PLANETARY TREMORS: Magnitude 4.0 Earthquake Near Trinidad, Colorado - USGS! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location.

February 7, 2016 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - The United States Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 near Trinidad Saturday afternoon.

The quake hit 26 miles west-southwest of Trinidad around 4:09 p.m., according to the USGS.

USGS shakemap intensity.

Time

1. 2016-02-06 23:09:10 (UTC)
2. 2016-02-06 18:09:10 (UTC-05:00) in your timezone
3. Times in other timezones

Nearby Cities

1. 42km (26mi) WSW of Trinidad, Colorado
2. 134km (83mi) SSW of Pueblo, Colorado
3. 142km (88mi) S of Pueblo West, Colorado
4. 152km (94mi) S of Canon City, Colorado
5. 177km (110mi) NNE of Santa Fe, New Mexico

- Denver Post.

Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Natural Occurring Earthquake Activity
Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 500 km (300 mi) from its source. Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America.

USGS seismic map.

Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep. Few earthquakes east of the Rockies, however, have been definitely linked to mapped geologic faults, in contrast to the situation at plate boundaries such as California's San Andreas fault system, where scientists can commonly use geologic evidence to identify a fault that has produced a large earthquake and that is likely to produce large future earthquakes. Scientists who study eastern and central North America earthquakes often work from the hypothesis that modern earthquakes occur as the result of slip on preexisting faults that were formed in earlier geologic eras and that have been reactivated under the current stress conditions. The bedrock of Eastern North America is, however, laced with faults that were active in earlier geologic eras, and few of these faults are known to have been active in the current geologic era. In most areas east of the Rockies, the likelihood of future damaging earthquakes is currently estimated from the frequencies and sizes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes or earthquakes documented in historical records.

USGS seismic hazard map.

Induced Seismicity
As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region.

For More Information
Additional earthquake information for Colorado


- USGS.

EXTREME WEATHER: More Severe Storms Sweep Through Texas And Oklahoma, Spawning Over Two Dozen Tornadoes - Lightning Filmed In Slow Motion Over Norman, Oklahoma!

Tornado seen rolling across TX plains

May 20, 2015 - TEXAS/OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - Damaging storms swept across Texas and Oklahoma Tuesday, spawning more than two dozen reported tornadoes in the two states. Flash flooding also disrupted road travel in parts of the region.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, 27 reported tornadoes were spotted from Tuesday through early Wednesday morning. These reports will need to be surveyed and confirmed; crews from the National Weather Service will review the damage and determine how many tornadoes were actually in progress during this event.


 WATCH: Tornado damages hotel in Giddings, Texas.

The greatest concentration of tornadoes was in north Texas and southern Oklahoma, in a region generally northwest of Fort Worth and southwest of Oklahoma City.

One of those tornadoes struck Mineral Wells, Texas, Tuesday evening before sunset with reports of a roof collapse of a vacated bank building downtown. Photos from the scene showed damage to some awnings downtown, and large tree limbs were snapped in parts of the city.



A possible tornado caused structural damage to several condos in Runaway Bay, Texas. Resident Brad Snodgrass took shelter with neighbors as the storm bore down on the city, but before hunkering down, he could hear the strong winds from the storm's rotation, according to CBS DFW.

"We don't know what's left upstairs," Snodgrass told CBS DFW. "Probably nothing, because the roof's completely gone."

Here's a look just south of Bridgeport. Piles of debris leftover from last night's severe weather. #txwx #dfwwx
Lexy Cruz

Wise County emergency managers said residential structures collapsed and large trees and power lines were knocked down in the small hamlet of Boonsville, a few miles south of Runaway Bay. Storm damage was also reported in Bridgeport, where firefighters confirmed to NBC DFW that more than a dozen homes and mobile homes were damaged and one person was injured.

Chopper 5 and @AmesChopper5 flying above Runaway Bay in Wise Co. Tornado destroyed this home last night.
Grant Johnston

In Giddings, Texas, which is around 60 miles east of Austin, an EF0 tornado struck and left at least one person injured. A Ramada Inn was damaged by the short-lived twister.

"Early (Tuesday) afternoon a tornado developed near Giddings, Texas, and there were also a couple of reports of funnel clouds in the area. A remnant outflow boundary may have helped in the formation of the tornado and funnel clouds," weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam said.

KEYE reports that a Giddings man was injured when the tornado sent debris through a window and hit his face. The man's injuries are non-life threatening.

8pm Mineral Wells
Lesliegarcia

Tornadoes were spotted near Purcell and Lexington, Oklahoma, south of Norman. There were no immediate reports of damage. Other tornadoes were sighted south of Dallas near Waxahachie, Texas, and in remote areas of southwest Texas. These too appeared to touch down without striking any structures.

Damage from downtown #MineralWells. Pic courtesy @mwindex. #txwx
Brian James

Flash flood warnings were issued for Wise and several nearby counties as thunderstorms repeatedly moved over the area. Radar estimated more than 6 inches of rainfall in areas of Wise County that also reported damage from possible tornadoes.

Flooding was also a problem in Oklahoma. Roads were closed late Tuesday night throughout many areas in Oklahoma due to high water or flood damage, according to Oklahoma Department of Transportation. To check current road conditions, call (888) 425-2385 or check the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety's web site


- The Weather Channel.

Lightning filmed in slow motion over Norman, Oklahoma

Lightning strikes over Norman.  © Matt Skuta

An Oklahoma videographer shared slow-motion footage of lightning strikes over Norman during the weekend's severe storms.

Matt Skuta captured video of the storm, which passed over Oklahoma and nearby states Saturday, and slowed down the footage to show how the lightning passes across the sky.

The Saturday storm, which Skuta filmed over the city of Norman, was part of a severe weather system that also included tornadoes touching down in the state.


 WATCH: Lightning filmed in slow motion over Norman, Oklahoma.

- UPI.

