Author Archives: Pat Turnbaugh

Winter Storm Cara brings more severe weather to central United States

More power outages and travel delays are being reported as Winter Storm Cara continues to pummel the central United States, and the threat of additional outages and disruption looms as the powerful storm is predicted to generate additional ice and snow throughout the weekend.

Parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas were under ice storm warnings from the National Weather Service on Friday. Flood warnings were in effect in portions of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Numerous other advisories and warnings had been issued.

The Weather Channel predicts that 21 states will be subjected to snow, sleet or freezing rain by the time Cara dissipates. Cara is moving slower than usual because of a pattern in the jet stream.

The storm began dropping snow on the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday. The Weather Channel’s forecasts indicate Cara’s energy could linger over eastern states until the middle of next week, and caution that rainfall in warmer regions ahead of the snow could trigger flash flooding.

On Friday, meteorologists were concerned about an ice storm that was developing in a swath that stretched from eastern New Mexico into northern Texas, central Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. That’s where the icy precipitation was expected to accumulate the most and last the longest, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.com.

They warned of a half inch of ice building up on certain exposed surfaces. AccuWeather’s senior vice president of enterprise solutions, Mike Smith, told the organization’s website that the storm could also cause “significant power failures” in certain parts of Oklahoma and Texas.

The Weather Channel reported a quarter of an inch had already built up in Woodward, Oklahoma, on Friday morning, and the entire town of Rockwell City, Iowa, was without power.

The snow has also led to travel delays and accidents throughout the country.

The Minnesota State Patrol had reported 139 crashes as of 9 p.m. Wednesday night, according to WCCO in Minneapolis. At least one of those accidents was fatal and 33 of them caused injuries.

Some motorists became trapped in the snow on roads in southern California, the California Highway Patrol told the Los Angeles Times. Officials in Idaho reported cars slid off roads there.

According to The Weather Channel, the heaviest snowfall was reported in Nevada, where an estimated 25 inches fell near Deeth. More than 20 inches of snow were reported in parts of California and Oregon, and 14 inches were reported Buhl, Idaho and Sinks Canyon, Wyoming.

It wasn’t just the snow that was accumulating, as an NBC News report indicated Dallas-Fort Worth broke its all-time rainfall record with Cara’s precipitation early Friday morning. More than 53 inches of rain have fallen there since the start of the year.

French PM: Europe can’t accept more refugees

It is impossible for European Union nations to accept any more refugees, the French prime minister has been quoted as saying, and the fate of the bloc depends on its border controls.

Manuel Valls reportedly made the comments in the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Reuters reported that roughly 1 million refugees were expected to arrive in Europe this year. Germany, which began accepting refugees in September, was originally praised for opening its doors for those fleeing the war-torn Middle East. But the nation’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has faced more and more scrutiny as the number of migrants going to Europe has continued to rise.

Valls, in his comments to the German newspaper, warned that Europe’s external borders needed more stringent regulations.

“If we don’t do that, the people will say: Enough of Europe,” Valls was quoted as saying.

The BBC reported that select European nations have enacted stricter border controls in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks that left 130 dead. The attacks have added fuel to the debate over the migrants, particularly because a forged Syrian passport was found near one attacker.

Critics fear terrorist groups could take advantage of the ongoing migrant crisis, which Reuters called the continent’s worst since World War II, and use it to funnel terrorists into Europe.

Economic officials from both France and Germany have proposed setting aside $10.7 billion to improve security, border controls and refugee care, Reuters reported.

The European Union has also voted to devote $3.1 billion for an aid facility in Turkey, which it hopes will help lower the number of migrants headed to Europe, Reuters reported. However, it’s still not finalized and it’s unclear if the member nations will give enough money to fully fund it.

A summit between Turkey and the European Union is scheduled for Sunday. Officials told Reuters there are still major hurdles to clear before any migration pact will be finalized.

Russian pilot: Turkey provided no warning before shots were fired

The pilot of the Russian warplane that was shot down on Tuesday is claiming that Turkey did not provide any sort of warning before opening fire on the aircraft, according to reports.

Captain Konstantin Murakhtin is also claiming that the plane never crossed into Turkey’s airspace, though this claim has been disputed by NATO and United States military officials.

Murakhtin spoke to reporters a Russian air base in northern Syria on Wednesday, a day after he and the aircraft’s other pilot ejected from the aircraft that was shot down near the Syrian border. He was rescued after a half-day operation that involved using special forces, the BBC reported.

The other Russian pilot was killed.

Murakhtin told RT, a Russian television network, that the pilots did not receive a verbal or visual warning before a Turkish plane opened fire and hit their aircraft with a missile. He also claimed he knew the area very well and it was “impossible that we violated their airspace.”

Turkish officials had said they warned the pilots 10 times in five minutes, the New York Times reported, and that the plane crossed a tiny piece of Turkish territory in about 17 seconds.

