Weather & Space News Blog
 since Feb. 2003
 WX - Telegraph abbreviation for weather often used with Morse code
 The Wire - Name once given to the telegraph

Image (left) courtesy NASA. Digital images of Mount St. Helens on Tuesday, Oct. 12, show an increase in the number of hot spots as well as a plume of smoke coming from the crater. Full photo, more info

Scientists: Stone ‘Fin’ On Mount St. Helens Splitting

Hurricanes Uncover Indian Village That Could Date To 2000 B.C.

Rain Postpones ALCS Game 3: Red Sox-Yankees to resume series Saturday at Fenway

Backwards Drawings May Have Doomed Genesis: The NASA spacecraft that smashed into the Utah desert last month while bringing home fragile samples of the sun may have been doomed by engineering drawings that had been done backwards, an investigating board said Friday.

Russian Spacecraft Docks With Space Station: Spacecraft had to be docked manually Saturday after an unexplained glitch.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Friday: 1. Boston 2. New York City 3. Toronto 4. Indianapolis 5. Denver … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Earthquake: Strong 7.0-Magnitude Quake Rocks Taiwan; Several Injured | Preliminary Earthquake Report. Be sure to check the right column of our page (near the bottom) for updated earthquake data, and get additional resources in our National/International page (in the right column)…

Mount St. Helens Update: Lava Building Up Rock At St. Helens | More Than 450 Mount St. Helens Items For Sale On Ebay | Latest From MSNBC | Live VolcanoCam — also located at the top of this page. Much more on Mount St. Helens in the entries below…

Other News:

• The Weather Channel(R) Spotlights How Weather Helped Choose Chicago Mayor
• Town Meets With National Weather Service
• President Bush Signs $14.5 Billion Hurricane Recovery Bill
• Researcher: Ivan Worst Gulf Coast Storm In 50 Years
• From Jamaica: Government To Build 540 Houses For Ivan Victims
• Oil Reaches Another Record, Settling Near $55
• Russian-American Crew Heads For International Space Station

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Thursday: 1. St. Louis 2. New York City 3. Toronto 4. Seattle 5. Dallas-Fort Worth … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Some news updates from here and there…

• Under A Blood Red Moon: On Oct. 27th, North Americans Can See Total Eclipse Of The Moon… At first it will seem pale and cold, as usual. And then … blood red.
• News Updates: Calif. Wildfire Spreads To 37,000 Acres, Prompts Evacuations
• Mount St. Helens Aglow: Mount St. Helens’ Lava Dome Grows Steadily | Dome-Building Eruption Creates Eerie Red Glow… The ongoing dome-building eruption at Mount St. Helens could last for days, weeks or months, scientists say. Live webcam near top of this page and in our Seattle webcams list
• Brief Storm Dumps Rain, Snow In Colorado
• Snow Falls In New Mexico’s Taos, East Mountains; Weather Service Issues Freeze Warning
• Evacuation Of A Different Kind: Biologists: Sharks Bolted From Area Before Hurricane… Changes in pressure may signal impending storm
• Hurricane Questions Continue: U.S. Scientists Probe 10-Year-Old Surge In Hurricanes In Atlantic, Caribbean
• In The U.K.: Forecasters Warn Of Extra-Cold Winter

An announcement on this, the unofficial 600th post (that’s what the permalink URL displays, though actual posts are just under 585 because a few were lost in a crash last December): This blog has some new features that you may have noticed over the past few days:

i.) The ability to e-mail a post to a friend (should work with most networks; links at bottom of posts)
ii.) You can now sign up for e-mail notifications when new posts are added here
iii.) Latest earthquakes data from the USGS (near bottom of right column)
iv.) National Weather Service warnings and watches/warnings map (below earthquake list)
v.) Handy breakdown of editions available: Wireless, WML/WAP, RSS 2.0, RSS 1.0, Atom, RDF
vi.) Highlighted text on the blog search in the top of the right column
vii.) Blog stats: Total words, posts and commenters in the right column

I hope you find these new features useful. Now back to regular programming…

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Wednesday: 1. Indianapolis 2. Houston 3. St. Louis 4. Austin 5. San Antonio … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Mount St. Helens Update: Lava Breaks Surface At Mount St. Helens | Very Latest Stories

As you may have noticed, the Live VolcanoCam is now near the top of the page beside the Google search.

