Earth Changes 2013 - Daily Updates

Japan on path of 2 powerful Typhoons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozaxcwN210g


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Climate Change Update (21 June 2012) Japan trades Nuke secrets to Russians

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MD-RJpufKw


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Climate Change Update (22 June 2012) Work starts to restart Ohi No.4 reactor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ClfwYxquc


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June 23, 2012 – GULF OF MEXICO - It’s quite likely that the fourth tropical cyclone of the North Atlantic Hurricane Season is brewing in the southern Gulf of Mexico, more specifically, in the Yucatan Channel. The Yucatan Channel lies between Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba. Tropical depressions seem to have a habit of forming on weekends, and this low appears to be following that habit. On Friday, June 22 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), System 96L was located near 22.5 North and 89.5 West, near the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The GOES-13 satellite continually monitors the eastern U.S. and provides updated visible and infrared imagery. An image from June 22 at 1601 UTC (12:01 p.m. EDT) shows a large low pressure area near the Yucatan’s northern coast with disorganized showers and thunderstorms. In the image, some of the thunderstorms near the center of the low appear to be higher than the surrounding clouds, which indicates they are higher and stronger. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that atmospheric pressure on the surface continues to fall, indicating that the low pressure area is intensifying. Forecasters at NHC give System 96L a 70 percent chance of becoming the fourth tropical depression of the Atlantic Hurricane season, sometime over the weekend. Meanwhile, System 96L is expected to move slowly northward into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend (June 23-24). The NHC notes “Interests along the entire United States Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of this disturbance through the weekend. Heavy rains and localized flooding are possible across the Yucatan peninsula, western Cuba, and southern Florida through Saturday.”

Climate Change Update (25 June 2012) Alarms Sounded 26 Times at Ooi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04SiS2XJbtQ


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China evacuates millions due to rain and landslides

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPXSh1v7xjg


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Climate Change Update (27 June 2012) KEPCO Can't Find Photos of Fault at Ooi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj8_cFB_oCs


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Hierro Volcano Report 1/2 - June 28 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oin_wr65sK4


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June 23, 2012 – GULF OF MEXICO - It’s quite likely that the fourth tropical cyclone of the North Atlantic Hurricane Season is brewing in the southern Gulf of Mexico, more specifically, in the Yucatan Channel. The Yucatan Channel lies between Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba. Tropical depressions seem to have a habit of forming on weekends, and this low appears to be following that habit. On Friday, June 22 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), System 96L was located near 22.5 North and 89.5 West, near the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The GOES-13 satellite continually monitors the eastern U.S. and provides updated visible and infrared imagery. An image from June 22 at 1601 UTC (12:01 p.m. EDT) shows a large low pressure area near the Yucatan’s northern coast with disorganized showers and thunderstorms. In the image, some of the thunderstorms near the center of the low appear to be higher than the surrounding clouds, which indicates they are higher and stronger. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that atmospheric pressure on the surface continues to fall, indicating that the low pressure area is intensifying. Forecasters at NHC give System 96L a 70 percent chance of becoming the fourth tropical depression of the Atlantic Hurricane season, sometime over the weekend. Meanwhile, System 96L is expected to move slowly northward into the Gulf of Mexico this weekend (June 23-24). The NHC notes “Interests along the entire United States Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of this disturbance through the weekend. Heavy rains and localized flooding are possible across the Yucatan peninsula, western Cuba, and southern Florida through Saturday.”