NATO, of which Turkey is a member, has backed Turkey’s version of the events. A senior United States military official, speaking to the New York Times, said the data indicated the Russian plane flew over Turkey. CNN reported Turkey released tapes of what it said were the warnings.

The back-and-forth nature of the claims were escalating tensions between the two nations.

Multiple countries have called for the situation to be de-escalated, according to reports, and officials from Turkey and Russia are both quoted as saying they want to avoid military conflict.

Yet the Russian defense minister announced the country will deploy missile defense systems to the air base in Syria. The missiles would be able to reach the Turkish border, CNN reported.

Amazon forces some to change passwords after potential compromise

Some Amazon account holders were required to change their passwords this week after the online retailer found that the information could have been compromised.

Technology website ZDNet first reported the news Tuesday, noting Amazon wrote in an email addressed to affected users that there was “no reason” to believe the information had been leaked.

ZDNet reported the email said Amazon forced the password change as a purely precautionary measure after learning that the passwords might have been improperly stored or transmitted, which could have allowed a third party to access it.

It’s not clear how many people were asked to reset their passwords and Amazon corrected the issue.

The company has recently taken steps to improve cyber security.

Last week, it began allowing customers to require two-factor authentication to access their account. That requires users to not only successfully enter their password to log in to the website, but also a second group of characters that is typically sent to a user’s mobile phone.

Winter Storm Cara poised to impact Thanksgiving travel

A powerful winter storm is disrupting Thanksgiving travel plans across the United States, bringing ice, snow and rain to those in its path.

Winter Storm Cara pummeled the Pacific Northwest with more than a foot of snow and knocked out power to thousands of people on Tuesday, and the storm appears to be only getting started.

The National Weather Service has issued numerous weather advisories and warnings across the country, ranging from hard freeze and winter storm warnings in Oregon to winter weather and flood watches in Oklahoma. Parts of Wyoming are under a blizzard warning on Wednesday.

There are more concerns of snow, black ice, fog and flooding as the storm continues to move east, according to forecasts from The Weather Channel and AccuWeather.

Those are expected to cause travel delays at airports and on highways from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes into Friday, meteorologist Dave Bowers told accuweather.com.

The latest Weather Channel forecasts call for Cara to dump a foot and a half of snow in parts of the country through Sunday, though most areas are projected to receive less than five inches.

AccuWeather meteorologists also warn of the potential impact of other forms of precipitation.

While they don’t expect freezing rain will be a major issue for most of the country, there is the chance for enough accumulation to bring down power lines and trees in the Great Plains.

They also noted that some areas could experience flash flooding as rain is expected to fall across the Great Plains on Thursday and Friday. The storm is expected to continue east Saturday.

The Weather Channel also warned of the potential for flooding and flash flooding throughout the weekend, as conditions are ripe for torrential rainfall in the south central United States.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that parts of Washington had already been without power for nearly a week after a deadly windstorm knocked out the electrical grid in Spokane. Cara’s winds then knocked out power to more than 40,000 Washington residents, KIRO reported.

Russia-Ukraine tensions rise as Crimea is still without power

Russia is cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine this week and could also stop providing coal to the nation as a dispute over a blackout in Crimea escalates.

Crimea, the subject of an ongoing quarrel between the countries, has been relying on emergency power generators since its main supply was attacked over the weekend, Reuters reported. It’s not known who was responsible for attacking the power supply, and the New York Times reported that millions of residents of the peninsula are still without electricity.

The BBC reported there are also water shortages in Crimea, and the Ukraine has stopped delivering goods to the peninsula in the Black Sea.

Tensions between the two nations have been high since Russia annexed the peninsula last year. Russia doesn’t border the territory by land. Ukraine does.

Protesters are preventing repair work from being done. The New York Times report indicates the activists — Crimean Tatars and Ukranian nationalists — want Russia to release political prisoners and permit global organizations to review human rights in the territory.

According to Reuters, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak claimed that the Ukraine was not doing enough to help crews restore power to the territory. He called the inaction a crime and politically motivated.

Ukraine lawmakers, speaking to Reuters, called suggestions that the government was backing the protesters “absolutely groundless.”

Scientists worry that 5.5-magnitude quake could strike Oklahoma

Four earthquakes hit Oklahoma on Monday, including one of magnitude 4.4, and geologists believe that an even bigger one could be coming.

The United States Geological Survey notes the chance for a magnitude 5.5 quake has risen significantly, given the rise in the state’s seismic activity.

KFOR notes that more than 5,000 earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma this year, and a May 2014 report from the USGS noted a nearly 50 percent increase in the state’s earthquakes since October 2013.

The USGS report included a statistical analysis of Oklahoma’s earthquake rates and found the increase did not appear to be a part of the typical fluctuations found in nature. The analysis found that one of the likely contributing factors to the increase in wastewater being injected into geologic formations deep underground. Such induction-induced seismicity, as the USGS refers to it, has also been documented in Arkansas, Ohio and Texas.

