Hurricane Threatens Gulf of Mexico

Low-pressure air in the southeastern United States will move toward the Gulf of Mexico, and potentially 50 percent turned into a tropical storm within 48 hours. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center about the threat of bad weather in the area of the location of the worst oil spill in American history,According to weather forecasts, the low air pressure will cause the flow of warm water in the Gulf on Monday morning local time, and will be able to produce locally heavy rain and strong winds along the central Gulf Coast region.

Commander of the National Disaster Management Agency Thad Alen, who heads the government’s response in tackling the oil spill, said at the weekend, the activity of disposal wells that are designed to permanently block the oil wells will be finished after the giant energy company BP to end the period of testing and planning some time ago.Disposal wells by BP, the owner of the well which was leaked last week, also suspended because of bad weather.

1464 people in Tokyo in July was taken to hospital as a result of air temperature increased sharply

Tokyo, A total of 1464 people in Tokyo in July was taken to hospital as a result of air temperature increased sharply, rising from 359 people last year, according to the Tokyo Fire Department reported on Sunday.”The amount is so high is probably due to the air temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius for several days after the end of the rainy season before the body of people can adapt to the changing weather,” said an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The rainy season ends on July 17. In July the highest temperature reached 30 degrees Celsius for 22 days.As many as 745 people were reported taken to hospitals because of heat wave since July 21. Due to changes in extreme weather, the Narima Ward, a resident of Tokyo’s 91-year-old died at his home and another 127 people in critical condition.

The storm that hit Southern California early Monday dumped between ¾ to 2 inches of rain across the region

The storm that hit Southern California early Monday dumped between ¾ to 2 inches of rain across the region. Downtown Los Angeles received just under an inch, and up to 2 inches fell on the Station fire burn areas in the foothills, although no mudslides were reported.

Only light showers were expected Monday afternoon, said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist with the NWS in Oxnard. “The average rainfall for April is about an inch, so it’s certainly not out of the question to see a storm like this,” Meier said.No rain is expected for the remainder of the week, when temperatures are expected to hover below normal, barely reaching 70 degrees, Meier said.

ASTANA, Rescuers have found 33 bodies in the back southern Kazakhstan

ASTANA,  Rescuers have found 33 bodies in the back southern Kazakhstan, where heavy rains broke a dam at the end of two weeks ago, which caused major flooding, the emergency ministry reported Sunday Kazakhstan (14/3/2010).Unusual heavy rains and melting snow have caused a dam collapse in Zhylbulak village, which has a population of 820 inhabitants. Most residents evacuated.Another dam burst occurred in the village of Kyzyl-Agash. “On Saturday, 33 bodies of dead people, including 10 men, 16 women and seven children was found,” the ministry said in a statement.

In a statement it said, 44 people, including 16 children, was rushed to hospital after the flood. Previously, the local emergency caretaker explained, had 28 people who died.Ministry of forming an emergency field hospitals and temporary tent camp to accommodate at least a thousand refugees in the near Kyzyl-Agash.The road connecting the capital, Astana, with the city of Ust-Kamenogorarsk closed after the floods made impassable.Ministry of Transportation also reported closures and delays on other roads associated with the flooding.

strong winter storm slammed New York City and much of the U.S. Northeast on Friday

NEW YORK  A strong winter storm slammed New York City and much of the U.S. Northeast on Friday, forcing businesses, schools and transportation systems to shut down.Commuters struggled in the absence of suburban train and bus services into New York City, where several inches (cm) of snow accumulation and drifts of several feet snarled morning rush hour travel.On Wall Street, workers pitched in electronically or braved the storm to get to their jobs, so trading was unlikely to take a heavy hit, observers said.”I don’t think it will affect the volume, and volumes have been light anyway,” said Alan Valdes, director of floor trading at Kabrik Trading. “I would guess volumes would be light whether it was sunny and in the 70s or not.”

The wintry blast, which began on Thursday and was predicted to last through Saturday, was the third heavy storm to hit the region in a month.Bond trading was light due to the inclement weather, said William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts.”New York is probably out of the picture,” he said.Parts of Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, upstate New York and Massachusetts could expect snow accumulations of as much as two feet, the National Weather Service said.The storm was moving very slowly and was expected to hover over the Northeast through Saturday, the NWS said.The impact of the bad winter weather could be felt throughout a U.S. economy still struggling to emerge from recession.

HIGH WINDS

“The issue … has been the unusual weather this quarter, said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates, in Toronto,In New York City, subway service was slowed and buses struggled to navigate snow-covered streets.Strong winds, gusting up to 60 miles per hour in eastern Long Island, posed danger to those venturing outside, the NWS said.Among the storm’s casualties, a man was struck and killed by a snow-laden tree limb that fell in Central Park on Thursday, authorities said. The roof of a home in suburban New Jersey collapsed under the heavy snow, and a snowplow and an automobile collided in suburban New York, causing an undermined number of injuries, authorities said.

