A massive magnitude 8.2 earthquake has hit the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. This deep quake will have some effect across the entire planet so read on for details.
First and fore-most this earthquake was very deep, not shallow. Being how deep it was; over 500km, means that no tsunami would be generated from it so not expecting anything to be issued from it. Deep quakes don’t have the right dynamics to push the sea-floor up and create a tsunami whereas a shallow one near the surface does, generally along a thrust fault or subduction zone such as offshore Japan, Chile, Alaska, or the Pacific Northwest.
My Earthquake Watch window was for unrest in the California area, issued on August 10th, 2018 for 10 days. We had a quake halfway through the window at a 4.4 magnitude that did meet the terms of the watch, therefore this quake is not from my watch nor can a claim be made to it. I only look at fault stress here. Now.. can this quake do anything here? Yes it can. Quakes around the ring of fire can ring the planet like a bell if over an 8.0 magnitude. Given this, we should remain on alert for any unrest that develops here. My fault-stress model is still showing high levels of stress so it must continue to be watched until that level goes down and stays down for several days.
Deep quakes like this means that the crust/mantle boundary has been hit by an updraft of hot rock within the mantle. These up and downdrafts are what is responsible for most of the deep earth activity. A deep quake can transfer to a shallow quake near the area so Indonesia, PNG, to New Zealand should be on high alert for increased activity as a result.
Second, a picture is going around from Anza earlier this last week of what is being called a tornado. That is called a landspout. A landspout is generated not by the updraft of a thunderstorm but by the convergence of the winds developing the storm. This convergence is only possible in areas where convergence zones are. It means that on a sunny day.. large dust devils in that exact location would also be seen. Such convergence zones as the Anza, Elsinore, and El Mirage Convergence Zones do have landspouts, which can connect to the base of the developing storm.. but is not caused by true tornado dynamics. Just as a waterspout is not a true tornado.. neither is the landspout.
The monsoonal moisture does make a brief return by the start of this next week. More on that later …
The Southern California Weather Force has different Facebook groups that you can ask for notifications from in order to get the latest posts affecting those regions. If that area is talked about in an article, alert, and such .. it’ll be posted there and you can be notified.
Comments are usually DISABLED as we do like to keep this as an information giving group and replies from others in the notification may annoy some.
Find your micro-climate group here – https://www.southerncaliforniaweatherforce.com/scwf-weather-alert-facebook-groups-by-region/
EMAIL ALERTS? Many micro-climate zones to choose from to get custom alerts from thunderstorm, wind, flood, surf, heat, cold, storm, and much more with the premium e-mail alert system, the most advanced zone alert system in Southern California – Click Here To Join!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ONLY: if it does not say “Liked” LIKE The Page Below and join thousands of informed weather forecast viewers in our region for more of the updates! noticeable
BEHIND THE SCENES FORECASTS/UPDATE PAGE: if it does not say “Liked” LIKE The Page Below and join thousands of informed weather forecast viewers in our region for more of the updates! noticeable