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The National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m EDT forecasted track of hurricane Sandy shows the current position of the storm and it's latest projected track. (National Hurricane Center)
Hurricane Sandy liveblog: Which way is Sandy headed? The latest 'Frankenstorm' track (+video)
CHECK OUT THE LASTEST LIVEBLOG POSTS FOR MONDAY OCT. 29
Friday Oct. 26 3:45 p.m.
The latest European hurricane forecasting model (ECMWF) shows the predicted track of hurricane Sandy coming into closer agreement with the US Global Forecast System (GFS).
The ECMWF model was showing a more southern track for Sandy, with landfall occurring on Monday afternoon. Now, the European model shows Sandy on a more northward track with the center of the storm coming ashore at New Jersey early Tuesday morning.
If you look at the 2 p.m. EDT Friday National Hurricane Center's forecast track for Sandy, the European supercomputers predict Sandy will land at the northern part of the cone (see below).
Bear in mind that meteorologists stress that, beyond 24 hours, the accuracy of these models becomes less certain. And this is one of the more complex storm systems, with many moving parts, which could alter Sandy's track. For example, if the blocking high pressure area in the northern Atlantic moves off sooner than predicted, Sandy wouldn't hang a left toward the East Coast. But most forecasts predict the high to force Sandy to turn toward the coast.
Friday Oct. 26 3:35 p.m.
Hurricane Sandy, which according to the AP has so far left 39 people dead in the Caribbean, is shaping up to be a big deal. The Monitor's Ron Scherer quotes forecasters warning of widespread flooding, storm surges, snow in the Appalachians, and heavy wind damage from the slow-moving storm.
Weather Underground's Jeff Masters says that the storm is "likely to be a billion-dollar disaster." At AccuWeather, meteorologist Joe Lundberg writes that if Sandy makes landfall near Long Island or northern New Jersey, which he says is the most likely scenario, it would be "an economic and human disaster on multiple levels."
Another meteorologist described Sandy in even more colorful terms: A blog post by AccuWeather's Senior Vice President Mike Smith quotes a Facebook post from a "very prominent and respected National Weather Service meteorologist," which reads: "I've never seen anything like this and I'm at a loss for expletives to describe what this storm could do."
Both Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm, and voluntary evacuation orders have been issued for New Jersey's Cape May County, the Garden State's southernmost county.
There are a lot of moving parts to this weather system, meaning that the computer models could be inaccurate and Sandy could fizzle. But if you live on the East Coast between Virginia and Maine, it's worth it to stock up on batteries and water, and to make a straightforward evacuation plan. Check the Monitor's list of hurricane preparedness tips for specifics.
Friday Oct. 26 1:55 p.m.
Sandy is just a Category 1 hurricane (74-95 mph winds). What's all the fuss?
The short answer: Storm surge over a wide area, over a sustained period.
Aside from the hybrid mega-storm aka Frankenstorm stuff that we've cited below, there's the sheer size of Sandy. She's big. Sandy's got some girth, and she's expected to get bigger.
Sandy has grown in size every day, with tropical storm force winds now extending 275 miles from the center. But Monday or Tuesday, there are forecasts that indicate Sandy could have strong winds 400 miles from her center.
The 11 a.m. EDT National Hurricane Center report showed some slowing of her speed, and her winds aren't getting stronger. And Sandy's a little less "organized." But her reach is growing. Rather than high winds in tight, her 80 mph winds are reaching out further. That's part of the concern among meteorologists.
High winds will keep the storm surge threat high. "This large wind field will likely drive a storm surge of 3 - 6 feet on Monday and Tuesday to the right of where the center makes landfall, on the mid-Atlantic or New York coasts. These storm surge heights will be among the highest ever recorded along the affected coasts, and will have the potential to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage," writes Dr. Jeff Masters at Weather Underground.com
Dr. Masters goes on to write:
"The latest H*Wind analysis from NOAA's Hurricane Research Division put the destructive potential of Sandy's winds at 2.1 on a scale of 0 to 6, and the destructive potential of the storm surge much higher, at 4.2 on a scale of 0 to 6. The full moon is on Monday, which means astronomical tides will be at their peak for the month, increasing potential storm surge flooding. With Sandy's strongest winds expected to last at least 12 hours near the time of landfall, the peak storm surge will affect the coast for at least one high tide cycle, and possibly two. This will greatly increase the potential for storm surge damage and coastal erosion. If Sandy hits Long Island, as the GFS (Global Forcast System) model predicts, the storm surge will be capable of over-topping the flood walls in Manhattan and flooding portions of the New York City subway system."
