Earthquake in New Zealand: Pictures From a "War Zone"

Earthquake in New Zealand: Pictures From a "War Zone"

This is a great site I found online showing the massive amounts of destruction after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the island of New Zealand in the city of Christchurch. Many have been declared dead with many more still out there missing in the wreckage. Prayers go out to all those who have been affected by this natural disaster, as well to the families who are having to deal with this very upsetting tragedy. Earthquakes have been known to affect these parts of the country so this was by no means a complete shock.
Although this story isn't technically a weather phenomena, it seemed to be an interesting article having to do with natural disasters.  No matter what the event is, whether a storm system or an natural disaster by means of the planet, it is still important to keep people aware of the power of nature and how precious life really is.

AccuWeather.com - Weather News | First Snow in 35 Years for San Francisco this Week!?

AccuWeather.com - Weather News | First Snow in 35 Years for San Francisco this Week!?

House Fiscal 11 Budget Proposal Could Devastate the National Weather Service’s Life-Saving Warnings and Forecasts

House Fiscal 11 Budget Proposal Could Devastate the National Weather Service’s Life-Saving Warnings and Forecasts

This is a link I was sent pertaining to a possible budget cut on the National Weather Service and the many services they provide.  Coming from a meteorology degree, this was very upsetting news to receive.  The cuts they are proposing would hurt our field tremendously and could have devastating impacts on the country.  Since this is my last year at college, I am particularly nervous to enter a job field that could possibly take a such a hard blow.  When the time comes to vote on passing this bill or not, I highly suggest going against it, and saving the meteorology program in this country!

Snow blows off the back of a semi truck

The perfect reason why you should always brush the snow off the top of your car.  As you can see, the person behind this massive truck almost lost all sight when the blowing snow hit the windsheild of their car! Many believe that it should become a new law that you must take care of the snow on the top of your car as well as the roof in order to prevent future accidents on the highway.

I decided this was a great choice of video to blog about with it being such a severe weather phenomena, of which is still not 100% completely understood.  This video was from a few years back, and shows many great views of a tornados life cycle.  Although many scientists and meteorologists devote their whole lives to fully understand a tornado, there are many other variables that still boggle their minds.  This video shows what the twister looked like at the start of its life, and finishes with the tornado roping out and eventually dissipating.

Snow Squall

I took this video in January of 2011 on the roof top of the Boyd Science building at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.  The day started out with partly cloudy skies and seemed to be just another typical frigid winter day.  Within minutes, a snow squall made its way through the granite state and dumped almost two inches in a mere 15 minutes!  Winds began to blow and caused the snow to  fall horizontally. Visibility also quickly fell to less than a 1/4".  

Rainbow