MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Jane O’Brien – “Hundreds of metres under one of Iceland’s largest glaciers there are signs of a looming volcanic eruption that could be one of the most powerful the country has seen in almost a century.

Mighty Katla, with its 10km (6.2 mile) crater, has the potential to cause catastrophic flooding as it melts the frozen surface of its caldera and sends billions of gallons of water surging through Iceland’s east coast and into the Atlantic Ocean.

‘There has been a great deal of seismic activity,’ says Ford Cochran, the National Geographic’s expert on Iceland.

There were more than 500 tremors in and around the caldera of Katla just in October, which suggests the motion of magma.

‘And that certainly suggests an eruption may be imminent.’

Scientists in Iceland have been closely monitoring the area since 9 July, when there appears to have been some sort of disturbance that may have been a small eruption.

Eruption ‘long overdue’?

Even that caused significant flooding, washing away a bridge across the country’s main highway and blocking the only link to other parts of the island for several days.

‘The 9 July event seems to mark the beginning of a new period of unrest for Katla, the fourth we know in the last half century,’ says Professor Pall Einarsson, who has been studying volcanoes for 40 years and works at the Iceland University Institute of Earth Sciences.

‘The possibility that it may include a larger eruption cannot be excluded,’ he continues. ‘Katla is a very active and versatile volcano. It has a long history of large eruptions, some of which have caused considerable damage.’

The last major eruption occurred in 1918 and caused such a large glacier meltdown that icebergs were swept into the ocean by the resulting floods.” Read more.

BY BOB MIMS – “Hurricane-force winds, in places topping 100 mph, ripped through Utah Thursday, overturning semi-trailer rigs on Interstate 15, toppling trees and triggering widespread power outages affecting nearly 50,000 homes and businesses.

n all, the Utah Department of Transportation reported 11 semis overturned by the wind on the state’s highways Thursday morning. Utah Highway Patrol Corporal Todd Johnson said that between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., at least six semis were blown onto their sides on I-15 in Davis County in the area of the Lund Lane and Parrish Lane exits in Centerville as violent gusts — hitting 102 mph around 9 a.m. — thrashed the region.

Johnson said none of the drivers suffered more than minor injuries.

All traffic through the affected area was diverted for about two hours, Johnson said. By 7:30 a.m., traffic through the area had resumed, but was periodically suspended as new semi-related accidents occurred throughout the morning. Motorists still were advised to avoid the area, if possible. High-profile vehicles were ordered off the gusty stretch of freeway until at least 6 p.m. Thursday.” Read more.

By Ashley Gordon – “Power outages and downed trees were reported in several regions of Los Angeles County Wednesday night due to strong winds, NBC LA reported.

A major change in the weather pattern is expected to bring powerful gusts of up to 85 miles per hour and possible hurricane force winds into the Los Angeles region for two days.

The National Weather Service issued warnings that the high winds and low humidy could cause wildfires.

On Wednesday night, a wind gust of 97 mph was recorded at Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County, according to the weather service.

Los Angeles International Airport was affected with power going in and out at the airport Wednesday.

Some containers and equipment that were unsecured rolled onto runways, LAX spokesperson Nancy Castles told KCAL9.

Castles was told by the Federal Aviation Administration that the some arrival flights would be delayed for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Some flights, including three international flights, were diverted to other airports.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said about 20 diverted flights were sent to Ontario Intgernational Airport in Riverside County Wednesday because of severe crosswinds and two runways were closed due to strewn debris.” Read more.

Strong winds coming to Southern California – “Strong Santa Ana winds could create dangerous fire conditions in Southern California over the next several days. The National Weather Service issued a high wind and fire watch for Wednesday evening through Saturday, with possible hurricane-speed gusts of 80 mph or more in the mountain passes of Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties. Gusts of more than 60 mph are possible in some lower-lying areas. The winds, which could shape up to be the strongest offshore event the region has seen in years, are expected to reach their highest intensity Wednesday night through Friday morning, potentially toppling trees and power lines and creating hazardous driving conditions, as well as a significant fire hazard.” Read more.

