Solar Flares and a Strange Tornado

By Nicole H. Dougherty
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Story Created: Mar 11, 2012 at 8:41 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Mar 11, 2012 at 8:41 PM AKDT

Two solar flares erupted Saturday night on the surface of the sun at 8:44 p.m. Alaska local time and they are expected to affect the earth by Monday night into Tuesday morning. There has been increased public interest and discussion on solar activity. Do not worry about these events because they are part of a natural 12-year cycle for our sun. As we approach 2013, the intensity and amount of solar flares will increase, which is good for all Alaskans because it means we?ll see an increase in beautiful Aurora displays. Remember when searching for Northern Lights get away from artificial lights and look to the north-northwest. Monday night will have mostly cloudy skies with lunar illumination up to 74 percent. Low temperature for Monday night will be 10 degrees.

?For Alaska tomorrow there is not much weather to forecast. Strong winds will occur over Unalaska, Valdez, Seward, and Whittier. There will be: mostly cloudy skies for Juneau, flurries/fog for Prudhoe Bay, and morning flurries followed by sunshine in the afternoon for Fairbanks. The West will experience: mostly sunny skies, snow/rain showers for Unalaska, and winds with isolated showers in the morning followed by sunny skies for Kodiak. Valdez, Kenai Peninsula, and Matsu Valley will have sunshine. Tonight for Anchorage, expect mostly cloudy skies with low temperatures nearing 6 degrees and a few clouds on Monday.

?Nationally, Oahu, Hawaii experienced a rare tornado yesterday. It caused havoc while blowing roofs off houses and leaving a swath of destruction. Originating as a water spout, it then made landfall. The destruction occurred so quickly the local weather services did not send out any prior warnings. Fortunately, there were no reported deaths or injuries. Also tonight, there is a Tornado Watch out for eastern Texas and western Louisiana where some flooding has already occurred. Heavy rainfalls are headed for the Mississippi Valley. The West Coast will have multiple storm systems passing through tonight bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall, and isolated flooding.

Source: http://www.ktva.com/weather/weather-blog/Solar-Flares-and-a-Strange-Tornado-142282105.html

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