Tag Archives: energy and utilities

US

Jackson, Mississippi struggles to return pressure to its troubled water system after breaks likely caused by cold weather

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CNN
 — 

The city of Jackson, Mississippi, is struggling to return pressure to its water system, after issuing a citywide boil water notice, the city said in a Monday morning update.

The troubled system lost pressure due to line breaks likely caused by the weather, according to an earlier statement from the city.

“We continue to struggle to return pressure to the water system,” the city said. “We are producing significant amounts of water and pushing that into the system, but the pressure is not increasing – despite those efforts at the plants.”

The city asked residents to, “refrain from reporting pressure loss,” as it said it’s, “well aware of the system pressure issues.”

The notice follows widespread problems in the fall with water pressure and brown water spewing from faucets and in toilets. Residents have been warning of the problems for years.

Last year, in February, a ferocious winter storm swept through parts of Mississippi, including the capital, and ruptured pipes and left tens of thousands of residents without water for weeks.

City officials said crews are working to find and repair the line breaks from this Christmas weekend, and are working with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the update added.

Even if pressure is restored, the city said to still boil water until further notice. The city also listed several locations for water distribution on Monday, in a separate update.

The city asked citizens to turn off running faucets on Sunday afternoon while temperatures are above freezing. The city also asked residents to check their businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes.

“We thank you in advance for your help and understanding. We understand the timing is terrible. Please know that we hate to issue the notice during the Christmas holiday,” according to the statement.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an emergency order in August after major operational failures at Jackson’s O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant caused widespread problems with the city’s water system.

Jackson has long faced issues with its water system. Residents and activists point to years of systemic neglect as one of the main drivers. Some city leaders have blamed the state for not answering their calls for assistance with upgrading the decrepit water system.

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US

Winter storm leaves at least 37 dead nationwide as residents in western New York remain trapped under feet of snow

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CNN
 — 

As a massive winter storm continues to blast much of the US with brutal winter weather – leading to at least 37 deaths nationwide – parts of western New York have been buried by up to 43 inches of snow, leaving vehicles stuck and power out for thousands during the Christmas weekend.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN the storm is the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history.” The heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions made roads impassable with zero visibility, froze power substations and left at least 17 people across the state dead as of Sunday night.

Western New York is drowning in thick “lake effect” snow – which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes – just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.

As rescue crews and hundreds of plow drivers fanned out on Christmas Day, even emergency and recovery vehicles sent out to help have gotten stuck in the snow. Eleven abandoned ambulances were dug out on Sunday, officials said.

“The rescue team was rescuing rescuers … it was so horrible,” Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, which includes Buffalo, said during a news conference Sunday. Many of New York’s weather-related fatalities were in Erie County, where some people were found dead in cars and on the street in snowbanks, he said.

Deaths reported in Buffalo “are people found outside and in cars,” a Buffalo Police statement read.

Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with rescue efforts in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby and helping a man with 4% left on his mechanical heart, the governor said.

“We’re still in the throes of this very dangerous life-threatening situation,” Hochul said, urging residents to stay off the roads as a driving ban remains in place in Erie County through Monday.

“Our state and county plows have been out there, nonstop, giving up time and putting themselves in danger, driving through blinding snowstorms to clear the roads,” Hochul said.

As blistering blizzard conditions swept the region, about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, according to Poloncarz, who described frightening conditions on the road.

“Think about looking just a few feet in front of you at a sheet of white for more than 24 hours in a row. That’s what it was like outside in the worst conditions,” he said. “It was continual blizzard and whiteouts such that no one could see where they were going. Nobody had any idea what was happening.”

While abandoned vehicles pepper the snow-covered roadways – with hundreds of cars still along the streets of Buffalo – conditions are also difficult inside homes.

Some residents have remained in their homes for the last 56 hours, some without power in the freezing cold, Hochul said during the news conference. This is not due to a lack of resources, the governor said, but rather a mobility and access challenge faced by utility companies.

As of Sunday evening, 94.5% of Erie County residents and 87% of Buffalo residents have had their power restored, Hochul said.

Still, there were 12,000 homes and businesses in Erie County without power Sunday evening, and many won’t have lights and heating back until Tuesday, Poloncarz said.

