The Big Wobble

Click on image to enlarge

A deadly magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Sigli in Indonesia with more than 40 dead. The major quake struck off the north-east Coast of Sumatra Island, where dozens of buildings have collapsed and many people are feared trapped under rubble. Indonesia's meteorological agency said there was no risk of a tsunami. In 2004, the same area was devastated by a tsunami that killed more than 160,000 people in Indonesia alone.


Last night’s quake hit Indonesia as a massive coronal hole on the sun faced Earth. The quake adds more strength to the theory that large coronal holes on our Sun can cause major quakes here on Earth. In a separate post on Monday The Big Wobble wrote about a coronal hole turning to face our planet and to watch out for large quakes in the coming days. See the post here

Photo Spaceweather

What makes this major quake double special is the fact that it also occurred very close to the tropical depression 99W seen here in the chart above, which is exactly what happened in November when a massive mag 7.2 earthquake rocked El Salvador as Hurricane Otto made landfall close by, which fits nicely into another theory that violent storms can also influence volatile tectonic plates! See the post here


Above, in November this year a massive quake struck El Salvador

A massive mag 7.2 earthquake struck El Salvador when hurricane Otto bore down on Central America, which was an extremely late hurricane and struck furthest south ever recorded in the Caribbean! 

A massive coronal hole was also facing Earth at the time.
Last nights quake in Indonesia was the 4th major quake of December and the 128th of 2016.

You can find more information on coronal holes and weather causing earthquakes QuakeWatch.net

Home

Photo VOA News
A winter storm expected to barrel into the northern Red River Valley on Monday afternoon and Tuesday is now projected to dump more than a foot of snow on Grand Forks.
Meteorologists are warning eastern North Dakota the first major winter storm of the season could blast the region with 13 inches of snow overnight Monday and throughout Tuesday.
Strong winds could cause blizzard-like conditions Tuesday.
"This thing has ramped up over the past 24 hours," said meteorologist Ryan Knutsvig of the National Weather Service, whose agency projected a maximum of 10 inches of snow Monday morning.
The heaviest snow is expected to fall between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday, when Knutsvig said snow could fall as fast as 2 inches per hour.
Light snow is expected through Tuesday. Meteorologists believe the northern Red River Valley will see 3 to 7 inches of snow overnight Monday and 2 to 4 inches Tuesday.
Grand Forks County is projected to receive 6 to 15 inches of snow, Knutsvig said, with 15 inches described as the "worst-case scenario."
Winds are expected to kick up Tuesday, meteorologists say, and possibly create blizzard conditions. "The main concern is 30- to 40 mile-per-hour winds combined with the snow on the ground, plus what will be falling at that time," Knutsvig said.
He said blizzard conditions are most likely in the Devils Lake area between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday; the northern Red River Valley has its highest blizzard chances between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The snow is forecast to usher in heavy winds from the north, which are expected to push a bitter cold front that will plunge temperatures into the single digits for the remainder of the week.
Knutsvig said the storm system was lingering in the western part of the state in the early afternoon but was beginning to move east rapidly Monday afternoon.
Meteorologists believe the overnight snow will be wet and heavy, with temperatures in the high 20s, but the snowpack is expected to lighten Tuesday as temperatures drop.
The average projected snowfall for Grand Forks is 13 inches, with a foot expected in Devils Lake and in Crookston and Thief River Falls.
"If we have winds like we've been projecting, the drifts could be high," Knutsvig said.
The southern Red River Valley will miss the brunt of the storm, with Fargo expected to receive at least 3 inches of snow and 9 inches at maximum, he said.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation and North Dakota Highway Patrol have issued a no travel advisory for Divide County in northwestern North Dakota beginning at 2 p.m. Monday.

Home