Friday Oct. 26 12:55 p.m.
Gov. Martin O'Malley is declaring a state of emergency across Maryland as Hurricane Sandy approaches, the Associated Press reports.
O'Malley said Friday the declaration gives the state flexibility to activate the Maryland National Guard and provide assistance to local emergency managers. He says everyone should prepare for extreme weather by reviewing their family emergency plans, checking their emergency supplies staying informed.
Heavy rain and high winds are expected to reach the Maryland coast Saturday night. Forecasters predict several days of foul weather including the possibility of snow in the western Maryland mountains.
Friday Oct. 26 12:40 p.m.
Why is Sandy a 'Frankenstorm'? There's more to the moniker than a hurricane arriving just ahead of Halloween.
Hurricane Sandy is a tropical cyclone. But computer models say it's on a collision course with a "extratropical trough" - a low-pressure storm system associated with the jet stream.
A tropical cyclone gets its energy from warm water. So, under normal circumstances, Hurricane Sandy would lose energy as it moved north and came ashore on the East Coast.
But the computer models say that won't happen this time. In this rare case, Sandy will meet up with an "extratropical trough" which draws energy not from the surface temperatures but from the temperature differential between the cold polar air and warm tropical air. The jet stream itself "is tightly coupled to that temperature contrast. The contrast in temperatures between air masses is ultimately what drives the jet stream, and the stronger the temperature contrast, the stronger the jet stream will be," explains Adam Sobel an atmospheric scientist and a professor at Columbia University.
The jet stream, which this extratropical trough is associated with, is unusually far south right now.
When Sandy moves ashore it will likely form a hybrid storm with properties of both types of storms - thus the 'Frankenstom' label. This type of storm is rare and the computer models are struggling to figure out exactly what will happen. But as Sobel notes in a thorough explanation of this on Climatecentral.org, "this new energy source will enable Sandy to maintain its intensity, or maybe even increase it."
Friday Oct. 26 11 a.m.
Meteorologists are looking at the computer models and are freaking out. They've not seen predictions of barometric pressures dropping this low in these parts of the US in their lifetimes.The NOAA Hydrometeorological Prediction Center Extended Forecast discussion notes that computer models "SHOW PRESSURE SOLUTIONS WELL BEYOND WHAT HAS EVER BEEN OBSERVED NEAR THE NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK COAST (EVEN EXCEEDING THE 1938 LONG ISLAND EXPRESS HURRICANE)."
As the Capital Weather Gang blog observes:
"The clash of the cold blast from the continental U.S. and the massive surge of warm, moist air from Hurricane Sandy will cause the storm to explode and the pressure to crash.
These historic low pressure levels simulated by the model are equivalent to a category 3 or 4 hurricane, which have peak winds over 115 mph. But Sandy’s winds will not be that high, because as it transitions into this hybrid hurricane-nor’easter monster, its core will unwind. So its peak winds will diminish, but strong winds will be felt over a vast area."
Friday Oct. 26 10:10 am
Remember Snoctober? Last October, just before Halloween, an early snowstorm hit the East Coast and knocked out power to more than 2 million residents from Pennsylvania to New England. Many homes were without power for days and some folks didn't get their electricity back for weeks.
Well, state governments and private utility companies don't want a repeat of the Snomaggedon of last fall. Utility companies from North Carolina to Vermont are canceling vacations and arranging for power repair crews to come from the Midwest to help out.
