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In this image, taken at night after the tornado passed through Moore, moonlight is illuminating the tops of the storm clouds. Image Credit: William Straka III, University of Wisconsin, CIMSSData Credit: University of Wisconsin
On May 20, 2013, NASA and NOAA satellites were monitoring the weather system that generated severe weather in the south-central United States and spawned the Moore, Oklahoma tornado. This post contains four images from that routine monitoring from space.
A 4.5-m (14.8-ft) white shark removed a 20-kg (44-lb) chunk of flesh, sinew, and blubber from a whale by performing lateral headshakes. Courtesy C. Fallows, et al.
At False Bay, South Africa, great white sharks are infamous for their dramatic attacks on fur seals. They propel from the ocean depths towards their prey at such great speed that they breach the ocean surface, often with a seal clamped between rows of teeth in their enormous mouth. But the seals aren’t the only source of food for the sharks. Scientists have uncovered new evidence that scavenging on dead whales is a little-known but significant food source for great whites.
Hayfield in infrared via Andrew Shurtleff
Andrew Shurtleff’s stunning time-lapse video shows the world as viewed in near-infrared – like a planet painted in pure ice.
Mile-wide tornado spent over an hour on the ground in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, on May 20, 2013. Image is a video still from CBS News.
May 21, 2013, 900 a.m. CDT (May 21 at 1400 UTC) — Officials have now lowered the death toll after a two-mile-wide EF-4 tornado swept through tracts of homes, two schools and a hospital in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, yesterday afternoon. The medical examiner’s office has revised the death toll from an anticipated 91 deaths earlier today, to at least 24 deaths. Officials say the lower number is due to unintentional over-counting of fatalities in the immediate aftermath of the tornado. The National Weather Service said the tornado was on the ground in Moore for 40 minutes. Emergency crews spent last night at a school in Moore, trying to rescue students and staff trapped by falling debris. The tornado turned hundreds of homes in some neighborhoods in Moore – in southwest Oklahoma City – to rubble and set fires. It is reported to have “wiped out entire neighborhoods” and to have left a wide path of debris.
Between 1950-2005, 42% of killer tornadoes occurred at night. Via wwaytv3.com
This post outlines what you need to know to stay safe during a tornado.
The many faces of the harlequin ladybird. Image: Entomart.
Not everyone has what it takes to be a successful invader. Most species that find their way to foreign lands starve, get eaten or otherwise fail to establish themselves in significant numbers. But every so often an organism thrives so well in its new terrain, that it ends up trampling much of the native flora and fauna. The harlequin ladybug is one such formidable conqueror. What’s their secret?
Tornado on May 18, 2013 near Rozel, Kansas. Image Credit: Shalyn Phillips/ TVNweather.com
A very dynamic and strong storm system brought severe weather across the Central United States this past weekend (May 18-19, 2013). The Storm Prediction Center highlighted parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Missouri into a moderate risk to see severe thunderstorms on Sunday, May 19. The entire weekend featured many dangerous storms that produced large hail, strong winds, and violent tornadoes. This post contains videos and photos of tornadoes that pushed through the central U.S. this past weekend. Warning: some are graphic. More severe weather expected today.
Blood Falls seeping into Lake Bonney. A tent can be seen in the lower left for size comparison. Photo from the United States Antarctic Program Photo Library.
In 1911, Australian explorer and geologist Griffith Taylor discovered a strange glacial feature in Antarctica, which is now known as Blood Falls. It’s a bright red waterfall, nearly five stories high, seeping through a crack in Taylor Glacier, which flows into Antarctica’s Lake Bonney. Geologists first believed that the color of the water came from algae, but today the red color is known to be caused by microbes living off sulfur and iron in the oxygen-free water trapped beneath the ice for nearly 2 million years.
On Wednesday (May 15, 2013), severe storms pushed through parts of northern and eastern Texas, causing significant damage and destroying many homes across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Sixteen tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Fort Worth, Texas. But that number could change as the NWS gathers more information regarding the damage that took place. This post includes some of the preliminary findings released by the NWS and shows some of the incredible damage that took place on the evening of May 15, 2013.
Here’s a time-lapse video taken taken from the bridge of a research icebreaker as the ship carves forward through the ice of Antarctica’s Ross Sea. It’s two months of sequences, condensed into less than five minutes. Enjoy the penguin ending …
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