Much more on Mount St. Helens in the entries below…

As I begin the weather and science news roundup, I will add beside it an archived image from the WXnation Webcam in Fort Worth, Texas, which was snapped Sept. 28. The complete Sept. 2004 webcam archive is now online…

WXnews: California Warning: Bay Area Red Flag Warning Continues

Going backwards through various tropical systems now…

Nicole: Storm Lashes Canada’s East Coast … Storm hits Atlantic Canada with strong winds and driving rain

Matthew: Latest Matthew Stories

Jeanne: Experts Help With Storm Trauma | Crop Estimates: Citrus Takes Major Hit From Storms | Death Toll From Haitian Violence Rises To 46

In The Clear: Less Smog, More Blue Sky Over Lake Michigan

Different Kind Of Clutter Overhead: Contrail Clutter Over Georgia (Astronomy Picture of the Day) … Artificial clouds made by humans may become so common they change the Earth’s climate. The long thin cloud streaks that dominate the above satellite photograph of Georgia are contrails, cirrus clouds created by airplanes.

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Tuesday: 1. Indianapolis 2. Atlanta 3. Dallas-Fort Worth 4. Vancouver 5. St. Louis … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Image (right) courtesy NASA. Zoomed in view of Mount St. Helens’ lava dome taken Oct. 1, 2004 (natural color picture). It appears that there are small regions of the lava dome that may still have snow. More info, larger version

• Mount St. Helens News: Nation’s Newest Glacier Growing In Volcano’s Crater | Mount St. Helens’ Lava Dome Piping Hot, Scientists Say: New thermal images reveal that magma continues to rise. Latest Stories | Live Webcam | Much more in yesterday’s entry
• Other News: Subtropical Storm Nicole Heads For Canadian Maritimes: Atlantic Provinces Brace For Storm: Newfoundland and Nova Scotia prepare for heavy rain and hurricane force wind gusts.
  I once knew a great family who still lives in Nova Scotia, thanks to an old friend, Josh Bearden. His sister’s friend went to the same school as the extremely-talented Sarah McLachlan…
• Atlantic Storm Merger Including Nicole Not ‘Perfect Storm’
  I once wrote a song in the early ’90s called “Nicole,” but it was not about a subtropical storm…
• Police: Cyber Predator Exposes Self On Web Cam; Undercover Officer Poses Online As 14-Year-Old Girl: Happened in Taylor, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
  I once lived just a few miles from Taylor…
• Dry Bay Area: Gusty Winds, Dry Heat Prompt Red Flag Warning For San Francisco, Monterey Bay Areas
  I have no personal experience to contribute for this one
• Silent Sun: From SpaceWeather.com: For the first time since January 1998, the sunspot number is zero. There are no spots on the sun–none! This means solar activity should remain low, and auroras are unlikely. Also, dawn sky lately? It’s sparkling with bright stars and planets: Sirius, Venus, Saturn, Castor and Pollux. Now another planet is joining the show: giant Jupiter.
• Business News: Oil Approaches $54

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Monday: 1. Atlanta 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. St. Louis 4. Kansas City 5. Orlando … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Mount St. Helens Monday Morning Update:

New Story: Mount St. Helens Releases More Steam Monday Morning

Image (left), courtesy Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Mount St. Helens, taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory Oct. 5. The Observatory and VolcanoCam are located at an elevation of approximately 4,500 feet, about five miles from the volcano. Link to webcam’s Web site. This webcam link is also in our Seattle page

Mount St. Helens Resources:

Images, Animated Movies: Live Webcam Archived Images & Movies From Oct. Eruptions

Seismo-Cam Video: KING-TV 5, Seattle, Live Seismo-Cam Streaming Video

Data: Most Recent Mount St. Helens Earthquakes List

Complete Coverage From: KIRO-TV 7, Seattle (Special section with many image slideshows) | KING-TV 5, Seattle | KATU-TV 2, Portland, OR

Updates: Very Latest Stories

Entries: All Mount St. Helens Blog Entries

Quakes Drop Off Sharply After Mount St. Helens Lets Off More Steam

• St. Helens Quakes Drop Off Sharply
• Another Burst Of Steam From Mount St. Helens Sunday Morning
• Media Enthralled By Science, Drama Of Mount St. Helens
• Live Mount St. Helens Webcam, also located in our Seattle page

Image (right), coutresy NOAA: Tropical Prediction Center’s 5-Day projected track for Matthew as of 10 a.m. CDT Sunday. Updated large version

Matthew Now Tropical Depression Over Louisiana, Flooding Reported: Tropical Storm Matthew came ashore just west of New Orleans Sunday morning with 40 mph winds. It is now a tropical depression.

