This video screen capture shows the stage at the Indianapolis State Fair as it collapsed. Watch the video below. (YouTube / JSilas7)
Winds alone are not normally associated with the loss of life but a sad reminder of the dangers was seen at the Indianapolis State Fair on Saturday. Powerful thunderstorm winds downed a stage killing five people and injuring dozens while officials appeared to ignore warnings of the impending danger.
The Natural Disasters Examiner wrote in a story on Monday that the warning signs for severe weather in central Indiana were readily apparent as early as two days before the storm.
The National Weather Service discussed the thunderstorm and high wind dangers in its Hazardous Weather Outlook multiple times. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued hours before and a Warning 10 minutes before.
Despite this, officials at the fair failed to make a timely decision to cancel the Sugarland concert. When the winds, estimated at 50 to 70mph struck, it only took a matter of seconds for the stage’s rigging to collapse. Five people died and more than 40 were injured due to their failure.
The tragedy should serve as a reminder to everyone to pay attention to changing weather. Do not ignore weather watches and warnings, no matter what others are doing. The life you save may be your own.
The video below captures the event with shocking clarity. It may be disturbing for some so viewer discretion is advised.
Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by the tragedy.
Once a year the nighttime sky is lit up with fragments of Comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseid meteor shower peaked last week and while a bright full moon limited viewing on Earth, astronauts on the International Space Station captured stunning imagery of the event.
Every 133 years Comet Swift-Tuttle makes a pass through the inner solar system spewing dust and gravel behind it. According to NASA, the debris zone is so wide that the Earth spends weeks inside of it.
The fragments from the comet slam into our atmosphere at an astounding 144,000 miles per hour and light up the night sky as they burn up. Most of these meteoroids are the size of grains of sand but some can be as large as marbles.
Called Perseids because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus in the northeast August sky, the end result is a bevy of shooting stars across the night sky. This past Saturday, the ISS crew was able to grab an image of a meteoroid shooting into the atmosphere as the station passed over China.
Image taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on August 13, 2011. (NASA)
From NASA:
Many people have spent time outdoors under a dark sky, watching for “shooting stars” to streak across the firmament. In some cultures, this event is an occasion to make a wish; in others it is viewed as a herald of important events, such as the birth of a future ruler. While not actual stars, “shooting stars” do come from outer space, in the form of meteoroids entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteoroids are small objects moving through the solar system that are attracted to the Earth by its gravitational pull. These small objects—typically fragments of asteroids or comets, though they can also originate from the Moon or Mars—begin to heat and burn up as they collide with air molecules in Earth’s atmosphere, creating a bright vapor trail or streak. At this point, the object is known as a meteor. If any remnant of the object survives to impact the Earth’s surface, it becomes known as a meteorite. While most meteorites are natural in origin, on occasion manmade space debris can reenter the atmosphere and also become a meteor or even a meteorite!
This astronaut photograph, taken from the International Space Station while over China (approximately 400 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing), provides the unusual perspective of looking down on a meteor as it passes through the atmosphere. The image was taken on August 13, 2011, during the Perseid Meteor Shower that occurs every August. The Perseid meteors are particles that originate from Comet Swift-Tuttle; the comet’s orbit is close enough for these particles to be swept up by the Earth’s gravitational field every year—leading to one of the most dependable meteor shower displays.
Green and yellow airglow appears in thin layers above the limb of the Earth, extending from image left to the upper right. Atoms and molecules above 50 kilometers in the atmosphere are excited by sunlight during the day, and then release this energy at night, producing primarily green light that is observable from orbit. Part of a space station solar panel is visible at image upper right; behind the panel, a bright region indicates the Sun low on the horizon.
Astronaut photograph ISS028-E-24847 was acquired on August 13, 2011, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 22 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 28 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, Jacobs/ESCG at NASA-JSC.
Arctic sea ice has long been thought to be a harbinger of climate change. A new study indicates that it is as likely to grow as shrink in the coming years. Credit: UCAR / Carlye Calvin
Having seen many of their predictions proven false, climate change alarmists have taken on a new tact in the last couple of years – whether hot or cold, snowy or balmy, manmade climate change is to blame. A new study from NCAR continues that trend saying Arctic ice may shrink or it may grow, take your pick.
A new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) shows that Arctic sea ice is “as likely to expand as it is to contract for periods of up to about a decade.”
NCAR scientist Jennifer Kay, the lead author of the study said, “The computer simulations suggest that we could see a 10-year period of stable ice or even a slight increase in the extent of the ice. Even though the observed ice loss has accelerated over the last decade, the fate of sea ice over the next decade depends not only on human activity but also on climate variability that cannot be predicted.”
