Science File / An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment

White Christmas

A large swath of the northeastern United States and Canada was hit by a winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in areas from Ontario to New England. The storm dampened Christmas shopping, shut down airports and closed schools. The foul weather contributed to the aborted takeoff of a passenger jet at New York Kennedy International Airport in which more than 460 passengers were evacuated from the disabled plane during heavy snow.

Tropical Storm

Tropical cyclone Gertie lost force rapidly after moving ashore in a remote part of northwestern Australia. The storm packed winds of about 63 mph as it passed inland from Eighty Mile Beach into the Great Sandy Desert.

Earthquakes

Northern Guatemala ws rocked by a strong earthquake that killed one child and injured another person. The magnitude 5.3 temblor shook for 15 seconds about 50 miles north of Guatemala City, destroying one stretch of road and damaging several houses.

Earth movements were also felt in western Turkey, the northern and southern extremes of Japan, Taiwan, the northern Philippines, southwestern China’s Qinghai Province, western India and eastern Tennessee.

Volcanic Danger

Scientists monitoring the smoldering volcano on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat announced that they have spotted a 150- foot spine in the mountain’s center that could mean that the danger of a disastrous eruption has eased. “In some ways, it’s a good sign because it suggests we’re dealing with nonexplosive magma,” said vulcanologist John Shepherd of the University of Lancaster, England, who described the hot rock as resemblilng a sharp tooth. He added that the spine presents its own problem because it could collapse and cause an avalanche of hot rock, most likely down the mountain’s east side toward a nearby airport.

Drought Buster

Torrential rains lashed South Africa, causing flooding and closing roads in several provinces, but also easing the region’s long- term drought. Several rivers threatened to overflow, and downtown Pretoria was sweamped after more than four inches of rain fell. Precipitation had fallen across South Africa every day for the past month, giving farmers a welcome break from a decade of drought and gradually replenishing depleted reservoirs. Rains are also ending a drought in Zimbabwe.

Additional Sources: U.S. Climate Analysis Center, U.S. Earthquake Information Center ad the World Meteorological Organization.

Copyright 1995 Chronicle Features