• Matthew Updates: Tropical Storm Hits Vulnerable Louisiana Coast
• Watches & Warnings Map | Latest Updates From Tropical Prediction Center | Latest Matthew Stories

Other News:

• 36,000 Job Loss Claims Attributed To Frances, Jeanne
• The Evolution Of Weather Forecasting
• Busy Sun On Slow Day: Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet
• From The World Of Webcams: High-Tech Devices Can Spy On Kids 24/7, But What About Trust? (Registration required)

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Sunday: 1. New Orleans 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. Oklahoma City 4. Vancouver 5. Cleveland …

… and Saturday: 1. New Orleans 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. Lubbock 4. Vancouver 5. New York City … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Bigger Blast Brewing At Mount St. Helens?:

• Seattle Times Story: “Loaf” Rises Higher Than Mount St. Helens Dome
• Seattle Post Intelligencer: Nation’s Newest Glacier Growing In St. Helens’ Crater
• Quake Activity Rises At Mount St. Helens
• KIRO-TV, Seattle: Predictions For Mount St. Helens Change

Image (left): Then-Tropical Storm Matthew in Gulf Of Mexico at 6:30 p.m. EDT Friday. Image links to live satellite/radar image

Tropical Depression Matthew Stories: Matthew Downgraded To Tropical Depression

Strong Earthquake In Philippines: Magnitude 6.4 Quake Shakes Philippine Capital, Knocks Out Power Over Wide Area See bottom right of this page for the latest earthquakes, and get more earthquake resources in the right column of our National/International page

Other News:

Earth Science News: World Atlas Gets Update From National Geographic
Ex-NASA Worker Charged For Faking Exams
Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Stamp Delivers ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’
Hurricanes Big Ratings Boost: Hurricanes Bad For Florida, Great For The Weather Channel

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Friday: 1. New Orleans 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. St. Louis 4. Houston 5. Indianapolis … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Rising Energy Part I: Latest Stories On Rising Energy Costs

Rising Energy Part II:

• Scientists: Mount St. Helens’ Lava Dome Continues To Grow In Volcano Crater
• Lull On Mount St. Helens May Not Last For Long
• Mount St. Helens Volcanic Eruptions: 1980 vs. Now: “It was 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, in southwestern Washington State. Jim Nieland was just backing out of his driveway when a neighbor yelled, ‘The mountain is erupting.’”
• New Technology Helping Volcanologists
• Very Latest Mount St. Helens Stories | Live Webcam, also in our Seattle page | Most Recent St. Helens Quakes List

Hurricane Updates:

• Spam Drops After Hurricanes Hit: Spam volume dropped in Sept., one message filtering firm says, while another notes that spam took a noticeable dip after hurricanes struck parts of Florida.
• Local Efforts Help Jeanne-Ravaged Haitians
• Hurricane Relief Funds Coming To Georgia

Ending With Genesis: Thousands Of Genesis Samples Arrive At Johnson Space Center

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Thursday: 1. Houston 2. Dallas-Fort Worth 3. San Antonio 4. St. Louis 5. Kansas City … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Cold Winter Forecast In East As Heating Costs Up:

NOAA Releases U.S. Winter Outlook … Cold In East, Warm In West. Meanwhile, U.S. Heating Costs Soar

Latest Volcano News:

• ‘Volcano of Fire’ Erupts In Western Mexico
• Lull On Mount St. Helens May Not Last For Long
• Mount St. Helens Keeps Us All Guessing: Eruption not believed imminent, but the mountain isn’t done yet
• Predicting An Eruption Involves Guesswork
• Helens’ Siblings Might Be Nastier
• Scientists Lower Mount St. Helens Alert: Volcano alert lowered from level three to level two.