Utilizing a single climate model, the study authors speculate that fluctuations in the sea ice will increase due to a warming climate and thinning ice.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases are not the only reason for the decline of the ice.
Scientists attributed half of the decline to “climate variability.” This seems at odds with the results from the UN’s IPCC’s AR4 report which dismisses natural climate variability as a reason for increased global temperatures.
The statement from NCAR said that the computer model used by the scientists “has certain biases” however it is unclear how that would have affected the results of the modeling that was performed. A recent study has demonstrated that computer models are significantly underestimating the Earth’s ability to dissipate heat.
Reliable sea ice measurements have only become a reality since 1979 when satellites started observations. However, data suggests that as recently as 5,500 years ago during the Holocene Thermal Maximum the Arctic had considerably less ice than what it does today.
Before (left) and after (right) photos of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf illustrate the calving event associated with the Japan earthquake and resulting tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. The icebergs have just begun to separate in the left image. Click the image for a larger view.
Nearly 8,000 miles away the power of the tsunami caused by the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake was felt in a resounding fashion. New satellite imagery released by NASA shows 50 square miles of ice from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf on the coast of Antarctica being broken off due to the waves.
Scientists have speculated that a tsunami could cause flexing of ice and result in pieces breaking off. The quake and resultant tsunami in Japan have now proven that theory.
NASA researchers utilized imagery from the European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite. The before and after pictures clearly show numerous icebergs having been calved from the shelf.
The tsunami is estimated to have been only one foot high when it reached the Earth’s southernmost continent. However the stress was enough to break apart the 260 foot thick shelf and calve an area of ice equal to the size of Manhattan Island in New York.
Douglas MacAyeal of the University of Chicago and one of the researchers who made the discovery said the event shows how connected the planet’s systems are.
“This is an example not only of the way in which events are connected across great ranges of oceanic distance, but also how events in one kind of Earth system, i.e., the plate tectonic system, can connect with another kind of seemingly unrelated event: the calving of icebergs from Antarctica’s ice sheet,” MacAyeal said in a statement.
August 14 to August 20 - This Week in Denver Weather History
Severe weather is a fact of life in Colorado during the summer months and while August is historically relatively calm, that isn’t always the case. In our look back at this week in Denver weather history we see the dangers of lightning, incidents of large hail and flooding rains and even a tornado.
From the National Weather Service:
14
In 1960…a bolt of lightning struck a man in Henderson… Causing serious burns.
In 1962…the temperature climbed to a high of 100 degrees at Stapleton Airport.
In 1968…a young man on a golf course in Denver was injured when lightning struck a tree under which he was standing. Lightning caused minor damage to a house in Denver. Heavy thunderstorm rain caused local street flooding. One inch diameter hail fell at Jefferson County Airport near Broomfield.
In 1973…winds as high as 85 mph damaged 20 aircraft at the Arapahoe County airport…now centennial airport.
In 1977…three tornadoes were sighted in Bennett. A man suffered a broken leg when hit by a flying board. He was outside his camper home…which was destroyed. All windows were broken in a near-by farmhouse where some shingles were ripped off and a 2 car garage was knocked down. Several vehicles were damaged and a cat…some rabbits…and chickens were killed. A broken oar from a boat was driven into the side of a house. A mobile home was overturned. One old barn was destroyed. Half a dozen homes and several agricultural buildings were damaged just west of State Highway 79.
In 1978…high winds produced much blowing dust…causing many traffic accidents in the Denver-Boulder area. Winds gusts of 70 to 101 mph were recorded. Northwest winds gusted to 44 mph at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1980…lightning hit two power poles in Littleton…causing 400 dollars in damage. Rainfall of 1.23 inches in a short time caused minor flooding…which included damage to a ground floor apartment and partially submerging a few vehicles in water. Thunderstorm rainfall totaled 0.98 inch at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1983…2.10 inches of rain drenched Golden in an hour with similar amounts in Lakewood and Boulder. Over ten thousand dollars worth of plants were washed away at a nursery in Lakewood.
In 1997…twelve motorists were injured in a multi-car accident when strong microburst winds estimated to 50 mph blew blinding dust across I-70 near Bennett.
In 1998…lightning struck a hydro-electric plant in Nederland… Causing a power outage. Residents in the foothills west of Boulder…including Nederland…Ward…Eldora…Jamestown… And Gold Hill…were without power for about an hour.
