Starship Asterisk*

I'm not sure of it's origin, but is there an Old Norse word something like 'gjel'?

Et gjel er en trang dal med bratte sider som er oppstått ved at en elv har gravd seg ned i berggrunnen.

The last two winters here in Britain have been much colder, with more snow for longer than we have been used to for many years. I am awaiting what happens this winter to see if there is a trend emerging towards more extreme conditions. Three in a row could begin to look like an emerging pattern. I don't relish the thought of another hard winter at all. But what will be, will be.

starstruck wrote: Orin, I am interested that you say your weather has been so cold recently. Presumably your cold air systems come down from Canada? I wonder if it heralds a hard winter to come. The last two winters here in Britain have been much colder, with more snow for longer than we have been used to for many years. I am awaiting what happens this winter to see if there is a trend emerging towards more extreme conditions. Three in a row could begin to look like an emerging pattern. I don't relish the thought of another hard winter at all. But what will be, will be.

Ann wrote:Here are some reasons why I hate snow:

Ann

Beyond wrote:Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row. To go from not having too much snow for many years, to having 4-feet of the packed white stuff sitting on my front lawn..... well, I'd just as soon forget about it and not have another.

Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row.

Ann wrote:Beyond wrote:

Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row.

Ann

Your mention of Helsingborg is coincidental . . I used to live in an Edwardian house called Elsinore; a very grand name for a house that was quite unlike the castle it was named after!

http://www.wgal.com/weather/29228358/detail.html#ixzz1YS6y5Kjh wrote:
NWS: Tornado Touched Down In Ocean City, Md.
Storm Began As Waterspout, Struck Land Near 75th Street

OCEAN CITY, Md. -- The National Weather Service said an F-0 tornado touched down last Thursday in Ocean City, Md.

The twister had estimated winds of 60 to 70 mph and had a half-mile path that was about 40 yards wide.

The storm began as a waterspout before continuing onto land near 75th Street.

Damage included broken windows and ripped home siding.

Ohhh....the humanity!

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=52224 wrote:

---

<<Typhoon Roke promises to bring unwelcome rain to areas of Japan still recovering from Typhoon Talas, which triggered landslides and floods across the Kii Peninsula in early September 2011. The new typhoon has the potential to trigger additional landslides and floods, particularly as rainwater builds up behind mud dams formed by landslides during Typhoon Talas. Fearing floods from two rivers, officials in the city of Nagoya ordered the evacuation of 80,000 people and advised more than a million more to evacuate, said The Japan Times.

Typhoon Roke was on its way to becoming a very strong storm when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image at 1:45 p.m. local time (4:45 UTC) on September 20, 2011. The storm is large and well-formed, with a distinct eye. An hour after the image was taken, Roke had winds of 95 knots, making it a Category 2 storm. Seven hours later, the storm intensified to Category 4, with winds reaching 115 knots.

Roke was moving northeast toward the Japanese island of Honshu at 35 kilometers per hour and was forecast to come ashore on September 21, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Roke could bring as much as 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain to parts of Japan.>>

baggypants wrote:

Beyond wrote:Over here in the east, Connecticut, we've had 1-bad winter in a row. To go from not having too much snow for many years, to having 4-feet of the packed white stuff sitting on my front lawn..... well, I'd just as soon forget about it and not have another.

Hahaha, that's the same with us, but we've actually had one good summer in a row (currently residing in England) - you know what they say: I love the summer in England, it's my favourite day of the year

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/21/140668756/typhoon-roke-lashes-japan-with-100-mph-winds wrote:
Typhoon Roke Lashes Japan With 100 MPH Winds
by Eyder Peralta : September 21, 2011

Surging waves hit against the breakwater in Udono in a port town of Kiho, Mie Prefecture, central Japan. A powerful typhoon was bearing down on Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast Wednesday.

---

<<Typhoon Roke made landfall early this morning, bringing 100 mph winds to central Japan and moving northeast to an area already devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March.

Reuters reports on the typhoon's impact: <<A powerful typhoon struck Japan on Wednesday, killing six people, disrupting public transportation and pummeling Tokyo and northeastern Japan including the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant with heavy rain, officials and media said. Typhoon Roke, the second big storm to hit Japan this month, was packing winds of up to 180 km per hour (110 miles per hour) at its centre and dumped more than 30 cm (12 inches) of rain in parts of northeastern Japan over the past 24 hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.>>

Just as the storm made landfall, Japan was also struck by a 5.3 magnitude earthquake that was deep and caused no damage. CNN reports that officials are worried that as the typhoon moves northeast, it could affect the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant: TEPCO officials said they had outdoor construction canceled at the plant. There were also concerns about whether a strong downpour could wash radiation-contaminated waters out of the plant.

At one point before the storm made landfall, about 1 million people were urged to evacuate from vulnerable areas as heavy rain pounded central and western Japan. NHK, Japan's international broadcaster, reports that the 1,000 homes are flooded and 89,000 are without power. Hachioji City, Tokyo experienced winds of close to 100 mph.

Roke is now a tropical storm, and moving just offshore of northeast Japan.>>

baggypants wrote:Oh, actually, just to make you feel even worse, it has been strangely sunny lately, though freezing, but in the office through the double-glazed windows, it's bloody marvellous in the office. Don't feel like autumn at all.