Other Weather News:

• NWS Monitors Gulf For Potential Severe Weather: Officials at the National Weather Service in Brownsville are monitoring a low pressure area in the Gulf of Mexico that could develop into a tropical depression or tropical storm as early as today.
• TV Coverage Of Hurricanes Gets Mixed Reviews
• Bad Weather, Tornados Kill 21 In Bangladesh
• Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Amazing Moon Lightning Image

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Wednesday: 1. Dallas-Fort Worth 2. Houston 3. Seattle 4. San Antonio 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Image (left) Courtesy US Forest Service. Image of Mount St. Helens, taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory at 9:09 a.m. CDT Tuesday as steam plume begins. Live Image

Waiting For The Big One: (Not the Peter Gabriel song)… Some worry that a major eruption at Mount St. Helens is imminent, but geologists say we may only see weeks or months of smaller-scale venting. [Interactive: Inside Volcanoes, opens new window] “There’s not necessarily going to be a big one … People have to get that out of their minds” — Jake Lowenstern, U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist.

Summary: Mount St. Helens likes to blow off steam in the morning. The mountain spewed steam Tuesday at about 9 a.m. CDT, almost exactly 24 hours after Monday’s steam blast. There were also steam blasts on Friday and Saturday. Here are the latest stories and resources…

Mount St. Helens Stories & Coverage:

• Stories: Mount St. Helens Blows Off More Steam, Ash Tuesday
• MSNBC: Clues Point To Eruption
• AP: Remembering Mount St. Helens 1980 Eruption
• Very Latest Stories: Very Latest Mount St. Helens Stories
• Complete Coverage From KIRO-TV 7, Seattle | KING-TV 5, Seattle
• Live Streaming Video: After blasts, also may broadcast newscasts: KING-TV 5 (Windows Media, In center column) | Live Coverage/Cam Feed From KATU-TV 2, Portland (Top of center column) | Feedroom Live Feeds Of Mount St. Helens/NBC News (Windows Media, Broadband; Opens new window)

Helens Resources:

• Images: Live Mount St. Helens Cam, also in our Seattle page | 1980 Eruption (In new window)
• Blue Moon Alert: From SpaceWeather.com … “Mount St. Helens is spewing ash and steam … sky watchers in western North America should be alert for blue moons in the weeks ahead.” Details
• Data: Current Text Update | Most Recent Mt. St. Helens Earthquakes | USGS Earthquakes List | NASA Looks At Mt. St. Helens
• More resources in our National/International page (Right column, in “Earthquake Data” section)

Other News:

• Heavy rain and storms are moving across Texas today. Latest watches and warnings. Radar and webcam images are in our city pages
• Gov. Officials: Haiti’s Final Death Toll From Jeanne Tops 3,000
• $239 Million Satellite Mishap Blamed on Human Error — Satellite toppled to a factory floor because nobody bothered to check that it was secure before moving it, according to a NASA investigation board’s report.
• Canadian Sub ‘Dead In The Water’, Waiting For Help In Irish Sea After Fire
• Bad Weather Leads To Inmate Transfer
• Students Weather Science Experiments
• Cam news: Red-Light Cams Ticket More Than 1,000 Drivers; One In 3 Possible Violations Rejected Because Of Inconclusive Photos

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Tuesday: 1. Seattle 2. Vancouver 3. 4. San Antonio 4. Houston 5. Orlando … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Image (right) Courtesy NASA. Infrared digital images of Mount St. Helens last week reveal signs of heat below the surface one day before the volcano erupted. The images may provide valuable clues as to how the volcano erupted. This is a color composite: blue indicates the snow cover, orange and yellow characterize the rock type and lava age, and red indicates heat. Larger image, more picutres, info

Repeat Performance: Another steam blast at Mount St. Helens begins shortly after 9 a.m. PDT Tuesday, almost 24 hours after a similar steam blast… New Story | New Images From Tuesday (Opens new window) | Latest Mount St. Helens Stories | Live Streaming Video: (After blasts, also may broadcast newscasts) KING-TV 5 (Windows Media, In center column) | Feedroom Live Video Of Mount St. Helens (Windows Media, Broadband; Opens new window) | Live Coverage/Cam Feed From KATU-TV 2, Portland (Top of center column) | Live Webcam

Under Pressure: A billowing white plume shot hundreds of feet into the air Monday morning, thrilling nearby visitors. Here’s the lastest on Mount St. Helens, which has been toying with scientists and visitors in recent days:

