NEW ROBOT PICTURES: Best Moon-Digging Rovers Named
In a battle for the lightest yet strongest, robotic competitors in the 2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge hauled hundreds of pounds of simulated moon soil. Winning designs may actually end up on the moon if NASA builds a lunar outpost.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED) National Weather Northeast Partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies predicted for Southern New England to the Mid-Atlantic. A wave of low pressure along the front may bring some rain Thursday to far western New York and Northern New England. More widespread rain will move into the Northeast on Thursday night and Friday.Midwest Rain will extend from northern Michigan southwestward to the upper-Mississippi Valley and into the Central Plains. Northeastern Minnesota may receive several inches of snow. Rain will move eastward on Thursday and will extend from Michigan southwestward to the lower-Ohio Valley, mid-Mississippi Valley and Central Plains. Snow or a rain and snow mix may develop over parts of Nebraska and Kansas.West An area of low pressure aloft will bring significant snow today over the Colorado and northern New Mexico mountains with possible accumulations of 6 to 18 inches. Denver will see a rain and snow mixture with only some minor accumulations possible. In the Pacific Northwest, a weakening front will bring rain and some high mountain snow to parts of Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, and northwestern Montana.SouthA storm system moving eastward from the Rockies will bring up Gulf moisture to produce heavy rain across the South. Rain will spread and increase today from the Southern Plains to the lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday. Totals of 1 to 3 inches are possible in some locations and may lead to local flooding problems especially in northeast Texas, western Arkansas, and northwest Louisiana areas. Rain will move into the Southeast by late Thursday and Friday. (NOAA s National Weather Service, Various Media Sources) Tsunami Recovery - American Samoa FEMA 1859-DR-AS was approved September 29, 2009.Federal Response FEMA Logistics continues to coordinate the movement of commodities and generators related to power restoration. Region IX RRCC is at Watch/Steady State with a JFO Support Cell consisting of ESF-8, ESF-15, and Logistics. ESF-8 will remain activated until all teams and equipment are removed from American Samoa. The Pago Pago Joint Field Office (JFO) for FEMA-1859-DR-AS is fully operational.Current Situation / Status of Response: Preliminary damage assessments for public assistance are on-going. Most remaining commodities should be delivered to American Samoa by October 25; it is anticipated that only one inbound flight will be needed. Development of Emergency Sheltering Options for a six month period is being discussed.(Region IX, JFO) Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) No activity.(FEMA HQ) Tropical Weather Outlook Atlantic At 2:00 a.m. EDT, a broad area of low pressure over the southwestern Caribbean Sea is producing a large area of cloudiness and showers. Any development of this system is expected to be slow to occur as it remains nearly stationary during the next couple of days. Regardless of development, heavy rains are possible over portions of Central America. There is a less than 30 percent of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours. Eastern / Central Pacific Tropical Storm Rick At 5:00 a.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Rick was located 135 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Rick is moving toward the northeast near 14 mph and this general motion is expected to continue today. Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts. Slight weakening is possible prior to l50 miles. Rainfall accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are possible over extreme southern Baja California. Large swells generated by Rick will continue to affect portions of the southern Baja California Coast and the west-central Coast of Mexico during the next 48 hours.Hurricane Neki At 2:00 a.m. EDT, the center of Hurricane Neki was located about 625 miles southwest of Honolulu Hawaii and about 270 miles east-southeast of Johnston Island. Neki is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph. Neki will gradually turn to the north-northwest and decrease its forward motion during the next 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph with higher gusts. Neki is forecast to continue intensifying through 48 hours. There are no threats to U.S. interests.Area Low A weak trough is located about 850 miles southeast of the Big Island and is producing an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Tropical cyclone development is not expected in this area during the next two days. Elsewhere, no tropical cyclones are expected through early Thursday evening.Western Pacific There are no threats to U.S. interests. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center) Earthquake Activity No new activity (FEMA HQ) Preliminary Damage Assessments No new activity (FEMA HQ) Wildfire Update National Preparedness is at Level 1. National fire activity as of Tuesday, October 20: Initial attack activity: Light (35 new fires) New large fires: 0 Large fires contained: 0 Uncontained large fires: 0 States Affected: None(NIFC) Disaster Declaration Activity FEMA-1843-DR-AK has been approved to close Oct 23, 2009. (FEMA HQ)
Largest Web-Spinning Spider Found
The female of the new golden orb-weaver species Nephila komaci has a leg span of up to five inches about ten times larger than the male say scientists who found the giant web-spinning spider.