June 30, 2012 – CLIMATE – Norton Dam, Kan., hit 118 F. on Thursday, and 32 communities from Colorado to Indiana just posted their highest temperatures ever. Forecasters say back-to-back La Niñas are partly to blame. These records appear to be falling into step with a longer-term trend in which record highs are being set more often than record lows for each decade since the 1970s – a trend many climate researchers have attributed to global warming. As June 2012 draws to a close, it feels more like mid-July or August to people in wide swaths of the country. Between June 27 and June 28, 32 communities stretching from Colorado to Indiana posted the highest temperatures on record ever for their locations – with a handful tying or topping records set only a few days before, according to data kept by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Norton Dam, Kan., for instance, recorded an all-time record of 118 degrees F. on Thursday, two degrees above Death Valley’s July average. The 118-degree reading shattered Norton Dam’s previous record of 113 degrees F. – set just three days before. More than 350 sites across a broad swath of the continent’s interior have posted daily record highs since June 27, with heat advisories on Friday covering all or parts of 23 states from Kansas east to the Carolinas and into the Northeast, and from Wisconsin south to Mississippi and Alabama. At the same time, other parts of the country are reporting record lows for this time of year. Anyone looking for relief might put the Northwest on their itinerary. Over the same two-day period, 57 locations, largely clustered in Washington state and northeastern Oregon, posted at least one daily high temperature that tied or beat the lowest for the date on which it was measured. Waterville, Wash., posted the biggest drop among the group – a high of 51 degrees on Wednesday, nine degrees below the previous record-low high of 60 degrees on June 27, 1946. And it’s all coming out of a spring that was the warmest on record in the US, bringing a heat wave to the center of the country in March the likes of which the US hasn’t seen since 1910. Indeed, Spring 2012 in the US was 2 degrees warmer than the previous record-holder, the spring of 1910. One reason for the seemingly relentless high temperatures is the presence of a broad ridge of high pressure inching its way across the continent, forecasters say. With skies generally clear, sunlight has a clear path to travel on its way to baking what in many places is an already parched surface. As of Tuesday, a broad swath of the US was experiencing either severe or extreme drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, based at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. -CSM

The Met Office said more than 110,000 lightning bolts were recorded across the UK, with more than 200 strikes recorded every minute at the peak of activity. Government forecasters said most of Thursday’s strikes, which came as rare “super cell” thunderstorms battered the Midlands and northern regions, were fork lightning and hit the ground.


Wettest April to June since records began and more unsettled weather to come
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9365467/Wettest-April-to-June-since-records-began-and-more-unsettled-weather-to-come.html


England cut off from Scotland as rail lines shut off by flooding and landslides
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9362927/England-cut-off-from-Scotland-as-rail-lines-shut-off-by-flooding-and-landslides.html


Tornado sucks up caravan with man inside and dumps it in buffalo paddock
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9359810/Tornado-sucks-up-caravan-with-man-inside-and-dumps-it-in-buffalo-paddock.html


Isle of Wight Festival 2012: traffic chaos and mud
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9349474/Isle-of-Wight-Festival-2012-traffic-chaos-and-mud.html

Climate Change Update (30 June 2012) Unable to activate backup cooling system at #4 fuel pool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liOh0P6oQQc


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June 30, 2012 – VIRGINIA – Violent evening storms following a day of triple-digit temperatures wiped out power to more than 2 million customers across the eastern United States and caused at least 13 fatalities – including a 90-year-old Virginia woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home, and two young cousins on a camping trip in southern New Jersey. No significant damage was reported in Hampton Roads, according to police dispatchers in the five cities. Widespread power outages were reported from Indiana to New Jersey, with the bulk of the service interruptions concentrated on Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas. Earlier Friday, the nation’s capital reached 104 degrees — topping a record of 101 set in 1934. More than 20 elderly residents at an apartment home in Indianapolis were displaced when the facility lost power due to a downed tree. Most were bused to a Red Cross facility to spend the night, and others who depend on oxygen assistance were given other accommodations, the fire department said. The storms, sometimes packing 70 mph winds, toppled three tractor trailers on Interstate 75 near Findlay, Ohio. Fallen trees were blamed on both deaths in Springfield, Va. Besides the 90-year-old woman, who authorities didn’t identify pending notification of kin, a man driving his car was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities identified him as Khiet Nguyen, 27, of Burke, Va. In addition, a park police officer was injured by an uprooted tree in the northern Virginia county, and an 18-year-old man was struck by a power line, Jennings said. He was in stable condition after receiving CPR, she said. “Our officers and firefighters are out there with power saws, trying to clear the streets,” Jennings said. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 customers in 27 counties were left without electricity. At least four utility poles fell on a road in Columbus, Ohio, making it too dangerous for people in four cars to get out, police said. One person was taken to a hospital. As of 1 a.m. Saturday, Pepco was reporting 406,000 outages in the District of Columbia and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Md. -POL