AP reports: "A spokesman for Unitil in New Hampshire says the utility is talking to crews as far away as Tennessee and Michigan to make sure they will be available. Alec O' Meara said typically, Unitil talks about reaching to contractors as far as three days in advance of a storm, but the calls are being made sooner than that this time."
The Associated Press reports that Vermont is also warning farmers to prep for Sandy.
"The Vermont Agency of Agriculture is advising farmers to harvest crops still in the fields. For those who need power for milking cows or cooling milk tanks, the agency warns to prepare for power outages by making sure generators are working."
Friday Oct. 26 9 a.m.
Check out Miami-based CBS TV weather forecaster David Bernard's forecast for Sandy on video. He offers a good explanation of why Sandy's northward track will be blocked by a large high pressure area in the Atlantic, pushing it westward toward Delaware. Then, Sandy is likely to encounter a cold front, as the jet stream dips deep into the US South. That collision will could produce 1 to 2 feet of snow in the higher elevations of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Friday Oct. 26 8:45 a.m.
Where is Sandy headed? It's still too early to say definitively. Here's what the computer model shows which was issued by the National Hurricane Center at 8 a.m. Friday. This track shows Sandy taking a hard left turn toward the East Coast on Monday. It has the eye of the storm hitting Delaware Tuesday at 2 a.m. and heading inland toward Pennsylvania and the Ohio valley.
Hurricane Sandy tears through Bahamas, weakens to Cat. 1
Friday Oct. 26 8 a.m.
Hurricane Sandy passed through the Bahamas early Friday knocking out power but there were no reported deaths. The Associated Press reports a total of 22 fatalities across the Caribbean in Sandy's wake.
"Generally people are realizing it is serious," said Caroline Turnquest, head of the Red Cross in the Bahamas, who said 20 shelters were opened on the main island of New Providence.
Sandy hit the Bahamas as a Category 2 Hurricane, with winds above 105 m.p.h. but weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Thursday night, with sustained winds of 80 m.p.h. Currently forecasters expect Sandy to remain a Cat. 1 hurricane or weaken to a tropical storm as it moves northward.
But meteorologists are warning that it's not just the strength of Sandy that's the issue. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecaster Jim Cisco has warned that a confluence of weather systems could produce what he has dubbed a "Frankenstorm," arriving along the East Coast of the US with tropical storm-force winds Tuesday. Cisco said that there was a 90 percent chance that most of the U.S. East Coast would get steady gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe snow starting Sunday and stretching past Wednesday.
“This storm is dangerous,” says Bryan Norcross, a hurricane specialist at the Weather Channel told The Christian Science Monitor. “If it comes to pass like the consensus forecast, it will be unprecedented, we have never seen anything that looks like this.”
Thursday, Oct. 25 5 p.m. EDT
After battering eastern Cuba, Hurricane Sandy intensify as it crosses the Bahamas today, with its western edge grazing Florida's coast. The US National Weather Service warns that Sandy might "help spawn a sprawling storm that could bring significant rain, wind and waves to the Northeast."
Sandy's exact track is hard to pin down, but meteorologists warn that that it is unlikely to head out to sea, thanks to a storm to its east and an area of high pressure west of Greenland, which together are helping to confine Sandy to the East Coast.
What's more, as Weather Underground notes, Sandy is expected to collide with an eastward-moving dip in the jet stream, creating the potential for a "hybrid" storm with high winds spread over a large area.
At this point, Sandy is expected to make landfall on Monday, somewhere between Virginia and Maine.
To make matters even worse for East Coasters, the storm's land Monday is a full moon, meaning a high tide, which increases the chances of significant coastal flooding.
Snowfall is also a concern particularly in the Appalachians. As New Englanders learned last Halloween, heavy snowfall combined with leafy trees has a tendency to knock down power lines.
In this undated image, three LEGO figurines, from left to right, representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and 'the father of science' Galileo Galilei, are shown aboard the Juno spacecraft. NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft will carry the LEGO figures to Jupiter when the spacecraft launches on Friday, Aug. 5, from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (NASA via Lego/AP)
Lego figures to Jupiter on Juno spacecraft. Why send toys into space?