“The Colombian Institute of Geology Ingeominas recommended the evacuation of about eight thousand people living near the Galeras volcano. Its activity has increased recently and the threat of eruption is becoming increasingly serious.

An orange alert has been announced – the second highest in the four-level scale. This means that the outbreak can occur within days or weeks. – Ingeominas vice president, Marta Calvache said.

Galeras rising to a height of 4270 meters above sea level in southwestern Colombia near the Ecuador border has been showing continuous activity for the last

20 years.

The last of the explosions, which entailed fatalities, occurred in 1993 when nine people were killed.

As Calvache said, in the last 48 hours seismic movements similar to the preceding previous eruptions have been recorded, and therefore evacuation is recommended.” Source – GreenFudge.org

“It was another wet and windy night on the West Coast, as a storm blew through knocking down trees and power lines, dumping snow on mountain highways and forcing BC Ferries to cancel some early morning sailings.

The storm knocked out power to about 80,000 BC Hydro customers across the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island as the main front of the storm blew through early Tuesday morning.

The highwinds forced BC Ferries to cancel the 5:15 a.m. PT and 7:45 a.m. PT sailings between Tsawwassen and Duke Point near Nanaimo.

TransLink was reporting at 6 a.m. that the heavy wind and rain were causing stop-and-go service on some SkyTrain routes.

The West Coast Express train Number 1 was delayed by a fallen tree and was expected to be one hour late arriving in Vancouver, making the second train half an hour late as well.

The stormed knock out traffic lights across much of Metro Vancouver and knocked trees onto many roads. In Delta, Highway 10 Eastbound was closed by a fallen tree around 6 a.m.” Read more.

“LOS ANGELES — Residents of a coastal neighborhood were worried Monday about safety and property values after a large chunk of a street and the coastal bluff it sat on crumbled into the ocean amid heavy rains on Sunday.

A section of Paseo Del Mar in the San Pedro area that for months had been creeping toward the ocean collapsed as a storm struck, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement. In recent weeks the section had been moving at about 4 inches a day.

‘My greatest concern (is) that all these homes right here are going to end up in the water and that we’re going to be separated and our own little island,’ said one resident interviewed by nbclosangeles.com just outside the closed-off area. ‘I have three kids and two grandkids and I want them to be able to have the ocean view and be able to stick their feet in the sand and not fall off a cliff.’

Another resident said locals were talking about how the slide would undermine property values.

Witnesses said power poles began to sway and then ‘snapping’ noises were heard when the big slide happened around 3 p.m.

The mayor said there were no injuries and no property was damaged. Workers rerouted a storm drain in the area as a precaution.” Read more.

“MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano has spewed a burst of ash 3 miles (5 kilometers) into the air after breaking through a dome of lava.

Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center says Sunday’s explosion continues a series of moderate eruptions from the 17,886-foot (5,450-meter) volcano 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of the Mexican capital.

The center says the volcano has been emitting small but steady stream of steam and gas since Friday.” Read more.

“Six people have been killed, including a three-year-old girl, and dozens injured after 25 tornadoes tore across the Southeast.

In North Carolina, the toddler was found buried under a pile of shattered furniture along with her 50-year-old grandmother. Their small house in a rural area of Lexington had been ripped clean from its foundations.

The storms left at trail of debris that stretched for at least seven miles, with a dozen people taken to hospital.

Firefighters and volunteers in Lexington searched for the child, whose name wasn’t immediately released, for more than two hours.

A neighbour Maegan Chriscoe said: ‘She was just beautiful, big blue eyes and so sweet.’

One resident Henry Taylor said he was home watching television with his wife when he saw a tornado warning flash on the screen. A minute later, he saw a funnel cloud out his window.

Mr Taylor, 50, said: ‘It looked like the ‘Wizard of Oz. It was surreal, and for a moment, a split second, you say to yourself ‘This ain’t real,’ then reality sets in, and you know it is.’

With the latest deaths, the number of tornado fatalities for 2011 is 553, making it the deadliest year for tornadoes in the U.S. since 1925.” Read more.