June 30, 2012 – IRELAND – Ireland has been hit by torrential rain as the summer disappears again – with parts of Cork and Belfast flooded. Emergency services are struggling to cope with the flash floods across the country as homes are left without electricity. The towns of Douglas, Bandon and Clonakilty in Cork are badly flooded with some areas under three feet of water. Residents were evacuated from the Ballyvolane area of Cork city while there is no access in or out of Clonakilty. The Irish Independent reports that up to 15,000 homes in Cork are currently without electricity after the overnight storms which saw 70mm of rain fall in a few hours. Flooding has also been reported in parts of Sligo and Tipperary and motorists have been warned to take extreme care. Cork County Council has confirmed that it activated a flood response plan after the torrential rain. Ireland’s weather service Met Eireann issued a flood alert to more than a dozen county councils with 70mm of rain forecast to fall in parts of Munster, Connacht, south Leinster and the midlands. Despite warm temperatures, there could be torrential downpours due to heavy thunderstorms according to Met Eireann. “The worst of the rain is over but it has been the wettest June on record,” said forecaster Evelyn Cusack. Belfast has also been badly hit by the torrential rain. A police spokeswoman said: “Most of the main arterial routes in east and south Belfast are impassable due to flooding, abandoned cars and debris.” –Irish Central

UK hit by record rainfall: This April to June was the wettest on record as a major clean-up operation takes place in northern Britain following freak storms. Homes well away from rivers and streams were flooded and cars were submerged after Thursday’s heavy rainfall. Northern England, the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland were worst hit by storms that brought lightning, giant hail stones and reports of damage from squalls and tornadoes. In stark contrast, southern parts of Britain enjoyed dry weather and temperatures as high as 28C. Sky’s weather presenter Isobel Lang said: “Rainfall figures still have to be confirmed, but this June could end up being the wettest on record beating that of 2007 when there was also widespread and severe flooding. “It’s also been downright dull and much cooler than average – a miserable start to summer that’s for sure. Worryingly, this is off the back of the wettest April on record and the Environment Agency has said that according to their statistics it has been the wettest April to June ever. Will the weather improve during July? Some sunnier spells are likely between the rainy days, but the general theme is still for rather changeable and showery weather for the next couple of weeks. The end of the month looks drier and sunnier which at least brings some hope.” –Yahoo News

Revenge of nature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S75A2zBD5do


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Colorado Fire in Waldo Canyon: Excellent time lapse video.

Put it on full screen...amazing! amazing!

http://earthsky.org/earth/five-day-timelapse-video-wildfire-near-colorado-springs

Hundreds of wildfires burn across Russia – Smoke reaches Mongolia

Hundreds of wildfires continue to burn across Russia, and more than 14 new fires have broken out over the past 24 hours. While eleven of them have been put out, firefighters are still struggling to extinguish another 32 blazes. Authorities say the fires do not pose a threat to residential areas.

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2012/07/05/hundreds-of-wildfires-burn-across-russia-smoke-reaches-mongolia/


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Climate Change Update (06 July 2012) The accident brought the worst scenario - melt-through

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvwzmU00EXc


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June 30, 2012 – VIRGINIA – Violent evening storms following a day of triple-digit temperatures wiped out power to more than 2 million customers across the eastern United States and caused at least 13 fatalities – including a 90-year-old Virginia woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home, and two young cousins on a camping trip in southern New Jersey. No significant damage was reported in Hampton Roads, according to police dispatchers in the five cities. Widespread power outages were reported from Indiana to New Jersey, with the bulk of the service interruptions concentrated on Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas. Earlier Friday, the nation’s capital reached 104 degrees — topping a record of 101 set in 1934. More than 20 elderly residents at an apartment home in Indianapolis were displaced when the facility lost power due to a downed tree. Most were bused to a Red Cross facility to spend the night, and others who depend on oxygen assistance were given other accommodations, the fire department said. The storms, sometimes packing 70 mph winds, toppled three tractor trailers on Interstate 75 near Findlay, Ohio. Fallen trees were blamed on both deaths in Springfield, Va. Besides the 90-year-old woman, who authorities didn’t identify pending notification of kin, a man driving his car was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities identified him as Khiet Nguyen, 27, of Burke, Va. In addition, a park police officer was injured by an uprooted tree in the northern Virginia county, and an 18-year-old man was struck by a power line, Jennings said. He was in stable condition after receiving CPR, she said. “Our officers and firefighters are out there with power saws, trying to clear the streets,” Jennings said. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 customers in 27 counties were left without electricity. At least four utility poles fell on a road in Columbus, Ohio, making it too dangerous for people in four cars to get out, police said. One person was taken to a hospital. As of 1 a.m. Saturday, Pepco was reporting 406,000 outages in the District of Columbia and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, Md. -POL