Some 28,000 people were without power in suburban New York, and more than 2,000 customers suffered outages in the city, Con Edison said. More than 2,000 customers were without power in New Jersey, local power authorities said.Schools were closed in New York City, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Northeastern states.Hundreds of flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport, while delays were reported at John F. Kennedy International Airport and flights canceled at Philadelphia’s airport, authorities said.Winds gusted up to 50 miles per hour in Philadelphia, which declared a snow emergency, its fourth of the winter.Amtrak canceled regional trains in upstate New York, and commuter bus service was suspended in northern New Jersey.(Reuters)

North Texans, already reeling from a record day of snowfall

North Texans, already reeling from a record day of snowfall, were braced this morning for a tough commute.Throughout the region, temperatures at 5 a.m. were hovering right around freezing – but falling fast. As they dip into the high 20s by sunrise, roads, bridges, and overpasses – many of them already caked in snow – could freeze, making driving treacherous. “It is strongly encouraged not to venture out this morning unless absolutely necessary,” the National Weather Service warned.

If ice on the highways weren’t trouble enough, the Weather Service also warned that patchy fog was possible during the morning commute.People who must drive this morning should allow plenty of extra time to reach their destinations. Anyone planning to fly out of Dallas should check first on the status of flights, as many airlines were expected to delay or cancel routes. By this afternoon, temperatures will rise to the high 30s, meaning dangerous ice patches would start to thaw. The forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies and highs in the 50s.

Snow continues to fall early today, mainly to the east of Interstate 35. In many counties east of the Dallas area, the snow was reported to be heavy. Thursday’s record snowfall – officially more than 11 inches – left tens of thousands of people throughout North Texas without electricity. Those outages, scattered throughout the region, also have knocked out traffic signals at scores of intersections. Drivers approaching those intersections were urged to use extreme caution. With very few exceptions, school districts, private schools, community colleges and universities throughout the region were closed today. The City of Dallas had already declared today as a “furlough day,” closing all nonessential city offices as a cost-saving measure.

blizzard warnings were expected to expire early Thursday. Some areas in New York, Maryland and Washington

Blizzard warnings in some areas, such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, expired late Wednesday. And other blizzard warnings were expected to expire early Thursday. Some areas in New York, Maryland and Washington, already buried under layers of snow, might still see light snow Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

Officials were still deciding early Thursday whether to open Dulles International Airport and Reagan Washington National airports, after they were shut down Wednesday.Amtrak was still providing limited service for Washington, New York and Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, but most passenger rail service south of Washington was canceled.

The New York subway system was expected to run normally Thursday, compared with the limited service at the height of the blizzard, transit officials said.This winter is already the snowiest on record for Washington and its suburbs, as well as Baltimore, Maryland, and Wilmington, Delaware, the National Weather Service said. And it’s on track to set records in other cities, including Philadelphia and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The 55 inches of snow that have accumulated in the nation’s capital during the past two storms proved too much for some buildings. Snow was blamed for the collapse of at least 22 roofs in Washington.In central Pennsylvania, Interstate 80 near Clearfield was shutdown after two pileups — one involving 17 cars and the other involving seven cars, said Rich Kirkpatrick of the state’s Department of Transportation.One person died and another person was seriously injured, police said.

166 people were killed by snow falling off mountains in the Salang Pass north of Kabul

166 people were killed by snow falling off mountains in the Salang Pass north of Kabul, triggering a massive rescue operation. The authorities say that they expect to find more bodies as they wind down the rescue operation. The area has been hit by more than 12 avalanches since Monday. Correspondents say that it has been one of the country’s worst natural disasters. Freezing conditions The ferocity of the avalanches was so great that windows of cars and buses were smashed while some tumbled into the valley below, officials say.Many of the dead were killed as their vehicles plunged down the mountainsides, while others perished in the freezing conditions.

Rescuers are using bulldozers, pick axes and shovels in the search for survivors. The highway that winds through the mountainside remains littered with abandoned or snow-packed cars. Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said that scores more vehicles remain buried beneath massive snow floes and they could contain more bodies. “The latest information we have is that 166 people were killed and 125 others have been rescued and taken to hospital,” he told the AFP news agency. “We’re not clear yet on how many cars are still under the snow, but police have been working on recovery since yesterday and are hoping to bring the operation to an end soon.

“There is fear there will be more dead bodies in the vehicles that are being pulled out of the snow,” he said. An army battalion backed up by heavy machinery and other digging equipment had been deployed to the pass for rescue and recovery work, a senior defence ministry official said. He said that although the road has now been cleared, it remains closed to the public to allow for emergency efforts. Rescuers are searching farther afield for victims in cars, trucks and buses that were pushed far off the road, officials say.

Some 2,500 people have been rescued so far. The area is often affected by heavy snow and has been hit by avalanches in the past, the BBC’s Martin Patience says from Kabul. The road through the Salang Pass is the only major route over the Hindu Kush mountains linking southern Afghanistan to the north and Central Asia that remains open throughout the year. Reaching 3,400m (11,000 ft) at the pass, the road is one of the highest in the world. It was finished in the 1960s with Soviet help.