebrate with us,” Little Soldier said. “Ecclesiastes said, ‘There is a time for life and a time for death.’ My little boy went on home. His mother went on home. His dad went on home. They’re all together, and God bless them. This legend will go on forever.”
Little Soldier said there is a reward of $5,000 leading to an arrest and capture of the person responsible for the deaths of Lighting Medicine Cloud and his mother.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department at 903-453-6800 and ask for either Sheriff Randy Meeks or Lt. Tommy Grandfield.
The deluge began around 3:30 a.m. Over the next few hours, fast-moving hailstones pummeled the area north of Amarillo, Tex., which had lately been sitting in mud and dust due to a lack of precipitation, according to the news organization. The hail mixed with the mud and dust to create four-foot high mounds that shut down a major highway for the next 18 hours.
The National Service Office in Amarillo posted a striking picture on Facebook of a local fireman standing between the mounds and the floodwaters, accumulating due to melting ice and heavy rain.
See the photo and raw footage of the flash floods below.
Krissy Scotten, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Amarillo,told msnbc.com that the rain and floodwater cause the drifts, and chest-high mounds like the ones shown in the photo are uncommon.
“I can assure you we do not have big rocks like that in West Texas,” Scotten told msnbc.com. “Anytime you have hail accumulate 2 to 4 feet high and get over three inches of rain, no matter how it occurs, it’s pretty incredible.”
Brian Thomas, the sheriff for Potter County, concurred with Scotten, saying the hail mounds were erratic.
“This was just one of those weird storms that just sat here and came down extremely heavy in this one area,” Thomas told KAMR-TV.
Luckily no injuries have been reported from the storm, the station reported.
TEXAS FIREBALL: After nightfall on Feb. 1st, a spectacular fireball appeared in the skies of eastern Texas and Oklahoma. As is often the case for unexpected night-sky phenomena, few pictures are available. The best so far comes from a police dash-board camera in the small town of Little River-Academy, TX:
Eye-witness Daryn Morran reports: “At approximately 756pm CST, over Abilene, Texas, I saw an object falling from the sky much brighter and long-lasting than anything I’ve seen. [The fireball] lasted close to 8 secs before completely burning out. At first, it was bright white, and then started slowing down and getting brighter. Then it exploded like a firecracker artillery shell into several pieces, flickered a few more times and then slowly burned out… awesome!!!”
Another observer in Coppell, Texas, reported a “double boom heard at 8:00:30 CST. [The object appeared to be] 1/2 the size of the waxing moon, and broke into two major chucks with many smaller pieces. It had a ‘white plasma’ (sun-colored) look with a long golden tail.” (This report was relayed by NWS meteorologist Joe Harrris in Frt Worth.)
According to Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, this was probably a natural object–a small asteroid about the size of a car or bus–not a decaying satellite or other manmade space debris. The fireball, which disintegrated in the general vicinity of Dallas-Fort Worth, was bright enough to be seen on NASA cameras located in New Mexico more than 500 miles away. “It was about as bright as the full Moon (astronomical magnitude -13),” estimates Cooke, who is still analyzing data and sighting reports in hopes of calculating the object’s orbit. He might yet figure out where the Texas fireball came from
16+ States Are Likely to be affected by this winter storm! Are you prepared?
Winter has officially set in as Meteorological Winter Started last Thursday December 2but it sure hasn’t looked like winter or even fall prior to the start of December. Almost all of the Center and Eastern portions of the United States ended up above normal in temperatures. But as quick as warm weather was sent in it will leave in a nippy fashion as we roll towards the weekend. Currently, Storm Central’s Jonny J has been tracking and forecasting the low pressure development of Storm #1 as a swath of snow from Nebraska (northeast) to Michigan. That storm is forecast to drop around a half of foot of snow. On a more nationwide basis, a huge drop in the Jet stream is bringing cold air from Canada all the way south to Texas just in time for yet another Snow Storm.
Storm Central’s Gino Recchia noted this storm system Thursday night as shown by the DJEX model. Since then, this storm has taken over the larger topic in the weather center as this storm has the potential to drop snowfall for at least 16 states come Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday.