Flash floods in Russia's Krasnodar region struck unexpectedly as thousands woke up to a nightmare. While they were asleep, their lives and the people they loved were being washed away. Emergency teams are continuing to search for survivors after devastating floods killed over one hundred and forty people in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar. The disaster, caused by torrential rains, swamped thousands of houses. There are warnings the rain will continue throughout Sunday. RT's Tom Barton has more on what's going on in the affected areas right now. And RT's Denis Bolotsky reports on how the events unfolded from Friday night when the disaster hit.

MORE INFORMATION & PHOTOS: http://on.rt.com/tkkcq7 and http://on.rt.com/p5vvl7


July 8, 2012 – RUSSIA – The death toll rose to at least 150 on Sunday from severe flooding in the Black Sea region of southern Russia that turned streets into rivers, swept away bridges and inundated thousands of homes as many residents were sleeping. President Vladimir Putin flew to the region and ordered investigators to determine whether more could have been done to prevent the deaths. Torrential rains dropped up to a foot of water in less than 24 hours, which the state meteorological service said was five times the monthly average. The water rushed into the hard-hit town of Krymsk with such speed and volume early Saturday that residents said they suspected that water had been released from a reservoir in the mountains above. Local officials denied this, saying it was not technically possible to open the sluices. Federal investigators, however, acknowledged Sunday that water had been released from the reservoir, but they insisted it did not cause the flooding and the dam had not been breached.Heavy rain also fell in Gelendzhik, a popular seaside vacation spot about 200 kilometers (120 miles) up the coast from Sochi, where preparations are under way for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Novorossiisk, a major Black Sea port, also was affected. The Interior Ministry said Sunday that 150 bodies had been recovered, 139 of them in Krymsk and nine in Gelendzhik. The majority of the dead were elderly who were unable to escape the sudden deluge. Krymsk residents described a wave of water that washed over the hoods of cars and inundated one-story homes. Some sought refuge on roofs and in trees. Putin arrived Saturday evening and viewed the damage from the air. Television footage of Krymsk shot from Putin’s helicopter showed the city of 57,000 people partially submerged in muddy water. The city stadium looked more like a lake. Across the region, more than 5,000 homes were flooded. -Yahoo

Unprecedented disaster: TV footage showed brown water rushing down the town’s streets, where bodies lay on the curbs, covered with dirty blankets. Trees were torn out, homes destroyed and giant slabs of asphalt thrown on top of cars. “Our house was flooded to the ceiling,” said Polinina. “We could not open the door because of the water, so we broke the window to climb out,” she said, seething with anger at what she said was the lack of help from the authorities. “I put my five-year-old grandson on the roof of our submerged car, and then we somehow climbed up into the attic. I don’t know how we managed to survive.” The floods left her house full of silt and debris, but did not knock it down, so she was turned away from the local emergency shelter with only two loaves of bread and a bottle of water, she said. There had been no emergency warning about the flood, she said. Flash floods frequently batter towns along the Black Sea coast during seasonal rains in the Caucasus Mountains, but officials say the current disaster is unprecedented. -Yahoo