• Audio: Tourists Flock To Mountain
• Mount St. Helens Lets Off Biggest Steam Plume Yet; Larger Eruption Possible | Steam, Magma Build
• Under The Volcano — Will something big happen?
• AP Story: Mount St. Helens Spews More Steam
• Complete Coverage From KIRO-TV 7, Seattle | KING-TV 5, Seattle
• Updates: Very Latest Mount St. Helens Stories

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Monday (Rain and storms in the Lone Star State put three Texas cities in the Top 5. The other two cities are not far from that mountain…): 1. Dallas/Fort Worth 2. Seattle 3. Houston 4. Austin 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

Weather News Updates & More:

• Dozen Tornadoes Hit Denver-Area | Video: Copter 4 Captures Tornado Touchdown
• Twister Unravels Crime: Man Arrested After Tornado Reveals Cache Of Child Porn
• Mild Days Are Numbered: Illinois Residents Wake Up To Chilly Temps | Cold Indiana | First Frost In Nebraska Towns
• Jeanne Updates: More Than 2,000 Dead, Missing In Haiti
• Woman, 86, Pinned By Tree For 3 Days, Survives Hurricane Jeanne
• Most Jeanne-Related Power Problems Fixed Ahead Of Schedule … But More Than 30,000 Still Waiting For Power
• Opinion: Gougers Must Pay Price For Profiteering With Jail Time
• Hurricane Hits Sesame Street This Week
• And finally, Astronomy Picture of the Day honors the winning SpaceShipOne team…

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Monday (Rain and storms in the Lone Star State put three Texas cities in the Top 5. The other two cities are not far from that mountain…): 1. Dallas/Fort Worth 2. Seattle 3. Houston 4. Austin 5. Vancouver … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.

3rd Steam Eruption In 4 Days: Scientists: Monday’s Steam Burst Just A “Prelude” — Latest eruption began at about 9:45 a.m. CDT Monday | Live Streaming Video: (Watch for coverage during new eruptions, newscasts) KING-TV 5 (Windows Media, In center column) | Live Coverage/Cam Feed From KATU-TV 2, Portland (Top of center column) | Coverage & Feeds From NBC/KING-TV (Windows Media, Broadband, Opens new window) | Webcam

Summary: Scientists say an eruption larger than the first three may happen within days … or weeks. A “Level 3-Volcano Warning” (possible hazard to life and property in area) was issued after a steam eruption at Mount St. Helens for the second time in two days at about 2 p.m. CDT Saturday. At noon CDT Friday, it erupted for the first time in 18 years.

Image (right): Courtesy, NASA: 2002 photo of Mount St. Helens from the International Space Station. Larger photo, more info

Latest Mount St. Helens Stories:

• Mount St. Helens Continues To Quiver & Quake: Poised To Erupt
• The Gathering: Thousands Descend At Volcano, Staging Parties At Every Wide Spot In The Road: “‘People are exchanging addresses and e-mails’ … Entrepreneurs hawked hot dogs and coffee along the way. ‘It’s beyond amazing’” …
• The Wait: Vehicles Line Up Nose-To-Tail For Nearly 5 Miles, Everyone Staring In The Same Direction
• … But Mount St. Helens May Take Weeks to Erupt: “I don’t think anyone now thinks this will stop with steam explosions”
• Time For Some Questions: 1) Would You Rather Live In Earthquake Country Or Hurricane Alley?
• 2) Is Earthquake Insurance Necessary?

Space News:

• Team Aims High: SpaceShipOne Wins $10 Million Prize
• Waste In Space: Garbage Piling Up On International Space Station

Latest On Jeanne:

• Jeanne’s Death Toll Rises: Death Toll In Haiti To Nearly 2,000
• How Fast Were Recent Hurricanes’ Winds? No One Really Knows
• Storm Tracking Inexact Science; Experts Weigh Many Computer Models

Fun News:

• Fourth Graders To Launch Weather Station
• And From The World Of Webcams: Kennel Allows Pet Owners To Check On Boarded Pups

Top 5 WXnation.com city weather and webcam pages visited Sunday: 1. Seattle 2. Dallas/Fort Worth 3. New York City 4. Portland, OR 5. Los Angeles … See the top 20 so far this month in the left column of our home page.