PLANETARY TREMORS: "Tectonically Active" - Swarm Of Small Earthquakes Hit Northwestern Arizona!

Arizona has been hit by nearly 20 earthquakes since March 29th. The tremors have ranged from magnitude 0.7 to magnitude 2.6. (KGUN/Inform)

April 7, 2016 - ARIZONA, UNITED STATES - A series of small earthquakes swarmed the state's northwest corner after an initial magnitude 2.3 earthquake on the Arizona strip March 29, officials said Tuesday.

The earthquake that struck near Littlefield, Ariz., a community about 20 miles southwest of St. George, Utah, was the first of 18 small-magnitude tremors that lasted through Sunday, according to the Arizona Geological Survey.

The largest event was a 2.6 magnitude quake at about 8:36 a.m. Sunday. The Arizona Geological Survey has not reported any injuries or damage from the series of tremors.

While the amount of quakes to hit the area may seem unusual, Geological Survey researcher Michael Conway said the state has seen swarms before.

Conway said the area is "tectonically active," but this was the first time a swarm has been recorded in the northwest corner of the state, bordering Utah and Nevada.

"Active faults in the vicinity of the earthquake swarm include the Mesquite/Overton Arm," according to an Arizona Geological Survey statement. The area has extensive earthquake history.

The tremors were large enough to register with the seismometers installed in the area but small enough to go unnoticed, Conway said.

He pointed out that the Geological Survey has a duty to record, catalog and remind people that Arizona experiences at least 100 small quakes each year.

According to Conway, there hasn't been significant technological advances that can predict naturally occurring quakes, but researchers have been able to predict induced tremors in Oklahoma and Texas likely due to fracking.

There have been moderate-sized earthquakes closer to Phoenix, including the Nov. 2, 2015, quake in Black Canyon City, which had a 4.1 magnitude.

Conway advised that if an earthquake happens, "you drop down, get under a desk and hold on." - AZ Central.

ICE AGE NOW: Global Cooling Continues Relentlessly - Ontario, Canada Breaks Cold Temperature Records For Spring!

Ontario's long cold winter isn't over yet, even if spring has officially sprung

April 7, 2016 - ONTARIO, CANADA - After a mild winter where temperatures in Ontario more typical of April often appeared, a large arctic high-pressure area sent temperatures plummeting to values more typical of mid-winter on April 5.

As a result of unseasonable cold, new record low minimums were set in a number of localities across Southern and Northeastern Ontario.

"We used up some of our spring-like weather too early, and now we're paying for it," Environment Canada Meteorologist Geoff Coulson said. Coulson added that cold temperatures can be blamed on a combination of a weakening El Niño and polar vortex coming down south.

Deep freeze breaking southern Ontario weather records. Toronto under extreme cold warning

"The vortex brought with it some colder air, not just for Ontario but also for Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and a good chunk of the midwestern US and northeastern US as well. And with this pattern being fairly stubborn at this point, this cold air is expected to linger at least through mid-month, giving us temperatures more like single digit highs anywhere between 2, 3 °C (35.6, 37.4 °F) when we'd normally be seeing daytime highs of around 10 °C (50 °F)."

The following is a summary of weather event information received by Environment Canada on April 5:

London Airport -12.0 °C (10.4 °F) breaks previous record -10.5 °C (13.1 °F) set in 1995
Delhi -12.2 °C (10.04 °F) breaks previous record -10.5 °C set in 1995
Kitchener -15.5 °C (4.1 °F) breaks previous record -11.5 °C (11.3 °F) set in 1982
Guelph -16.7 °C (1.94 °F) breaks previous record -12.8 °C (8.96 °F) set in 1903
Hamilton -10.9 °C (12.38 °F) breaks previous record -10.8 °C (12.56 °F) set in 1995
Barrie -15.0 °C (5 °F) breaks previous record -14.0 °C (6.8 °F) set in 1982
Timmins -24.5 °C (-12.1 °F) breaks previous record -22.9 °C (-9.22 °F) set in 1995
Kirkland Lake -26.5 °C (-15.7 °F) breaks previous record -22.8 °C (-9.04 °F) set in 1970

- The Watchers.

EXTREME WEATHER ANOMALY: "Cold Blob" - Large, Anomalous Area Of Colder-Than-Normal Sea-Surface Temperatures To Be Wild Card In 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season?!

April 7, 2016 - ATLANTIC OCEAN - The potential movement of a 'cold blob' of water in the North Atlantic Ocean may be the wild card in the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, experts say.

The cold blob refers to a large, anomalous area of colder-than-normal sea-surface temperatures, located east of Newfoundland and south of Greenland.

"This area of colder water started to show up a few years ago and has become larger and more persistent during the past couple of years," AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.

Whether or not ocean currents draw cold water from this blob southward into tropical regions of the Atlantic could determine how active the season becomes. With all potential factors in mind, forecasters are predicting that tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic will total 14 this season, two more than what is considered normal.

If the cooler water migrates southward across the eastern Atlantic, then westward into tropical breeding grounds, it will lower sea-surface temperatures over the region where 85 percent of Atlantic tropical systems develop.Another possibility is that the water from the cold blob could alter the makeup of deep ocean currents and affect the salinity of the water. If this happens, the pattern of warming waters that has been occurring since 1995 will reverse, leading to a period of cooling.

Either of these scenarios would limit tropical development in the Atlantic.If these scenarios don't occur, sea-surface temperatures will remain mostly warmer than normal, likely resulting in a season more active than in the past three years.

Should this be the case, experts believe the current El Niño will weaken, eventually leading to a neutral pattern by the end of the spring or early summer.

"The big question is whether we will go into a La Niña, which is what we're anticipating right now," Kottlowski said. La Niña is characterized by cooler-than-normal ocean water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. When this occurs, less wind shear is found in the developmental regions of the Atlantic, increasing the potential for a higher-than-normal amount of tropical systems.

"Historically, some hurricane seasons that have followed a transition from El Niño to La Niña have been very active. It's possible we could flip from one extreme to the other, from below-normal seasons the past three years to an above-normal year in 2016," he said. - AccuWeather.

GLOBAL VOLCANISM: "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" - Is Yellowstone Supervolcano Awakening?!

Scientists have analysed the molten rock within the dormant supervolcano beneath Yellowstone and found that eruption is possible without any external trigger.

April 7, 2016 - PACIFIC NORTHWEST - Less than 48 hours after public display of volcanic activity at Yellowstone was intentionally taken OFFLINE from public view, we now know why:

© SuperStation95

Looks like "there's a whole lot a shakin' goin' on!"

Take a look at this reading from Bore Hole 944 inside the super-volcano at Yellowstone National Park:

Yellowstone Bore Hole 944. © SuperStation95

Folks within 500 miles of Yellowstone National Park may want to keep close watch on the super-volcano there. With readings like you see above, now closed-off to the public, it seems there's something taking place at the deadly volcano.


- SuperStation95.