July 7, 2012 – WASHINGTON – Americans dipped into the water, went to the movies and rode the subway just to be in air conditioning Saturday for relief from unrelenting heat that has killed 30 people across half the country. The heat sent temperatures soaring over 100 degrees in several cities, including a record 105 in Washington, St. Louis (106) and Indianapolis (104); buckled highways; and derailed a Washington-area train even as another round of summer storms threatened. If people ventured outside to do anything, they did it early. But even then, the heat was stifling. “It was baking on the 18th green,” said golfer Zeb Rogerson, who teed off at 6 a.m. at an Alexandria, Va., golf course but was sweltering by the end of his round. The heat sent temperatures soaring in more than 20 states to 105 in Louisville, Ky., 101 in Philadelphia, and 95 in New York; besides in Washington, a record of 104 was set in Sioux Falls, S.D., At least 30 deaths were blamed on the heat, including nine in Maryland and 10 in Chicago, mostly among the elderly. Three elderly people found dead in their houses in Ohio had heart disease, but died of high temperatures in homes lacking power because of recent outages, officials said. Heat was also cited as a factor in three deaths in Wisconsin, two in Tennessee and three in Pennsylvania. Officials said the heat caused highways to buckle in Illinois and Wisconsin. In Maryland, investigators said heat likely caused rails to kink and led a green-line train to partially derail in Prince George’s County, Md., on Friday afternoon. No one was injured, and 55 passengers were safely evacuated. Thousands of mid-Atlantic residents remained without power more than a week after deadly summer storms and extreme heat struck the area, including 120,000 in West Virginia and some 37,000 in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. In the Washington area, Pepco asked customers to conserve power, saying the heat was stressing the system. “This is becoming a black swan of heat waves, in the sense that it’s such a long heat wave, such a severe heat wave and encompassing such a large area,” said Chris Vaccaro, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. -WSJ

July 7, 2012 – UNITED KINGDOM – Britain is facing its “worst ever” summer with cold wet weather ruining family holidays and blighting the Olympics, forecasters warned last night. August is set to be a washout following a miserable July and the wettest June since records began – meaning summer is effectively over. Gloomy forecasts suggest dire weather will continue as officials last night put Britain on flood alert after torrential downpours yesterday wreaked havoc. As the Environment Agency warned of a “potential danger to life” with rivers swelling to breaking point in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Wales, Government forecasters were on standby to brief the Cabinet if severe floods strike. The agency last night issued 51 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – and 135 alerts. Monsoon-like downpours hit 85,000 music fans at the T In The Park festival in Kinross, Scotland, and 28,000 Formula 1 spectators camping for the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone. Race meetings today in Nottingham and Carlisle were cancelled while play was delayed on all courts at Wimbledon – other than Centre Court. In Leeds, organizers cancelled music festival MFEST over safety concerns. Emergency services reported a surge of flood callouts, dispatched special operations teams and told motorists not to drive through floodwater. The misery is set to continue with parts of the Midlands and northern Britain braced for six inches of rain – more than two months’ worth – in the 72 hours to tomorrow night. Tony Waters, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: “We are expecting very heavy and thundery rain, with worst affected spots likely to be in central and northern parts. “Some places could see around 100mm (3.9in). The Met Office said the washout will continue into August. A spokesman said: “A protracted spell of hot, sunny weather looks very unlikely.” Forecasters MeteoGroup last night described this summer as “the worst since records began.” Forecaster Paul Knightley said: “This is as bad a summer as we can get in this country. “It’s wet, cool and dull. It’s not wrong to suggest the first half of summer has been the worst since records began.” Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: “There is no settled fine weather on the horizon and August looks as doomed as July. It is a bitterly disappointing summer and already set to be in the top five wettest on record. “The first couple of days of the Olympics are likely to be very wet indeed, and the rest of the Games unsettled.”