EXTREME WEATHER: Storm Chasers Blasted By Baseball-Sized Hail While Filming Tornado In Elmer, Oklahoma!

May 19, 2015 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - As if driving through America's Tornado Alley wasn't hard enough, try dodging hail stones the size of baseballs.

Two wild-weather researchers have recorded their harrowing escape from a supercell tornado they were monitoring in the US state of Oklahoma.

The researchers were driving as they filmed some roiling clouds off in the distance, near the town of Elmer, when a vortex of air and moisture combined and started hurling large chunks of ice at them.



WATCH: Tornado and hail storm in Elmer, Oklahoma.

Loud blows start to rock their car and soon their windscreen is smashed by two large hail stones. "Whoa, there goes the windshield," says one of the researchers.

"We are getting demolished here," the other says, with glass all over him.

The video posted by Midwest Storm Chasers and Researchers later shows the chasers watching the storm from a safe distance, trying to figure out where the next twister might form and how they could avoid it.

This particular tornado was caused by a storm system that pushed cold air from the Rocky Mountains east across the lower, warmer air of the Plains States.

It was one of 28 tornados reported over the weekend in nine US states. - 9 News.

 

PLANETARY TREMORS: Major Global Seismic Uptick As The Celestial Black Event Nears - EXTREMELY RARE 4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Michigan; Largest Tremor In The State Since 1947; Felt In Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin And Ontario! [MAPS + TECTONIC SUMMARY]

USGS earthquake location map.

May 2, 2015 - MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES - No injuries or damages were reported today after a magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattled Michigan and surrounding states shortly after noon today.

John Bellini, a geophysist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Goldon, Colo., said the earthquake's epicenter was roughly five miles south of Galesburg, or nine miles southeast of Kalamazoo in central Michigan.

He said the earthquake at 12:23 p.m. could be felt widely across lower portions of the state and into northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, eastern Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin, and western Ontario.

USGS earthquake location map.

Gov. Rick Snyder's office said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

Bellini said Michigan has had only one other earthquake of this magnitude, a 4.6 earthquake that shook the state in August 1947. Its epicenter was close to Saturday's - about 30 miles to the southeast.

He said earthquakes of this magnitude are capable of causing minor damages, such as knocking items from shelves, cracking plaster or windows, or damaging brickwork or chimneys on older buildings.

He called today's earthquake "quite uncommon. Michigan doesn't get a lot of large earthquakes."

Since 1973, the state has had only two other recorded earthquakes - one in the western reaches of the Upper Peninsula, the other in central Michigan. He said dates for those quakes were not available.

He said he would not be surprised if Michigan has no aftershocks, or a few small ones that would not be felt.

USGS shakemap intensity.

Earthquakes tend to cause major damage beginning at a magnitude of 5.

"It is rare for Michigan to experience earthquakes," Snyder said in a statement, "but as we were reminded today, it does happen."

Snyder's office said Michigan State Police continues to monitor the situation.

Social media is buzzing with reports of the earthquake. Michigan residents reported feeling the earth shake in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Troy.

Residents report that they felt it last for a few seconds. Some say their house shook; others said it startled their pets. We've compiled some tweets of their accounts below.

- Detroit Free Press.

Tectonic Summary - Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Natural Occurring Earthquake Activity

Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 500 km (300 mi) from its source. Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America.

Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep. Few earthquakes east of the Rockies, however, have been definitely linked to mapped geologic faults, in contrast to the situation at plate boundaries such as California's San Andreas fault system, where scientists can commonly use geologic evidence to identify a fault that has produced a large earthquake and that is likely to produce large future earthquakes. Scientists who study eastern and central North America earthquakes often work from the hypothesis that modern earthquakes occur as the result of slip on preexisting faults that were formed in earlier geologic eras and that have been reactivated under the current stress conditions. The bedrock of Eastern North America is, however, laced with faults that were active in earlier geologic eras, and few of these faults are known to have been active in the current geologic era. In most areas east of the Rockies, the likelihood of future damaging earthquakes is currently estimated from the frequencies and sizes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes or earthquakes documented in historical records.

Induced Seismicity

As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region.

For More Information

• Additional earthquake information for Michigan

- USGS.

EXTREME WEATHER: Hurricane-Force Winds Whip Cody, Wyoming - Knocking Out Power, Breaking Windows!

November 30, 2014 - WYOMING, UNITED STATES - The small town of Cody, Wyoming, was taken by surprise when hurricane-force winds whipped the area, causing power outages, uprooting a power pole and transformers and blowing out windows.

A neighborhood of about 100 homes experienced power outages that lasted for a few hours, the Associated Press reported.

Power was also cut to businesses and a streetlight downtown for four hours, according to the Cody Enterprise.

A 40-foot Colorado Spruce was downed on the Visitor Center, the Cody Enterprise also noted. Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown offered an update on the situtation, "We all have to be respectful of Mother Nature.

We’re taking care of everything as quickly as we can to make sure people are safe and comfortable."

 The wind gusts the area experienced were powerful, as weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam described, “Chinook winds developed along parts of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains on Friday.

This strong downslope wind brought wind gusts of over 80 mph to some locations.

As the wind comes down the leeward side of the Rocky Mountains the dry air warms.

The warm and gusty winds ahead of an approaching cold front resulted in some record and near-record warm temperatures as well."

The winds were strong enough to knock out two storm windows in a home, the Associated Press said.

The winds also rattled the windows of city hall and interrupted its phone services, the Cody Enterprise reported.

Black Friday shoppers were inconvenienced as Walmart asked shoppers to return carts inside the store in order to avoid damage to cars parked outside, said the Cody Enterprise.

The highest wind gust reported was 117 mph near Clark, Wyoming, and the high wind warnings continue into Sunday for parts of Wyoming and Colorado. - TWC.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: "Unusually Severe Declines" - The Warmer Springs Are Causing The Loss Of Snow Cover Throughout The Rocky Mountains?!