On Friday, NASA is scheduled to launch the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter for a five-year mission. Juno will be the first solar-powered craft to ever travel such a distance from the sun.
Aboard Juno will be astronauts of a different kind.
Through a partnership with the LEGO corporation, NASA is sending three specially-crafted LEGO figurines of the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno, and the "father of science" Galileo Galilei to Jupiter. The LEGO mission is part of the "LEGO Bricks in Space project" developed to inspire children to be interested in science, math, engineering, and technology.
RECOMMENDED: Awesome photos of Jupiter
The LEGO Juno holds a magnifying glass, Jupiter holds a lightning bolt, and Galileo uses a telescope to help with their journey.
The figurines are made out of special space-grade aluminum. They "have gone through all the testing to make sure that they fit on our spacecraft in a way that is like our other science instruments," Scott Bolton, principal investigator for the Juno mission and space science and engineering director at the Southwestern Research Institute in San Antonio, said at a press conference Aug. 3, Space.com reports.
What are your thoughts about sending 'LEGO bricks' in space?
A monument of Paul the Octopus is presented at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, on Jan. 20. (Alex Domanski/Reuters)
Paul the Octopus gets own memorial
Three months after passing away, Paul the Octopus has received a memorial.
The eight-armed cephalopod, who died in October at the age of 2 and a half, gained fans around the world for accurately predicting the outcome of Germany's 2010 World Cup games, and one of Spain's.
The Sea Life Center unveiled on Thursday a six-foot plastic replica of the octopus oracle clutching a soccer ball in his arms. Inside the ball, Paul's ashes were placed in a gold-leaf urn, which also resembles the octopus.
During the World Cup last year, Paul's caretakers at the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in western Germany would place two glass boxes containing a mussel and a flag to represent each competing team. Paul would open the box of the winning team first. He did this eight times in a row, correctly picking the winner of each of Germany's seven matches, as well as the outcome of the final match. The odds of achieving the same results with a coin toss are one in 256.
Reuters reports an American-produced documentary is in the works.
The June 25 file photo shows Paul the octopus in the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, while fishing a shell out of a glass box representing Germany (l.). (Volker Hartmann/ddp/AP)
Paul the Octopus has died. Who will predict the next World Cup outcome?
Paul the Octopus has died. He was 2 and a half years old.
The eight-tentacled oracle octopus caught world fame during the 2010 World Cup, for accurately predicting the results of all of Germany's matches, plus Spain's one win.
During Germany's World Cup matches, Octopus Paul's caretakers set him up with glass boxes of food with the national flag for each team set to play against each other. Which ever box he went to first to eat from, was his prediction and each time he was always right.
On Tuesday morning, Paul died of natural causes. The sea center in Oberhause, Germany where Paul lived is saddened by the loss, "We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here" said Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in western Germany. "We had all naturally grown fond of him and he will be sorely missed."
"Paul amazed the world by correctly predicting the winners of all Germany's World Cup clashes, and then of the final," Porwoll said in a statement, according to CNN.
The sea center is finalizing funeral plans.
San Diego whale unearthed at the zoo
Thar' she blows!
Well, she used to anyway.
A 3-million-year-old whale has been discovered at the San Diego Zoo.
And this whale wasn't found by a whaling ship but by some guys wearing hard hats.
A construction crew had been working on a storm water tank at the zoo, and while using an excavator to dig through the fine grain sand they struck something hard.
While whale fossils have been found in this area before, this 24-foot long baleen whale seemed to be remarkably intact and well perserved.
In a San Diego News article, Sarah Siren, a paleontological field manager with the San Diego Natural History Museum said, "It’s rare to have a skeleton this complete."
Other ancient sea fossils have been unearthed in the region, including a 75-million-year-old femur from a duck-billed dinosaur and portions of a 3.5-million-year- old sea cow found in Chula Vista, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After the whale fossil is completely excavated, the remains will be taken to the Balboa Park museum, in San Diego, for further examination and possibly be put on public display.