In 2006…heavy thunderstorm rainfall near Deckers washed away some the banks along State Highway 67 between Deckers and Westcreek. Several driveways on both sides of the highway were also damaged.
15
In 1899…a thunderstorm produced southwest sustained winds to 43 mph with gusts to 46 mph.
In 1972…a pilot reported a funnel cloud briefly touching the ground in open fields…17 miles east-northeast of Stapleton International Airport.
In 1980…thunderstorm winds gusted to 55 mph in Boulder.
In 1982…brief heavy rain and winds estimated as high as 70 mph occurred in the conifer-Evergreen area. No damage was reported.
In 1990…lightning triggered a small attic fire in a house near Sedalia…20 miles south of Denver. A furious lightning storm caused widespread power outages across southern sections of metro Denver. One lightning bolt knocked out an electrical substation…causing a 90-minute blackout in southeast Denver affecting nearly 10 thousand homes and businesses.
In 2007…severe thunderstorms produced large hail…up to 2 inches in diameter…near larkspur. Extensive damage to vehicles in the area was reported.
In Parker…lightning struck a residence. The ensuing fire damaged the attic and top floor; causing $100000 in property damage.
In 2008…at least three homes were hit by lightning during the early morning hours in Arapahoe County. Lightning also struck two homes in Castle Rock…damaging the roofs.
Global warming was the catchphrase until the Earth stopped warming for the past decade so the more generic phrase climate change became the term to use. Shrinking Arctic sea ice was also said to be a certainty but a…
Manmade climate change theory champion Al Gore typically forbids recording of his paid speeches to private green interests. Audio of a recent speech given by the former vice president has been leaked and reveals a profanity laced tirade against…
Former Vice President Al Gore launched an attack against those that disagree with the manmade climate change theory saying their arguments were "Bulls--t!" (JD Lasica, http://socialmedia.biz)
The passion of Al Gore for the manmade climate change theory is unquestionable. Since leaving public office he has become the self-appointed spokesman for the movement. At a forum in Aspen last week the former vice president launched into a profanity filled tirade against those who disagree with him.
The Climate Change Examiner reports that at an event held by the Aspen Institute, Gore called “Bulls–t” to arguments that seek to refute the anthropogenic global warming theory. Listen to the audio here.
“Gore said that just as the tobacco industry prevented health regulations, so too have corporate interests stopped the advancement of potentially job-killing rules such as Cap and Trade,” the Examiner writes.
More than that, Gore goes on to say:
The model they innovated in that effort was transported whole cloth into the climate debate. And some of the exact same people — by name, I can go down a list of their names — are involved in this. And so what do they do? They pay pseudo-scientists, to pretend to be scientists, to put out the message: “This climate thing, it’s nonsense. Man-made CO2 doesn’t trap heat. It may be volcanoes.” Bulls–t! “It may be sun spots.” Bulls–t! “It’s not getting warmer.” Bulls–t!
And there are about 10 other memes that are out there, and when you go and talk to any audience about climate, you hear them washing back at you. The same crap, over and over and over again … There is no longer a shared reality on an issue like climate even though the very existence of our civilization is threatened. People have no idea! And yet our ability to actually come to a shared reality that emphasizes the best evidence … It’s no longer acceptable in mixed company, meaning bipartisan company, to use the goddamn word “climate.”
August 7 to August 13 - This Week in Denver Weather History
As we get further into the month of August severe weather is less common. It can however still strike as we see in our look at this week in Denver weather history. Everything from torrential rains to massive hail and even a tornado have been reported.
From the National Weather Service:
7
In 1948…a brief west moving tornado was sighted 3 miles north-northeast of Stapleton Airport. The white funnel silhouetted against a gray cloud background was very narrow…nearly vertical…and estimated at nearly 5 thousand feet high. A dust cloud formed on the ground around the funnel. No damage was reported.
In 1952…a thunderstorm wind gust to 52 mph was recorded at Stapleton Airport.
8
In 1874…swarms of grasshoppers invaded the city. Millions of them were seen cruising through the air. The insects were apparently picked up by a thunderstorm gust front and carried into the city. The grasshoppers had ravaged crops in surrounding counties for the last month.
In 1878…the highest temperature ever recorded in Denver…105 degrees…occurred at 3:20 pm. This temperature was equaled on July 20th in 2005.
In 1969…the temperature reached 100 degrees at Stapleton International Airport.
In 1976…in Thornton…a 13 year old boy riding a bicycle was struck and killed by lightning.