The current low pressure expected to move north east and be in Canada by Sunday is set to send a trailing cold front in it’s wake. That is not only going to set the stage for cold weather but is also forecast to spin up a low pressure between Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas. Models have had this storm complex way east and heading up the east coast on Thursday but totally flipped Friday morning. Alike the past storms, this storm has shifted westward a good 200 miles so that puts places areas that weren’t in the forecast for snow on Thursday model runs, on the model runs come Saturday. The low pressure is expected to strengthen over portions of Indiana then continue its north east to north north east pattern up towards Buffalo, New York. The major thing about this storm is going to be its snow side. This storm is going to be a slow developer at first then race north eastward over time. But Oklahoma and Texas will likely see an significant accumulation of snow due to cold air in place and plenty of Gulf Moisture to tap.Reading a few posts, It seems as forecasters are worried about the low pressure sitting their for time after time and picking up plenty of gulf moisture. In fact, their so worried that they are throwing out over 18 Inches of snow in all the wrong areas. Trust us folks… no 18+ Inches in any locations (aside from Mountains).
With every storm complex they always have their share of wild cards and this one has plenty!
How far south is this storm going to develop? How long will it sit and inhibit moisture into the system and therefore cause much higher rain and snow totals?
The exact track of the system is still undefined but we do know the general area (within 300miles) of track forecast.
How far south is the storm system going to track south? Lake effect?
Plenty more wild cards but those are the three major ones. Currently, model runs have noted back east with each run but what I am concerned about is the past 5 storms have all transitioned back westward. For example: Last Monday (Nov 21) Models noted a Chicago 6+ snowfall. Well, look where we are at 10 days later with this storm track 500miles west of Chicago. That very well could occur again and that is what I am concerned about.
EXCLUSIVE TO STORM CENTRAL:
Keeping all that in mind, Storm Central has placed a Winter Weather Key with our new and updated graphics. As you can see, from New Mexico to Michigan, you are under “watch for impact”. Please note the picture below to see what key you are currently under. These keys will change over the next day so this key is only valid for Saturday’s Forecast ONLY.
So how much snow are we talking is what everyone wants to know correct? Their is going to be a very narrow band of heavy snow like the previous storm. Some locations are going to see a mix of snow and rain and others are likely to see heavy rain from this which could tally up to over 3 inches.
*Please Note: Instead of releasing an early forecast, Storm Central would like to continue our accurate and precise forecasts by waiting till 3 days out on a tricky forecast like this. So, even though this forecast is out, remember the wild cards and how they can change virtually everything*
Here is what to expect:
-Oklahoma City, Oklahoma- Heavy snow likely to begin Monday Morning and quickly spread into Northeast Oklahoma by Monday Afternoon. Snow will be heavy at times with snow falling at over 1 inch per hour. Winds will not be horrible but an accumulation of at least 6 inches cannot be ruled out. (Just to the east will receive slightly higher amounts of snow) Snow is likely to last well into Tuesday Morning.
-Joplin, Missouri- So Far, Joplin looks to be in a bulls eye if current forecast come through. Heavy snow will spread in Monday night and accumulations between 7-9 inches are a potential with some locations seeing 10 inches of snow nearby. Wind will likely not be a major threat either as sustained winds between 20-30mph. Snow will likely end Tuesday evening.
-Springfield, Illinois- Springfield is also looking to get a decent accumulation with at least 6 inches of snow. Higher accumulations are a potential.
-Fort Wayne/Bluffton, Indiana Locations- Either way you move it, you are in for a solid snow event. A potential 6+ is in the forecast with most locations ending up with a 7-9 inch effect. Heavy snow at times will fall with winds between 20-30 sustained. Snow should begin Tuesday morning and last into Wednesday morning.
-Chicago, Illinois- Chicago is right on the verge of snow in this forecast. Due to model runs trending east again, we may come out with nothing. But, like other storms, this one should make a bit of a left turn and place some snow in the City and south. North suburbs could luck out. The track of this storm varies as the lake machine could turn on and add to some extra accumulations on Wednesday morning.
-Grand Rapids, Michigan- Another tricky forecast due to the track of the system but Grand Rapids should receive at least a half of foot of snow, if not more, out of this storm complex.
25 Tornadoes across seven states so far, another system next week
Published on November 17, 2011 8:00 am PT
- By TWS Senior Meteorologist
- Edited by Staff Editor
(TheWeatherSpace.com) – A string of severe storms moved from mainly Louisiana to the Carolinas between Tuesday and Wednesday, which proved fatal in some cases as damaging winds and tornadoes struck.
So far 25 tornadoes hit from Texas to the Carolinas. One of those supercells travelled from Louisiana, eastward to the South Carolina coast. This was a long tracking supercell, but a long track tornado did not form from it. It dropped tornadoes along the path, none of them through most, or the entire length.
A similar system will try again for the Southeastern United States next week, stay tuned .
Textbooks, which are assigned and shared, in a classroom at Hutto High School in Hutto, Texas, April 5, 2012. (Photo: Ben Sklar / The New York Times)
Lm Otero / AP
