Solar storm barreling toward Earth this weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The space weather forecast for Earth looks a bit stormy this weekend, but scientists said not to worry.

A solar storm was due to arrive Saturday morning and last through Sunday, slamming into Earth's magnetic field. Scientists said it will be a minor event and they have notified power grid operators, airlines and other potentially affected parties.

"This isn't the mother of all anything," said forecaster Joe Kunches at the government's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. "We don't see any ill effects to any systems."

The storm began Thursday when the sun unleashed a massive flare that hurled a cloud of highly charged particles racing toward Earth at 3 million mph. It was the sixth time this year that such a powerful solar outburst has occurred; none of the previous storms caused major problems.

In severe cases, solar storms can cause power blackouts, damage satellites and disrupt GPS signals and high-frequency radio communications. Airlines are sometimes forced to reroute flights to avoid the extra radiation around the north and south poles brought on by solar storms.

In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose electricity.

Juha-Pekka Luntama, a space weather expert at the European Space Agency, said utility and navigation operators "will certainly see something but they will probably find ways to deal with any problems" from the incoming storm.

The storm is part of the sun's normal 11-year cycle of solar activity, which is supposed to reach peak storminess next year.

There's a bright side to stormy space weather: It tends to spawn colorful northern lights as the charged particles bombard Earth's outer magnetic field. Shimmering auroras may be visible at the United States-Canada border and northern Europe this weekend, Kunches said.

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AP writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

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Online:

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov

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Iran renews Hormuz closure threats

U.S. crops wilting despite scattered Midwest rains

Farmer Joe Fischer holds ears of corn showing the variety of kernal development Thursday, July 12, 2012, at Fischer Farms Inc. in Owensboro, Ky. Normally the silks would already be brown, Fischer said. "There is no pollen left because the silks were delayed. . . because it has been too hot and dry," Fischer said. All five Owensboro-area counties have been designated primary disaster areas because of drought. (AP Photo/The Messenger-Inquirer, John Dunham)

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scattered rains over the last 24 hours provided little relief for U.S. Midwest corn and soybean crops that are rapidly deteriorating in the worst drought since 1988, and the forecast is for scant rain for the next two weeks, meteorologists said on Saturday.

"Overall the rain yesterday won't put a dent in the drought because they were spotty hit or miss kind of rains. Certainly some isolated areas will benefit, but it was not a significant drought buster," said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.

Thunderstorms on Friday left from 0.25 inch to 0.50 inch of rain in portions of eastern Iowa and northern Illinois, including Chicago, with isolated amounts up to one inch, meteorologists said.

There were similar showers of "0.25 inch or so" in portions of parched southern Indiana and southern Illinois, Pydynowski said.

Some showers were expected in the Midwest from Saturday through the end of next week, MDA EarthSat Weather meteorologist Steve Silver said. But the minimal amount of rain accompanied by high temperatures will continue to stress crops.

"There won't be enough rain to dent the drought," Silver said.

Only about 25 percent of the Midwest received some rain on Friday with most of the moisture in Wisconsin, Minnesota, eastern Iowa, northeast Missouri and a few spots in central and northern Illinois, said Joel Widenor, meteorologist for Commodity Weather Group (CWG).

"There was some local relief and about 20 to 25 percent of the Midwest will see similar rains during the next 1 to 5 days," Widenor said.

Meteorologists agreed that the combination of high temperatures and minimal rainfall will continue to erode production prospects for the 2012 corn and soybean crops.

"The general pattern is still hot and dry, especially in the west half of the Midwest. High temperatures in the west will reach the 90s (degrees Fahrenheit) to 100s during the next week and the low to mid-90s in the east," Widenor said.

Drought and heat led the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday to slash its U.S. corn production forecast to 12.970 billion bushels, down from its previous outlook for 14.790 billion.

USDA on Monday dropped its estimate for U.S. corn good-to-excellent condition rating to 40 percent from the previous 48 percent. Traders expect USDA to show a similar decline in updated weekly crop progress data this Monday, including a decline in soybean conditions.

The worst drought in a quarter century tightened its grip on the Midwestern United States over the past week, a report from climate experts said Thursday.

Nearly two-thirds of the nine-state Midwest region was in some stage of drought in the week ended July 10, up from just over 50 percent a week earlier, according to the Drought Monitor, a weekly report on drought throughout the country compiled by U.S. climate experts.

A third of the region was in severe to exceptional drought, up from about a quarter of the region a week earlier, it said.

(Reporting By Sam Nelson; Editing by Greg McCune and Vicki Allen)

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Hi Luis,

Here are the pictures that I tried to post earlier.This is a cove at the Morse Reservoir, not too far from where we live, where most of the residents get their drinking water from. Here is a close-up look of what the cove looks like now. On the 8 day forcast on the weather this evening it calls for more weather in the 90's and low hundreds with one day with a very slight chance for rain. Right now, Shirley and I have four gallon jugs filled with water. I will be trying to gather as many more as possible and start filling them because I know that the price of water at the stores will soar in price. We are approaching August which is typically the driest and hottest month in Indiana. We have been told that it does not look like this year will be any different..

Regarding the motorcycle gang. I realize that just because you ride a motorcycle does not make you a bad person. However, the raids were conducted in several locarions in Indiana and other states as well after a year long investigation regarding several felonies. It was not to get rid of a gang but rather to enforce justice for crimes that have been comitted. Our governor, Mitch Daniels rides a motorcycle and takes part in several Bike runs that involve motorcycle riders collecting donations for children's hospitals. Anyway, the point that I was trying to make earlier was that as predicted we are getting the good and the bad at the same time.

GOD BLESS YOU

~Mike~

http://www.countryvalues65.com