Buffalo will continue to see snowfall and frigid cold temperatures Monday, with a high of 23 degrees expected in the daytime and a low of 21 at night, according to the National Weather Service.

In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


Over the past week, the prolonged winter storm has enveloped a large swath of the US with dangerously low temperatures and wind chills, also bringing with it widespread power outages and thousands of canceled flights.

More than 10 million people remained under freeze alerts across the South Monday, including residents in Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham.

Subfreezing temperatures are expected across the affected areas, where temperatures will be in the teens and low 20s, potentially killing crops and damaging plumbing. The majority of these alerts are set to expire Monday morning as temperatures finally begin to recover from the polar air.

Nationwide, around 65,000 customers were without power early Monday, according to PowerOutage.US. Since the start of the storm, the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

Electricity was not the sole utility impacted: Jackson, Mississippi, issued a boil water notice Sunday after its water system lost pressure due to line breaks “likely caused by the weather,” officials said on Facebook. The city – which just two months ago overcame a separate lengthy water crisis – distributed water to residents throughout Christmas Day.

The storm also snarled travel in the US during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled for Christmas Day. More than 1,500 flights within, into or out of the US have already been canceled before 8:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Since the brutal weather’s arrival, multiple storm-related deaths have been reported across several states. In addition to the deaths in New York, the fatalities include:

• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.

• Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

The powerful system continues to move away from the Northeast, yet many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over a 24-hour span, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Watertown, New York, got 34.2 inches.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, had its snowiest Christmas Eve ever, receiving a record 10.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Buffalo, Jamestown and Watertown and will expire throughout the following couple of days. Forecasts show Jamestown could see another 8 inches of snow, Buffalo could see another 14 inches and Watertown could see another 3 feet. Winds could also gust up to 40 mph.

Lake effect snow warnings remain north of Jamestown until 10 a.m. EST Tuesday, an area where up to 18 inches are possible.

Lingering lake-effect snows blowing downwind from the Great Lakes will slowly become less intense, but the Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern half of the nation will be slow to moderate, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake-effect snows will continue to make for hazardous travel conditions for the next couple of days and conditions are expected to slowly improve over the week.

The low-pressure system is forecast to move farther away into Canada, while another system quickly across the northern US into Monday, bringing snow from the northern Plains through the Midwest.

Much of the rest of the eastern part of the country will still be in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday, forecasters said.

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Business

Around 14,000 customers impacted after substations in Tacoma vandalized by burglars

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CNN
 — 

Around 14,000 customers in Puyallup and Graham, Washington, were impacted Sunday after burglars vandalized three power substations belonging to Tacoma Public Utilities and Puget Sound Energy, police said.

No suspects are in custody at this time, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department added in a statement Sunday.

The sheriff’s department said their agency first received a report of a burglary at the Tacoma Public Utilities substation at 5:26 a.m. PT.

“Deputies arrived on scene and saw there was forced entry into the fenced area,” according to the statement. “Nothing had been taken from the substation, but the suspect vandalized the equipment causing a power outage in the area.”

Pierce County Sheriff Deputies were alerted to a report of a second burglary at another Tacoma Public Utilities substation, which also had forced entry with damage to equipment, the statement said. Similar to the first substation, nothing was taken.

“At 11:25 we were notified by Puget Sound Energy that they too had a power outage this morning at 02:39 am. Deputies are currently on scene at this facility where the fenced area was broken into and the equipment vandalized,” the statement continued.

“At this time deputies are conducting the initial investigation. We do not have any suspects in custody. It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems,” the statement said.

The FBI’s Seattle Division told CNN Sunday it was aware of the reports but declined to confirm or deny its role in any investigation, adding, “We do take threats against our infrastructure seriously and urge anyone with information to contact law enforcement.”

The city of Puyallup is located 10 miles south of Tacoma. Graham is located 16 miles south of Tacoma.

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US

NFL’s Tennessee Titans delay game one hour as state deals with rolling power outages

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CNN
 — 

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans delayed its scheduled noon CT game by an hour due to rolling blackouts in the region, which have since ended, stemming from the winter storm and brutal cold.

“Due to the extreme weather and power outages affecting our region, kickoff for today’s game has been postponed one hour to 1 p.m. CT,” the Titans said in a statement.