May 17, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Warmer spring temperatures since 1980 are causing an estimated 20 percent loss of snow cover across the Rocky Mountains of western North America, according to a new study.

The research builds upon a previous snowpack investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that showed that, until the 1980s, the northern Rocky Mountains experienced large snowpacks when the central and southern Rockies experienced meager ones, and vice versa. Yet, since the 1980s, there have been simultaneous snowpack declines along the entire length of the Rocky Mountains, and unusually severe declines in the north, the earlier investigation showed.

A new study of the Rocky Mountains finds that, since 1980, warmer spring temperatures have reduced snow cover throughout the range. Credit: Jeremy Littell.

Now, the new study, also by USGS scientists, has teased apart and quantified the different influences of winter temperature, spring temperature, and precipitation on historic snowpack variations and trends in the region. To distinguish those varying influences, the researchers implemented a regional snow model that uses inputs of monthly temperature and precipitation data from 1895 to 2011.

"Each year we looked at temperature and precipitation variations and the amount of water contained within the snowpack as of April," said Greg Pederson of the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Bozeman, Mont., who is the lead author of the study.

"Snow deficits were consistent throughout the Rockies due to the lack of precipitation during the cool seasons during the 1930s - coinciding with the Dust Bowl era. From 1980 on, warmer spring temperatures melted snowpack throughout the Rockies early, regardless of winter precipitation. The model in turn shows temperature as the major driving factor in snowpack declines over the past thirty years."

Pederson and his colleagues present their new findings in an article in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Runoff from Rocky Mountain winter snowpack accounts for 60 to 80 percent of the annual water supply for more than 70 million people living in the western U.S., and is influenced by the snowpack's water content, known as snow water equivalent, and the timing of snowmelt.

The timing of snowmelt affects not only when water is available for crop irrigation and energy production from hydroelectric dams, but also the risk of regional floods and wildfires. Earlier and faster snowmelt could have repercussions for water supply, risk management, and ecosystem health in western watersheds.

Regional snowpack accumulation is highly sensitive to variations in both temperature and precipitation over time. Patterns and sources of these variations are difficult to discern due to complex mountain topography, the different influence of Pacific Ocean climate, like La Nina and El Nino, on winter precipitation in the northern versus southern and central Rockies, and the brevity and patchiness of detailed snow records.

In the new study, the regional snow model used by Pederson and his USGS colleagues Julio Betancourt, and Greg McCabe allows estimation of snow water and cover variability at different latitudes and elevations during the last century regardless of the absence of direct and long-term observations everywhere.

Recent snowpack variations also were evaluated in the context of snowpack evidence from tree-rings, allowing the scientists to compare recent observations to measurements from the past 800 years.

McCabe explains that "recent springtime warming also reduced the extent of snow cover at low to middle elevations where temperature has had the greatest impact."

"Both natural variability in temperature and anthropogenic warming have contributed to the recent snowpack decline, though disentangling their influences exactly remains elusive," Betancourt said.

"Regardless of the ultimate causes, continuation of present snowpack trends in the Rocky Mountains will pose difficult challenges for watershed management and conventional water planning in the American West." - Terra Daily.

EXTREME WEATHER ANOMALIES: America Under Attack - Severe Weather Slams The United States; May Has Unleashed Snow, Floods, And Wildfires?!

May 08, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The start of May has been a strange one for the USA. It seems that nature can’t decide if it’s winter or summer.

Hundreds of residents have been forced to leave their homes as strong winds fan the flames of the wildfires.
[AFP]

Heavy rain has flooded parts of Key West in southern Florida. Two days of torrential downpours have led to flooding and in the last 24 hours, 109mm more rain fell across the island.

The rain has flooded homes and businesses and forced the closure of a number of roads.

Whilst rain is the problem in Florida, elsewhere winter is still winning. Heavy snow has smothered parts of the Plains and the Midwest.

Some of the worst weather was in the state of Minnesota, where the snow set new records.

20cm blanketed Rochester, Minnesota, four times the previous May snowfall, and in Owatonna, just 65 kilometres away, unofficial reports suggest that 40cm of snow fell from the system.

This snowfall is just the latest in a series of wintry weather systems which have brought late snow to the region.

However, while the Plains and the Midwest are enduring an elongated spell of wintry weather, in the west, winter has given way to an early start to the summer fire season.

Three separate wildfires have threatened hundreds of homes, forcing residents to evacuate as strong winds fanned the flames.

When the winds come from the northeast, they are very dry, having lost all their moisture passing over the enormous Rocky mountains.

These dry, brisk winds, known as the Santa Ana winds, have been gusting up to 80 kph in recent days, fanning and spreading the fires.

Wildfires are more common in the summer months. This year the flames have started early, and the fear is that California could be in for a long and disastrous fire season this year. - Aljazeera.

STORM ALERT: Another Stormy Week is in Store For the United States West Coast!

Fig. 1: An array of watches and warnings are in
effect for the south Oregon and north California area.
Credit: NOAA/NWS.

November 30, 2012 - UNITED STATES - Thursday (Nov. 29, 2012) marks the one-month anniversary of Hurricane/Storm Sandy’s landfall on the New Jersey coast. Since that time, a “nor’easter” has brought rain, snow and wind to parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast and a monster storm has deluged the Pacific Northwest with widespread, heavy rainfall, mountain snow and high winds.

Now another storm is knocking on the door ready to bring widespread high winds, torrential rains and heavy mountain snowfall to Oregon and northern California (Fig. 1). This storminess, part of a larger storm system covering much of the Gulf of Alaska (Fig. 2), will be slamming into the northern California – southern Oregon area later today through Friday.

Fig. 2: Satellite derived winds atop a water vapor satellite
image showcase the size and scope of the major
Gulf of Alaska storm. Credit: University of Wisconsin - SSEC.