Dug up anything intriguing lately? Let us know in the comments below and keep it clean, folks.
The freshwater "killer shrimp," or Dikerogammarus villosus (top) was discovered for the first time in the UK on Sept. 9 in a Cambridgeshire reservoir. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Killer shrimp assault British shrimp, threaten ecosystem
On Sept. 9, Britain's Environment Agency issued an alert that "killer shrimp" were spotted in a fresh-water reservoir in Cambridgeshire, England.
Before you have a 28 Days Later moment, take a deep breath.
These tiny crustaceans, the Dikerogammarus villosus shrimp, which can grow up to 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) in length, pose no direct danger to humans.
But the killer shrimp is bigger than local species – and more aggressive.
IN PICTURES: The 20 weirdest fish in the ocean
The "killer shrimp" eats other shrimp and small fish that are common across the UK. Like the Asian carp in Lake Michigan, the species is not native to this part of the world and may cause problems for the UK's water ecosystems.
"It tends to aggressively pursue its prey, often leaving it dead but uneaten. It is known to have caused the extinction of several other species in other areas," the Epoch Times reported.
Not only is it bully, it has few predators in this new habitat.
The "killer shrimp" has three spikes on its back, making it inedible for small fish who choke on the prawn when they try to swallow it.
The shrimp is normally found in the region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The "killer shrimp" was likely spread to Western Europe via the Danube River on boats, by fishermen, or by birds.
"We are devastated that this shrimp has been found in Britain,” Dr. Paul Leinster, head of UK’s Environment Agency, told BBC.
Scientists are now testing the water to see how widespread the "killer shrimp" problem may be and have put up posters warning boaters to check their equipment and vessels in an effort to stop the potential spread of the species into other British waters.
"We need to do everything we can to protect our native wildlife and young fish from the potential damage the killer shrimp can cause," Richard Benyon, a minister from the Environment Agency, said.
Baby twin pandas sit in an incubator in Japan's Wakayama Adventure World on Sept. 3 as they made their media debut. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Baby twin pandas debuted in Japan (VIDEO)
What's cuter than a baby panda? Two of them.
Japan's newest giant pandas, who were born on Aug. 11, made their media debut on Sept. 3 to the delight of many.
The brother and sister, who have quadrupled their birth weight, now measuring in at a hefty 1.5 pounds, have recently developed their black and white color pattern. They still remain nameless, however. Panda cubs are traditionally not named until they are 100 days old.
And yeah, baby pandas are definitely not that cute when they're born. They are tiny, pink, blind, and toothless. The cub won't crawl until 75 to 80 days after birth.
The swaddled baby twin pandas in Japan were put in an incubator and did manage to do some cute bobbing and weaving.
These two wee ones are lucky to have been born at Wakayama Adventure World. Baby pandas are rare, and twin baby pandas even more so.
In the wild, if twin baby pandas are born, the mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker will die. Some scientists suspect that the mother cannot produce enough milk for two cubs in the wild.
But there is no doubt that the twins will be the darlings of Japan's animal world for a while. Until the twins were born, Japan only had 10 pandas in captivity.
And these twins were conceived naturally rather than by artificial insemination, a note-worthy fact because members of this endangered species often struggled with successful reproduction on their own in captivity.
And with an estimated 1,600 pandas living in the wild, and about 210 pandas in captivity, reproduction is a serious business. Pandas are FedExed around the world for the purpose of entering breeding programs.
Tai Shan, a giant panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, flew to China via FedEx in February with another giant panda from Zoo Atlanta.
We can only hope that Wakayama Adventure World installs a panda cam, much like the San Diego Zoo's.
And remember the adorable hilarity of the sneezing panda cub from 2006 that went viral?
What's cuter than one sneezing panda cub? Brace yourself.
This Asian Sheepshead Wrasse has been nicknamed the 'Shrek' fish, for resembling the animated character. (YouTube screengrab)
Shrek fish: Japan's aquatic ogre
Is that Shrek? No.