In 2000…lightning struck three homes in central Arapahoe County east of Denver. Damage was estimated at 47 thousand dollars.
In 2003…hail to 1 inch in diameter pelted Denver. Hail to 7/8 inch was measured in Boulder.
In 2008…heavy rain also caused flash flooding over south Denver and its nearby suburbs. Heavy rain…from 2.5 to 4 inches…fell in less than 90 minutes. Firefighters rescued 20 people as the water quickly rose along creeks…flooded roadways…and stranded motorists. Three people had to be rescued along Cherry Creek when the bike path flooded.
In Evergreen…a man suffered minor injuries when he was struck by lightning. It entered his finger…traveled down his body… And exited his foot.
8-10
In 1979…heavy thunderstorm rains on each of three consecutive days dumped a total of 2.22 inches of rain at Stapleton International Airport. The heaviest rain… 0.95 inches…fell on the 9th. Small hail to 1/8 inch diameter fell on the 8th.
8-13
In 1875…clouds of grasshoppers were seen flying through the air on the prevailing winds during each day.
July 2011 was much wetter and slightly warmer than normal. (ThorntonWeather.com)
Historically July is a pretty busy month in terms of weather as thunderstorms are very common. July 2011 lived up to the month’s reputation as the middle of the month saw a seemingly endless stream of heavy, wet thunderstorms. This was followed by a string of 90 degree and warmer days that approached record setting territory.
The big story for the month was the precipitation as there was a lot of it. DIA saw sixteen thunderstorms during July, five more than normal. The official Denver monitoring at the airport recorded 3.41 inches of rain which was well above the normal of 2.16 inches. The measurement fell just shy of making the list of top 10 wettest July’s on record.
The station at DIA however lived up to its reputation as under-reporting rainfall as compared to locations closer to downtown. In fact, a station the old Stapleton site recorded 6.54 inches. Here in Thornton 5.51 inches fell into our rain bucket.
One precipitation record was set during the month when 1.03 inches of rain fell on the 13th. This easily bested the previous 24 hour record for the date of 0.45 inch set in 1993.
Temperatures for the month were considerably above normal but fell short of ‘top 10’ status. The average temperature for the month, as recorded at DIA, was 75.9 degrees. This was 2.5 degrees above the normal of 73.4.
The warmest temperature of the month occurred on the Fourth of July when the mercury climbed to 99 degrees. On the opposite end, 56 degrees on the 1st of the month was the coldest reading.
In all, 20 days saw temperatures at or above 90 degrees during July 2011; five more than normal. July 15th started a string of 18 consecutive days of 90 degree or warmer high temperatures. That streak will go into the books as tying for the second longest in history.
Thornton, like most other places in the metro area, was not near as warm. Our average temperature was 73.8 degrees, right near normal. Our warmest temperature occurred on the 4th as well and matched Denver’s mark of 99 degrees. The mercury dipped to 53.6 degrees on the 1st and was our coldest temperature.
...THE DENVER CO CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2011...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1872 TO 2011
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 105 07/20/2005
LOW 42 07/04/1903
07/31/1873
HIGHEST 99 07/31 105 -6 102 07/17
07/04
LOWEST 56 07/01 42 14 53 07/09
07/05
07/04
AVG. MAXIMUM 91.1 88.0 3.1 89.3
AVG. MINIMUM 60.7 58.7 2.0 59.5
MEAN 75.9 73.4 2.5 74.4
DAYS MAX >= 90 20 15.0 5.0 18
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 6.41 1965
MINIMUM 0.01 1901
TOTALS 3.41 2.16 1.25 3.70
DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.07 0.04 0.12
DAYS >= .01 11 9.3 1.7 13
DAYS >= .10 7 MM MM 5
DAYS >= .50 2 MM MM 2
DAYS >= 1.00 2 MM MM 2
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.08 07/12 TO 07/13 1.84 07/04/10 TO 07/04/10
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 0.0 NONE EVER RECORDED IN JULY
TOTALS 0.0 0.0
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 0 1 -1 3
SINCE 7/1 0 1 -1 3
COOLING TOTAL 346 261 85 303
SINCE 1/1 481 422 59 482
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 09/08/1962
LATEST 06/08/2007
EARLIEST 10/07
LATEST 05/05
......................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.5 9.1
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 3/181 MM
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 51/210 DATE 07/13 41 07/30/10
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 68/300 DATE 07/14 48 07/30/10
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.50
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 6
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 3
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 50
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 6
LIGHT RAIN 17 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 4
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 5 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0
HAZE 4
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
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