Computer models yield a large area of 10-inch rainfall (Fig. 3). Forecasters, recognizing the localized effects of the region’s topography and the strong upslope wind component, are indicating that as much as 20 inches of rainfall (either actual precipitation or melted liquid equivalent) will result, especially in mountain areas. This could translate into 20 feet of snow at the highest mountain elevations! Foothill regions can expect six to 10 inches of rainfall; even valley areas can see as much as half a foot of mostly welcome liquid precipitation.

Fig. 3: Five-day rainfall forecast showing excessive rainfall
 is on tap for the western U.S. Much of the rainfall is expected
to fall during the next three days. Credit: NOAA/NWS.

Since many reservoirs are far from being full, the precipitation is mostly welcome. However, in areas recently burned by wildfires, there is a significant risk of mud and debris flows. Urban, small stream and underpass flooding is also anticipated. Due to relatively warm temperatures, snow will most likely fall at elevations above mountain pass levels through the Cascade, Siskiyou and northern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Strong southerly winds (gusts as much as 60 to 70 miles per hour in mountain areas and gusts to 45 to 50 miles per hour in lower elevations) will also lead to downed trees and limbs and associated power outages. Along the coast and offshore, high winds will generate large waves and swells. Storm warnings are in effect along the Oregon Coast with gale warnings posted along the entire West Coast (except extreme southern California).

Fig. 4: Surface weather map forecast for Wednesday
evening, Nov. 28, 2012. Credit: NOAA/NWS.

Even areas near southern Alaska are looking for winds up to gale force as the intense Gulf of Alaska low spins in nearly the same spot for the next three to four days. In fact, the central pressure of this low (expected to remain near 28.56 inches of mercury or 967 millibars) is not far away from the central pressure of Hurricane/Storm Sandy as she approached the New Jersey Coast last month (27.76 inches of mercury or 940 millibars).

For comparison, average global sea level pressure is 29.92 inches of mercury (1013 millibars). While all this weather action is taking place on the west coast, an upper level ridge will keep much of the Rocky Mountain region and the central U.S. dry, while bringing cooler than average weather to much of the eastern states (Fig. 4). Having a significant storm or hurricane (like Sandy) affect some part of the U.S. (a rather large land area – 3,794,000 square miles, including Alaska) during a week to 10-day period is not unusual. Balancing this is that when a stormy event occurs somewhere in the U.S., much of the rest of the Nation enjoys much more tranquil weather. - Examiner.

EXTREME WEATHER: Above-Normal Temperatures - Warmest May to April Ever For the United States!

The contiguous U.S. states posted record warmth from May 2011 through April, and drought conditions spread across more than a third of this area during the first months of 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Tuesday. 

The contiguous United States had a national average temperature of 55.7 F (13.2 C) from May 2011 to April 2012, 2.8 F (1.6 C) above the 20th century average, NOAA said in a statement.  It was the warmest ever May-to-April period in the lower 48 states. It included the second-hottest summer, fourth-warmest winter and the warmest March. Twenty-two states posted record warmth for the period.  The first four months of the 2012 were the warmest on record. The average temperature for the contiguous states during these months was 45.4 F (7.4 C), 5.4 F (3 C) above normal. 

Twenty-six states, all east of the Rocky Mountains, had record warmth for the May-April period, NOAA said. U.S. temperatures for April were the third-warmest on record.  The agency said 38.2 percent of the contiguous United States was experiencing drought conditions as of May 1, up from 31.9 percent at the start of the year. Drought worsened across the Northeast, Southeast and the interior West.  The U.S. Climate Extremes Index was a record 42 percent for the first four months of the year, more than twice the average value. The index tracks the highest and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought and tropical cyclones across the 48 states. - Reuters.

EXTREME WEATHER ANOMALIES: NOAA's State of the Climate Report - March Was an Epically Weird Weather Month?!

March was a whole new breed of insane for the record books according to NOAA's State of the Climate report for the month. First up, the mega tornado outbreak early in the month spawned 2012's first billion-dollar disaster, as w armer-than-average conditions created a juicy environment for severe weather.

There were 223 preliminary tornado reports in March, a month that averages 80 tornadoes. The majority occurred during the 2-3 March outbreak across the Ohio Valley and the Southeast. Forty people died and damages exceeded $1.5 billion. Other March highlights: • It was the warmest March on record for the contiguous United States, a record that dates back to 1895. • The average temperature of 51.1 degrees F was 8.6 degrees F above the 20th century average for March and 0.5 degrees F warmer than the previous warmest March in 1910. • Of the more than 1,400 months that have passed since the U.S. record began, only one month, January 2006, saw a larger departure from its average temperature than March 2012. The March craziness was due to a persistent weather pattern that put a kink in the jet stream and kept cold away from the eastern two-thirds of the Lower 48. In the wind map above (click for amazing animation), you can see how this pattern formed a cut-off low: an atmospheric eddy, like an oxbow in a river, visible in the swirl of winds around Dallas. Here's how Martin Hoerling of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory describes the results of that kinky pattern:

Nature's exuberant smashing of daily high temperature records in recent weeks can only be described as "Meteorological March Madness". Conditions more fitting of June than March prevailed east of the Rocky Mountains since the start of the month. The numbers are stunning. Take, for example, the nine consecutive record high temperatures in Chicago from 14-22 March, eight of which saw the mercury eclipse 80°F. For those unfamiliar with the area's climatology, high temperatures do not normally begin exceeding 80°F until after commencement of the Summer solstice. NOAA's National Climate Data Center reported that over 7000 daily record high temperatures were broken over the U.S. from 1 March thru 27 March. With beachgoers flocking to the balmy shores of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire this week, one wonders if a new normal is emerging for the preferred destination of Spring-break revelers.