The 'Shrek' fish was recently discovered by scuba divers and is actually called an Asian Sheepshead Wrasse, which is commonly seen off the Japanese coast.
According to MSNBC, the fish is common in Japan. But what is not so common is the fish's face, which seems to resemble a certain animated green ogre. The male fish is believed to be 30-years-old.
Pinkish-grey with large, swelling-like protrusions on its forehead and chin, the 'Shrek' fish may be unique, but perhaps not as scary as the blobfish.
A rare fire tornado is seen in Brazil on Aug. 25. (Screengrab via YouTube)
Fire tornado caught on film in Brazil, want to make your own? (VIDEO)
A rare fire tornado appeared in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba on Wednesday, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby highway and burning thousands of acres.
The vortex of fire resulted from months of drought in the region, combined with brush fires and strong, dry winds.
Though a rare phenomenon, the formation of a fire tornado, or fire whirl, is quite simple.
When there is a warm updraft of air and convergence of fire, say from a wildfire, a vortex of flame can occur. As the heated air from the fire rises, strong air currents cause flame to spin, shaping it into a tornado.
In Colorado last week, a fire tornado spewed embers that ignited fields in all directions, a Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman said.
But crews in Brazil have contained the fire and may monitor the site of the blaze overnight. "More turbulent weather capable of producing lightning was expected in the region covered in dry, late-summer brush," according to the BLM.
Authorities in Sao Paulo state have also forbidden farmers from burning sugar cane field waste, usually done after harvest.
Want to make your own fire tornado?
Steve Spangler Science, whose mission is "Making Science Fun!" includes Fire Tornadoes as one of its home science experiments.
Yes, adult supervision is required. Even if you're an adult yourself, we might recommend an extra side of adult supervision on this one. Get your fire extinguisher ready.
We won't give away how your homemade fire tornado works here, check out the experiment.
Two Liger cubs sleep inside a private zoo in Tainan, Taiwan, on Aug. 15. The zoo became the first in Taiwan to breed ligers, and the owner may face a fine for violating wildlife rules. (Huan Kuo-nan/Reuters)
Liger cubs born in Taiwan, Napoleon Dynamite rejoices, zoo keeper could face fines (VIDEO)
It's a happy day for Napoleon Dynamite.
Liger triplets were born to Bengal tigress, Beauty, and an African lion, Simba. Only two of the cubs survived, becoming Taiwan's first ligers.
Ligers are a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress and are the largest of all known cats. Napoleon Dynamite, a quirky teenager from the 2004 film, believed ligers were bred "for its skills in magic."
Hmmm.
But some animal rights groups have criticized the zoo's owner for illegally crossbreeding two different species of protected animals.
"Cross-breeding two protected species is completely against nature. We are urging the Council of Agriculture (COA) to seize the two cubs immediately and bring Huang to real justice. A fine of NT$50,000 [around $1,500] is a mere slap on the wrist, " Lin Tai-jing, a researcher for Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) told the Taiwan News.
Huang Kuo-nan, owner of the World Snake King Education Farm in Tainan County, insists he did not mate the two animals on purpose.
"Usually when a lion and a tiger are kept together, they will for sure attack each other to death, but these two have been spending time together since they were small," Huang said.
Beauty and Simba have been mating for three years, but this was their first pregnancy.
Ligers are among an array of hybrid animals in the world.
Tigons are a crossbreed between a male tiger and a lioness.
Zorses, Zonkeys, and Zony's are crossbreeds between zebras and horses, donkeys, and ponies - all three are also known as Zebroids.
Camas are a hybrid of a camel and llama. Grolars and Pizzlies are mixes between polar bears and grizzly bears. Leopons are a result of a male leopard and a female lion.
Wolphins, a very rare crossbreed, are a hybrid of a Bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. There are only two wolphins in captivity. They live at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii.
Hybrid animals mostly exist in captivity and are the result of human intervention.
Taiwan's baby ligers will be hand-reared since Beauty, their mother, has made no attempt to take care of them. A video feed from The Telegraph shows the two cubs resting in their basket, being tended to by vets and zoo keepers.
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