Oklahoma has a magnitude 5.6 earthquake on record. It occurred near Prague, which is about 70 miles east of Oklahoma City, in 2011 and damaged homes and buildings, according to media reports. The USGS report noted that before that the Prague quake, the previous highest earthquake in the state’s history was a magnitude 5.5 quake in 1952.

In August, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission implemented a plan to reduce wastewater disposal in some parts of the state where seismic activity had risen sharply in an effort to mitigate the quake impacts.

Still, there have been 153 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater in Oklahoma in the past 30 days alone, according to the USGS. 

The magnitude 4.4 quake that hit Monday was located near Cherokee, some 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. NewsOK reported it was located only a few miles from a 4.7 earthquake that hit last Thursday and was the state’s highest recorded seismic activity since 2011.

United States issues worldwide travel warning

Americans planning to travel this holiday season should remain vigilant.

The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday, advising United States citizens of “increased terrorist threats.” The alert is effective through Feb. 24, 2016.

The State Department’s website posting does not mention a specific new threat, but noted terrorist groups Al-Qaida, the Islamic State, Boko Haram and others are continuing to plan attacks.

“These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests,” the department wrote.

The State Department also warned of a “continuing threat” from individuals who are not affiliated with a terrorist organization, but might have been inspired by a group’s attacks.

It pointed to recent plots on sporting events, theaters and airliners, and said authorities think terrorist attacks are likely to continue as members of the Islamic State come back from Syria and Iraq.

The alert encourages travelers to remain alert, be aware of their surroundings and avoid large crowds.

“Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events,” the State Department warned.

According to its website, such travel warnings are issued when the State Department wants individuals “to consider very carefully whether (they) should go to a country at all.”

Court: Wisconsin abortion law unconstitutional

A state law requiring abortion providers in Wisconsin to obtain the ability to admit patients at nearby hospitals has been declared unconstitutional.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued the 2-to-1 ruling on Monday, multiple news agencies reported, upholding the ruling of a lower court judge.

The Associated Press reported Planned Parenthood and Affiliated Medical Services had challenged the 2013 state law, arguing the law was essentially an illegal impediment on the procedures, which are currently legal in the United States under Roe v. Wade.

Proponents of the Wisconsin legislation argued it was designed to protect women whose procedures did not go smoothly and needed hospitalization. Those against it countered that some doctors could not obtain the required privileges, which would force some clinics to shut.

A district court judge in March sided with the providers, Reuters reported. The law had been on hold since.

Richard Posner, one of the Seventh Circuit judges who voted to declare the law unconstitutional, said it could have placed women in danger. If clinics shut down, women would have to wait longer for the procedures at other clinics. That could push their pregnancy into another trimester.

Many national abortion issues may be decided next year when the United States Supreme Court weighs challenges to a Texas state law regarding the procedures.

El Niño may cause global famine, floods and sickness

Experts warn that one of the strongest El Niño patterns in the past 70 years could significantly impact the world’s economy, food supply and weather.

The ongoing phenomenon is expected to continue well into 2016, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, and its impacts go far beyond the forecast.

El Niño occurs when warm waters in the Pacific Ocean move east, which sets off a ripple effect. The warmer waters create conditions ripe for large storms, according to a Los Angeles Times report, and bring unseasonable weather.

The United Nations World Meteorological Organization said last week that this El Niño is already the strongest in the past 15 years and it is expected to continue to strengthen. It is on track to be one of the three strongest instances of the phenomenon in the past 65 years, according to the organization.

“Our planet has altered dramatically because of climate change, the general trend towards a warmer global ocean, the loss of Arctic sea ice and of over a million square kilometers of summer snow cover in the northern hemisphere,” the organization’s secretary general, Michael Jarraud, said at a news conference last week. “So this naturally occurring El Niño event and human induced climate change may interact and modify each other in ways which we have never before experienced.”

The cyclical weather pattern is known for creating intense droughts in some parts of the world and heavy rains in others. Droughts and floods are currently occurring in the tropics and subtropics, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization said at the news conference in Switzerland.

But the organization noted that the world is more prepared to deal with the phenomenon, as the countries expected to be affected the most are already planning for its impacts on their agriculture, health and economies.

Still, CNBC noted that the weather pattern is expected to impact fish catches (and poultry supplies, which depend on such catches) and natural gas prices.

CNBC reported that the 1997-98 El Niño had an economic impact of up to $45 billion. It’s expected to increase this time as global economies have grown.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, is expecting that disease, hunger and water shortages could impact up to 11 million children in parts of Africa. Another 2.3 million Central Americans are expected to need food aid because of droughts, according to the United Nations World Food Program.

And this El Niño has been linked to Hurricane Patricia in Mexico, fears of food shortages in Southern Africa and wildfires that have plagued Indonesia.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations warned earlier this month that El Niño-linked rains in parts of Africa and Yemen could also trigger a surge in locust breeding, which would further impact crop harvests.