The same pattern brought cooler-than-average conditions to the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon, and California. Nevertheless: • Every state in the nation experienced a record warm daily temperature during March. • Preliminary data show 15,272 warm temperature records broken (7,755 daytime records, 7,517 nighttime records). • Hundreds of locations across the country broke their all-time March records. • There were an unbelievable 21 instances of nighttime temperatures being as warm, or warmer, than the existing record daytime temperature for that date. It wasn't only about temperature either. Precipitation was anomalous throughout much of the country too, as you can see in the map above... really wet or really dry compared to the 1981-2010 average, with not a whole lot in between. In fact the entirety of the so-called cold season that spanned October 2011 to March 2012 was whack. According to NOAA's US Climate Extremes Index (USCEI)—which tracks the highest and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought, and tropical cyclones across the contiguous US—38 percent of the contiguous US racked up the second highest USCEI rank on record: • A record 100 percent of the Northeast and Upper Midwest regions were walloped by extremes in both warm maximum and warm minimum temperatures.  • Between 90 and 100 percent of the Ohio Valley and the Southeast experience record extreme temperatures between October 2011 and March 2102. - Mother Jones.

PLANETARY TREMORS: The Rio Grande Rift Geological Deformation - GPS Uncovers Possible Southwest Earthquake Risk as the Rift Extends Across 370 Miles (600 Kilometers)!

The U.S. Southwest isn't particularly known for its seismic activity, but the Rio Grande Rift, a series of faults and basins that runs from central Colorado south through New Mexico, is alive and stretching, new research shows.

Scientists had suspected the rift might be dead, but measurements of its movement varied widely and were riddled with uncertainties. Now, thanks to state-of-the-art GPS technology, geophysicists have found the rift is indeed extending - just very slowly. And of course, anytime a large chunk of the Earth's crust moves, the issue of earthquakes arises. "There's certainly potential for earthquakes in this region," said Anne Sheehan, a seismologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder who co-authored the new study. "They would be very low-probability events but, like all earthquakes, they could have large consequences if they do happen." Not dead, but not thriving

Sheehan began studying the region after noticing something odd in the mantle underlying the Rio Grande Rift. Studies had shown that seismic waves move through this part of the mantle very slowly, hinting that it could be quite hot. It could also mean that the overlying continental crust is spreading apart, Sheehan thought. Using a large network of GPS stations - nearly 300 sites - her team monitored the rift's movement over four years. They found that the rift is in fact spreading very slowly, at a rate of about 0.1 millimeters per year. "That's really pretty small," Sheehan told OurAmazingPlanet. "The rift is not dead, but it's not really thriving either."

More surprisingly, the team found that the spreading isn't focused at the rift itself, but is spread across a span of more than 370 miles (600 kilometers). "That wasn't what we expected, because the deformation at the surface has been along faults that are relatively narrow," said Henry Berglund, a geophysicist at UNAVCO who led the study. "Instead we observed the deformation is likely much broader than that - at least the width of the state of New Mexico."

A real earthquake risk?

As for earthquake risks, Berglund explained, "It's not a predictive tool, but it does tell us that, if the deformation is broader, maybe we're more likely to have earthquakes in more places than we previously expected." There was a magnitude-5.3 quake near Trinidad, Colo., last August, and a larger earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.6 in north-central Colorado in 1882. A magnitude-5.5 quake shook Dulce, N.M., in 1966. Future quakes in the region could also fall in the magnitude-5 or -6 range, but likely not much higher, Sheehan said.

"We can't use this to say we expect to see a big earthquake anywhere in the region," Sheehan cautioned. "But a more worrisome aspect is that we don't really expect earthquakes here, so our building codes aren't as strict as they are in, say, California." The team's findings appear in the January issue of the journal Geology. - Our Amazing Planet.

GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Rio Grande Rift - Scientists and Geologists Declare That the Earth's Crust in New Mexico is Stretching!

The Earth's crust in New Mexico is stretching at a rate of an inch of east-west growth every 40 years, researchers said in a new study.

The Albuquerque Journal reports ( http://bit.ly/yVFpYl ) that scientists have long suspected it was happening because of the way the Rio Grande Rift splits the state down the middle. The rift, a tear in the Earth's crust, defines the state's central mountain chain and the valley the Rio Grande River now follows. Colorado geophysicist Henry Berglund, the lead author of a paper outlining these findings in a recent issue of the journal Geology, said that until scientists began collecting data from their monitoring network in 2006, they had no idea how widespread the stretching was. Instead of two rigid chunks of Earth's crust being torn apart at the rift, with the movement focused there, the new data suggest New Mexico and much of the territory that surrounds it is more like a rubber sheet, stretching uniformly, from Texas and Oklahoma to Arizona.

It is that relatively uniform stretching that caught scientists off guard. "We didn't expect it to be so spread out," said University of Colorado geophysicist Anne Sheehan, a member of the research team. The stretching and straining of Earth's crust is a well-known phenomenon at the edge of continental plates, the big pieces of Earth's crust that are always slowly slipping and sliding around the globe. In places like California, where the San Andreas Fault is actively on the move, the results can be dramatic and easy to detect. Similar monitoring networks have found much more pronounced movement in seismically active places like Japan and New Zealand, Sheehan said. But what happens in continental interiors has been more of a puzzle. There is movement there, but it is slower and more mysterious.

The scientists began deploying their GPS network in 2006 and now have 25 stations in Colorado and New Mexico. Sheehan said one possible explanation for what's driving the stretching is an upwelling in the mantle, the gooey region on which the Earth's rocky crust rides. Mantle movements are often cited to explain movements of the crust above. Another possibility is the crust itself sagging down and stretching in response to past mountain-building episodes, she said. The scientists plan to leave the GPS network in place to look for changes in the stretching over time, Berglund said. They also hope to determine whether Earth's crust is rising or falling across New Mexico. - KRQE.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Scientific Study Reveals Geological Activity Along Rio Grande Rift - Earthquakes Expected in the Region Extending From Colorado to New Mexico!

The Rio Grande Rift, a thinning and stretching of Earth’s surface that extends from Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains to Mexico, is not dead but geologically alive and active, according to a new study involving scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.    