July 7, 2012 – CHINA – As the last of the turbines at China’s Three Gorges Dam was connected to the grid on Wednesday, a dams debate rages over the fate of the Upper Yangtze River and its main western tributary, the Jinsha River. Known as the “River of Golden Sands,” the Jinsha is slated for a cascade of 25 dams designed to generate as much electricity as four Three Gorges Dams put together. Earlier studies by geologists have highlighted the seismic, safety, and water security risks of out-of-control dam building in this fragile region. Experts also warn against the risk of dam-building in China’s seismically active and flood-heavy southwest, where one dam break could cause a tsunami that creates a domino effect of collapsing dams downstream. This occurred in China in 1975, when a major flood and poor communications caused dam breaks at 62 sites in Henan Province. The catastrophe killed over 26,000 people – more casualties than any other dam failure in history. While such massive floods are rare (this was a once-in-1000-years flood), dam developers have yet to factor in the affects of climate change on extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, which are common in the southwest and have serious implications for dam operation. The valleys in this region, including those formed by the Lancang/Upper Mekong and Nu/Salween, also experience disastrous landslides during the rainy season due to the steepness of the terrain. These can be exacerbated by the clearing of vegetation for dam construction and by the filling and emptying of reservoirs. The fluctuating water levels of the Three Gorges reservoir, for instance, have destabilized hundreds of miles of slopes and triggered massive landslides. A recent warning sign is the deadly mudslide that occurred on June 28, 2012, at the Baihetan Hydropower Station on the lower Jinsha River (it is under construction by the China Three Gorges Project Corporation). The mudslide killed four people and left 36 more missing – all workers and their families at the dam construction zone. –IR

Climate Change Update (09 July 2012) Pacific Radiation Spreading Alarmingly Faster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d__y390oBc8


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Climate Change Update (10 July 2012) Tepco admits 3 full meltdowns at Fukushima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVsU8cYR8oo


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July 15, 2012 – POLAND - A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured. Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union’s largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday’s twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales. Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania. Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened. “I saw a black column coming our way,” an injured inhabitant of the Wycinki village, whose farm was destroyed by the tornado told state television. “It carried everything away with it … birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake.” A caravan with a family of three inside was seen flying through the air in the village of Stara Rzeka and breaking into pieces upon landing, but its occupants suffered no serious injuries, news channel TVN24 reported. “The sole fatality was a 60-year-old man in the Pomeranian village of Wycinki who was crushed to death by his collapsing summer cottage,” fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told Reuters by telephone. The tornadoes were the latest outburst of violent weather that has battered Poland since the start of the month with hailstorms, gales, cloudbursts and flash floods. TVN24 reported meteorologists categorizing the twister as a class two tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h. –Reuters



July 15, 2012 – WASHINGTON – There were a lot of tired people in the Tri-Cities on Saturday after an early morning electrical storm rattled homes and flashed bright lights through windows. The system that led to a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service also cooled down the Mid-Columbia after a string of 100-plus degree days. The light show and downpour didn’t appear to cause any significant damage, with police and fire officials surprised at how few calls were received. However, it might not be over, with the forecast calling for a slight chance of thunderstorms through the rest of the week as the temperatures heat up again. Those storms continue to bring the threat of lightning sparking wildfires. The thunder and lightning that moved through the area earlier Saturday seemed anything but normal to the dozens of residents who took to social media to describe the experience. Some referred to it on the Tri-City Herald’s Facebook page as “the best storm ever” or the “most intense” they’ve experienced in the Northwest. People awakened by the loud booms reported staying up through the early morning hours because they were fascinated by Mother Nature’s spectacular display, or simply realized that attempts at sleep were futile. A severe weather alert issued at 2:37 a.m. said two storms were located six miles southwest of Kennewick and moving north at 30 mph. Within minutes, the storms moved over the Tri-Cities and seemed to hunker down for almost three hours, with cloud-to-cloud lightning that often was so bright it appeared to be daytime. The National Weather Service’s warning described it as “a dangerous storm,” and told residents to prepare for damaging winds, destructive hail and deadly lightning that could strike the ground. People were instructed to seek shelter inside a strong building, but away from windows. The weather service took two calls from the public reporting hail the size of a quarter in Kennewick. Public reports of wind speeds in Kennewick ranged from gusts of 35 to 40 mph to gusts up to 60 mph that drove the rain and hail sideways. “I’m sure it’s been a blast for people to watch the lightning,” Brooks said. The weather service had been expecting the storms to form for a couple of days because of instability with a low-pressure system and warm temperatures, Brooks said. –News Tribune