“We don’t expect to see a lot of earthquakes, or big ones, but we will have some earthquakes,” said CU-Boulder geological sciences Professor Anne Sheehan, also a fellow at CIRES. The study also involved collaborators from the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, Utah State University and the Boulder-headquartered UNAVCO. The Rio Grande Rift follows the path of the Rio Grande River from central Colorado roughly to El Paso before turning southeast toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Sheehan was not too surprised when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck about 9 miles west of Trinidad, Colo., in the vicinity of the Rio Grande Rift on Aug. 23, 2011.  The quake was the largest in Colorado since 1967 and was felt from Fort Collins to Garden City, Kan.  Along the rift, spreading motion in the crust has led to the rise of magma -- the molten rock material under Earth’s crust -- to the surface, creating long, fault-bounded basins that are susceptible to earthquakes, said Sheehan, a study co-author and also associate director of the CIRES Solid Earth Sciences Division. The team studied the Rio Grande Rift region to assess the potential earthquake hazards.

Using Global Positioning System instruments at 25 sites in Colorado and New Mexico, the team tracked the rift’s miniscule movements from 2006 to 2011. “Questions we wanted to answer are whether the Rio Grande Rift is alive or dead, how is it deforming and whether it is opening or not,” said Sheehan. 
The high-precision instrumentation has provided unprecedented data about the volcanic activity in the region. Previously, geologists had estimated the rift had spread apart by up to 2 inches or 5 millimeters each year, although the errors introduced by the scientific instruments were known to be significant. “The GPS used in this study has reduced the uncertainty dramatically,” Sheehan said.

Using the latest high-tech instrumentation, the scientists found an average strain rate of 1.2 “nanostrain” each year across the experimental area, the equivalent of about one-twentieth of an inch, or 1.2 millimeters, over a length of about 600 miles.  “The rate is lower than we thought but it does exist,” Sheehan said. The researchers also found the extensional deformation, or stretching, is not concentrated in a narrow zone centered on the Rio Grande Rift but is distributed broadly from the western edge of the Colorado Plateau well into the western Great Plains. “The surprising thing to come out of the study was that the strain was so spread out,” Sheehan said.

Results of the study are published in the January edition of the journal Geology. The team plans to continue monitoring the Rio Grande Rift, probing whether the activity remains constant over time, said lead study author Henry Berglund of UNAVCO, who was a graduate student at CU-Boulder working at CIRES when he completed this portion of the research. Also, the team may attempt to determine vertical as well as horizontal activity in the region to tell whether the Rocky Mountains are still uplifting or not, Berglund said.

“Present-day measurements of deformation within continental interiors have been difficult to capture due to the typically slow rates of deformation within them,” Berglund said. “Now with the recent advances in space geodesy we are finding some very surprising results in these previously unresolved areas.” As far as the potential for future earthquakes in the region, the study’s results are unequivocal, however. “The rift is still active,” Sheehan said. The new study also is co-authored by CU-Boulder Associate Professor and CIRES Fellow Steven Nerem, Frederick Blume of UNAVCO, Anthony Lowry of Utah State University, Mousumi Roy of the University of New Mexico and Mark Murray of New Mexico Tech. Provided by University of Colorado at Boulder. - PHYSORG.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Official - 4 Ohio Fluid-Injection Wells Cannot Open in Wake of Earthquake, Ohio Geologist Says More Tremors Are Possible!

State leaders have ordered that four fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio will be "indefinitely" prohibited from opening in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area, an official said.

Officials have shut down fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio in
the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer had announced on Friday that one such well -- which injects "fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains -- was closed after a series of small earthquakes in and around Youngstown. Then on Saturday, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck that released at least 40 times more energy than any of the previous 10 or more tremors that had rattled the region in 2011. Andy Ware, deputy director of Ohio's natural resources department, told CNN on Sunday that Zehringer and Gov. John Kasich subsequently ordered that four nearby injection well projects will not open in the coming weeks, as had previously been planned. They 'll be inoperational until a determination is made in an investigation of a possible link between the earthquakes and the fluid-injection wells, he added. "They will (not open) until we are satisfied that the process can be safely resumed," said Ware.

Such disposal wells act as a disposal for waste fluid that is a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. That technology involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and allow the oil or gas to flow. Last Friday's order affecting the first well in Youngstown came six days after a magnitude 2.5 earthquake that struck that area around 1:24 a.m. on December 24. After Saturday's larger earthquake, scientists recommended that operations stop at all wells within a 5-mile radius of that original site. "We need to get more information," Ware said. The epicenter for Saturday's tremor was 5 miles northwest of Youngstown, 6 miles southeast of Warren and 55 miles east-southeast of Cleveland, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. According to the preliminary estimate, the earthquake struck 1.4 miles deep. There was a lot of shaking "and a rumbling sound," said Jimmy Hughes, a former Youngstown police chief running for sheriff of Mahoning County. "I could see the house move. ... It seemed like the ground was moving. "

Ohio is far from the edges of Earth's major tectonic plates, with the nearest ones in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Geological Survey explains on its website. Still, there are many known faults in this region, with the federal agency noting that it is likely there are additional "smaller or deeply buried" ones that haven't been detected. While earthquakes are not unprecedented in the area, the rate of them in the past year has been unusual. That fact led Zehringer, the Ohio department head, to act late last week. "While conclusive evidence cannot link the seismic activity to the well, Zehringer has adopted an approach requiring prudence and caution regarding the site," the natural resources department said Friday in a press release, explaining its decision to shut the first well. Ben Lupo -- CEO of D&L Energy, an independent natural gas and oil exploration, production and marketing group that is affiliated with the first well that was closed -- recently told CNN affiliate WKBN that there's full cooperation with experts, though he expressed grave doubts that the injection wells were to blame for the quakes. "We have approximately 1,000 wells between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we've never had a problem ... with an earthquake or spill," Lupo said.

Dr. Won-Young Kim, one of the Columbia University experts asked by the state to examine possible connections between fracking and seismic activity, said that a problem could arise if fluid moves through the ground and affects "a weak fault, waiting to be triggered." He explained the underground waste "slowly migrates" and could cause issues miles away, adding that the danger could persist for some time as the fluid travels and seeps down toward the fault. "In my opinion, yes," the recent spate of earthquakes around Youngstown is related to a fluid-injection well, Kim stated -- though there has been no definitive determination, by the state or other authorities, indicating as much. There have been "moderately frequent" reports of earthquakes in northern Ohio since the first recorded one was reported in 1823, the federal agency noted. A 1986 tremor, measuring magnitude 4.8, caused some damage. Another in 1998 measured a 4.5 and was centered in northwest Pennsylvania. - CNN.

Meanwhile, an Ohio geologist is forecasting that more earthquakes are possible.

Rich Stottlemire of Girard said the cracks in his garage weren't there before Saturday's earthquake. "It's a very aggressive crack right through the foundation." There's more just outside of his front door. "It's kind of scary, it's actually the little things that you know people need to look at," he said. Seismologists determined the epicenter of the earthquake to be less than a tenth of a mile from D & L Energy's brine fluid injection well in Youngstown, which was voluntarily shut down Friday. This earthquake marked the 11th in the Valley since March, all of them within two miles of that well. "This idea that humans injecting fluids can cause earthquakes is not new," says Dr. Ray Beiersdorfer, a professor of geology at Youngstown State University. He said it's happened in other parts of the country. "What happens is the water acts as a lubricant so they are pumping water down at about 9,000 feet, and it was working it's way down in and it wound up serving as a lubricant, which then reduced the friction and we had the earthquake. This isn't the first time. About 300 million years ago when the rocks at Mill Creek Park were deposited, it's thought that these ancient faults were activated then and now they're being reactivated today." Following Saturday's earthquake, Governor John Kasich issued a ban on all injection well operations within a five-mile radius of the Youngstown D & L well. That ban will remain in effect until O.D.N.R. can further assess the situation. We contacted the C.E.O. of D & L Energy to see if he wanted to comment. He told us he's personally meeting with O.D.N.R. officials later this week and will make a statement once he himself has more information. - WYTV.

PLANETARY TREMORS: 4.0 Earthquake Strikes in Northeast Ohio - Loud Boom, Shaking and Rumbling Rattle Residents!

The latest in a series of minor earthquakes in northeast Ohio hit on Saturday, sending some stunned residents running for cover as bookshelves shook and pictures and lamps fell from tables.

The 4.0 magnitude quake struck Saturday afternoon in McDonald, outside of Youngstown, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Area residents said a loud boom accompanied the shaking, but sheriff's dispatchers from several counties in the area said there were no immediate reports of damage. A few miles from the epicenter, Charles Kihm said he was preparing food in his kitchen when he heard a noise and thought a vehicle had hit his Austintown home. "It really shook, and it rumbled, like there was a sound," said Kihm, 82. "It was loud. It didn't last long. But it really scared me." The area has experienced at least 10 minor quakes in 2011, though Saturday's temblor appeared to be stronger than others, which generally had a magnitude of 2.7 or lower. This time, some residents reported feeling trembling farther south into Columbiana County and east into western Pennsylvania.

Many of the quakes have struck near an injection well used to dispose of brine water that's a byproduct of oil and gas drilling. Thousands of gallons of brine are injected into the well daily, and much of it is shipped in from out of state. Its owner, Northstar Disposal Services LLC, has agreed to stop injecting brine into the earth as a precaution while authorities assess any potential links to the quakes. The head of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said research hadn't led to a direct correlation with the injections but officials wouldn't gamble with public safety. There are 177 similar injection wells around the state, and the Youngtown-area well has been the only site with seismic activity, the department said. Patti Gorcheff, who lives about 15 miles from the epicenter, said her dogs started barking inexplicably Saturday and the ornaments on her Christmas tree began to shake. Her husband thought he heard the sound of some sort of blast. "This is the biggest one we've had so far," said Gorcheff, a North Lima resident who has raised concerns about quakes and drilling-related activity in the region. "I hope this is a wake-up call." - USA Today.

According to the USGS, the Northeast Ohio seismic zone has had moderately frequent earthquakes at least since the first one was reported in 1823. The largest earthquake (magnitude 4.8) caused damage in 1986 in northeasternmost Ohio, and the most recent damaging shock (magnitude 4.5) occurred in 1998 at the seismic zone's eastern edge in northwestern Pennsylvania. Earthquakes too small to cause damage are felt two or three times per decade. Earthquakes in the central and eastern U.S., although less frequent than in the western U.S., are typically felt over a much broader region. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area as much as ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi).

Earthquakes everywhere occur on faults within bedrock, usually miles deep. Most of the seismic zone's bedrock was formed as several generations of mountains rose and were eroded down again over the last billion or more years. At well-studied plate boundaries like the San Andreas fault system in California, often scientists can determine the name of the specific fault that is responsible for an earthquake. In contrast, east of the Rocky Mountains this is rarely the case. The Northeast Ohio seismic zone is far from the nearest plate boundaries, which are in the center of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea. The seismic zone is laced with known faults but numerous smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected. Even the known faults are poorly located at earthquake depths. Accordingly, few, if any, earthquakes in the seismic zone can be linked to named faults. It is difficult to determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an earthquake. As in most other areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to earthquake hazards in the Northeast Ohio seismic zone is the earthquakes themselves.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Unusual UFO-Shaped Standing Waves - Extraordinary and Rare Cloud Formation is Photographed in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom!

Rare lenticular clouds which are mostly seen near large mountainous areas such as the Himalayas and Rocky Mountains were photographed by local people across West Yorkshire on 22 December.

WATCH: BBC weather broadcaster Carol Kirkwood explains how the phenomenon occurs.

THE GREAT DELUGE: Historic Flood Waters in South Sioux City!

Crews in South Sioux City capped sanitary sewer lines Tuesday to protect a vital lift station from being overworked by floodwaters as the Missouri River continued its historic rise.

Authorities say they suspected something was amiss when one of the city's two lift stations began Monday afternoon sending an abnormally large amount of wastewater to Sioux City for treatment. South Sioux City Public Works Director Paul Nolan said the lift station near the Marina Inn and Conference Center was sending 2,000 to 2,500 gallons per minute - more than twice its normal flow - to Sioux City. Officials suspected floodwater was the culprit and fixed the problem by capping sanitary sewer lines in the flooded Scenic Park Campground, Nolan said. They also plugged lines at the Norm Waitt Sr. YMCA, which relocated operations to Long Lines Family Rec Center when the flooding began. "While they weren't contributing anything to that flow, we plugged those so we don't back up any wastewater into that facility," Nolan said. He said flows were back down to an acceptable range by Tuesday afternoon. The flows had been increasing gradually for some time, Nolan said, but had reached a point that crews needed to find the source so the volume didn't overwhelm the station that serves 75 percent of South Sioux City.

"It's a big part of the community," Nolan said. It wasn't the only repair crews have made in recent days. Dakota County Emergency Manager Pat Foust said contractors repaired a barrier Monday that was built to protect a utility box near West Third Street. The barrier was leaking water, but National Guard soldiers spotted the problem and it was repaired before the box was damaged, he said. The Missouri River has risen above 35 feet in Sioux City. Flood stage is 30 feet. Officials expect the high water to remain in Sioux City for the rest of the summer due to continued record discharges from dams on the Missouri River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered the releases to relieve pressure from heavy rains in Western states and deep snow in the Rocky Mountains. The rate was increased last week to 160,000 cubic feet per second from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, S.D., and others, to handle runoff from heavy rains. Jody Farhat, chief of the corps Missouri River Basin Management division, said releases from Gavins Point remained at 160,000 cubic feet per second on Tuesday. Officials at the corps plan to continue that rate through mid-August. - Sioux City Journal.

WATCH: Eyewitness capture of the Missouri River engulfing South Sioux City, taken several days ago.

THE DELUGE: 300-Foot Hole Breach Torn In Missouri River Levee!

Parts of Iowa are bracing for flash flooding after a 300-foot hole was torn in the Missouri River's levee within minutes. The National Weather Service has warned residents of Hamburg and parts of Interstate 29 to prepare for a deluge as the swollen Missouri is expected to rise to record levels and stay there for weeks. The flooding along the Missouri has already displaced thousands of people in South Dakota and threatens to add to the misery downstream in the Mississippi Valley, where record floods earlier this year caused billions of dollars in damage.

Federal officials say the swollen Missouri River has punched a nearly 300-foot hole into a levee near the southwest Iowa town of Hamburg, and powerful floodwaters are continuing to widen the breach. It's one of two levees that ruptured along the river Monday morning, sending torrents of water over rural farmland toward Hamburg and the Missouri resort town of Big Lake. Officials originally estimated that the levee just south of Hamburg had a 50-foot hole, but it had grown to nearly 300 feet by Monday evening. Floodwaters are expected by Wednesday to reach the top of a secondary levee protecting Hamburg, home to about 1,100 people. The Army Corps of Engineers says crews are working to add another 3 feet to that levee. If it breaks, parts of Hamburg could be under 10 feet of standing water.

The rising Missouri River ruptured two levees in northwest Missouri on Monday, sending torrents of flood waters over rural farmland toward a small town in Iowa and a resort community in Missouri. Water rushing from a 50-foot-wide hole in a levee near the southwest Iowa town of Hamburg was expected to reach a secondary levee built to protect the town of about 1,100 people by Tuesday. If that levee fails, parts of Hamburg could be under as much as 10 feet of standing water, officials said. Terry Holliman, who owns an auto parts store in Hamburg, said water was shooting into farmland near one of three spots where the levee had previously leaked. "It's impressive," Holliman said. "The force is unbelievable." Across the border in Missouri, the river punched a 225-foot-wide hole through a levee about 45 miles south near Big Lake in Holt County. The roughly 30 residents who stayed in the resort town after the river started rising were told to leave Monday.

The Army Corps of Engineers has steadily increased the amount of water it is releasing from dams along the Missouri River to account for excess water from heavy spring rains in the Upper Plains and to clear out space for above-average snowmelt coming down from the Rockies. Releases from the Missouri's five lower dams should reach 150,000 cubic feet of water per second Tuesday — more than twice the previous record releases. The swollen Missouri River has already flooded several areas in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, and officials predict the problems will linger through the summer. - Yahoo.

THE DELUGE: 2 Missouri River levees break at Iowa-Missouri border!

Two Missouri River levees broke Monday along the swollen Missouri River near the Iowa-Missouri border, a local official and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

The first breach, which was some 300 feet wide and growing, was a "full breach," the Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement. The break was in Atchison County, Missouri, just south of Hamburg, Iowa, it said. The National Weather Service warned that flooding could affect Interstate 29 and the town of Hamburg. "The concern is that anybody ... near the river would see some floodwaters that could impact either their road or homes," said David Pearson with the National Weather Service in Omaha, Nebraska. The second breach was located just south of Atchison, in Holt County, Missouri, said Holt County clerk Kathy Kunkel.

She said flooding was affecting farmland. A breach earlier this month prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people in the Hamburg area as a precaution. No evacuations were immediately recommended or ordered as a result of Monday's breaches, officials said. However, "people's safety is our number one concern, so we want to stress how important it is for the public to stay off these levees as we continue to assess the risk," said Omaha Corps District Commander Col. Bob Ruch. The breach near Hamburg was deemed too substantial to repair, said Pearson. "The next step is to attempt to mitigate the flooding with another levee between the one that failed and Hamburg." - CNN.

WATCH: Raw video of river levee crumbling on camera.

WATCH: Hamburg has hours to evacuate after levee breach.