“This decision was made in partnership with the NFL, Office of Emergency Management, Nashville Electric Service and the Mayor’s Office in an abundance of caution to ensure that the game would not negatively impact our community in any way. We are exploring every possibility to minimize non-essential power around the stadium.”

The Titans (7-7), losers of four straight games, began their game against the Houston Texans (1-12-1) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville at 1 p.m. CT. The temperature was 22 degrees at kickoff, making it the coldest game in Nissan Stadium history, according to the CBS broadcast.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, the federally owned electric utility company that powers seven states in the region, had directed local power companies to reduce their power load for periods on Friday and Saturday due to weather-related record-high demand and power generation issues.

Chief Operating Officer Don Moul said the agency “lost some generation” due to the extreme cold and high winds, and the authority urged residents to conserve power. Still, the TVA said Saturday it supplied more power in the past 24 hours than at any other time in its history.

The authority ended the rolling blackouts midday Saturday after temperatures rose slightly and the power system’s conditions improved, the TVA said.

“We recognize that these planned temporary disruptions are a challenge, but it was needed to maintain grid stability for 10 million people across seven states,” the authority said. “Thank you for doing your part, conserving energy, and helping us manage this extreme weather event.”

On Saturday morning, local power companies said that they were directed to interrupt power for short spurts. CDE Lightband, a power company out of Clarksville, Tennessee, said the TVA told it to interrupt power in 15-minute intervals.

Similarly, the Nashville Electric Service told customers Saturday morning to expect “rotating, intermittent power outages” in about 10-minute increments every one-and-a-half to two hours.

Amid the blackouts, Nashville Mayor John Cooper had urged the Titans to postpone their game, saying that “all non-essential businesses should reduce power usage.” He issued a follow-up tweet saying he appreciated the decision to delay the game an hour.

In general, prolonged cold snaps can overwhelm the power grid by simultaneously knocking out power supply and causing a sharp increase in demand as residents turn up the heat. For example, in Texas in February 2021, a winter storm and lengthy cold period caused mass outages in areas served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, leaving millions of residents in the cold and dark for nearly a week.

The TVA informed residents on Friday there would be rolling blackouts due to the winter storm, though that directive was later rescinded.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland told CNN on Friday hospitals and medical offices were exempt. The TVA did not anticipate the extent of the situation prior to the storm, he said.

“This is a real struggle. This has never happened in my lifetime, this hasn’t happened in Memphis in at least 50 years,” Strickland said Friday.

On Saturday morning, he said the rolling blackouts across Memphis impacted more than 50,000 people for about 30 to 60 minutes at a time, likely two to three times per day.

“TVA has always prided itself on reliability. This is the first time TVA has required rolling blackouts,” Strickland told CNN. “It’s going to take a deeper dive into the reasons this happened.”

Strickland said that temperatures are not expected to rise above 32 degrees Fahrenheit for at least the next two days.

The outages and rolling blackouts have affected much of the US, particularly the Southeast.

As of 11 a.m. ET Saturday, Tennessee has about 250,000 customers without power, and North Carolina has over 380,000 customers without power, according to the website PowerOutage.US. In Davidson County, Tennessee, which includes Nashville, more than 60% of customers were without power, the site says.

Duke Energy, the electric power company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday morning announced “emergency outages” as extremely cold temperature drive unusually high energy demand across the Carolinas.

“We have begun short, temporary power outages. These emergency outages are necessary to protect the energy grid against longer, more widespread outages. We appreciate your patience,” the energy provider said in a tweet.



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US

A powerful winter storm claims at least 13 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall

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CNN
 — 

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are waking up in the dark to unlit trees on Christmas Eve, after destructive winds and heavy snow from a winter storm tore down power lines and endangered drivers across the country, killing at least 13 people in its path.

As bone-chilling temperatures continue to grip the US this holiday weekend, the unrelenting storm is pummeling the Midwest and parts of the East with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and even flooding along the Northeast coast. No letup is in sight until the end of Christmas Day.

Related: Follow live updates

At least 13 people have died since Wednesday across four states, a result of how dangerous and life-threatening conditions have been this week over a large swath of the country.

Three people have died in weather-related car crashes in Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol told CNN on Friday.

In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after their vehicle slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, first responders in Kansas City Police Department said.

Four people died in car crashes in Ohio, where others also were injured, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one, storm-related fatality.

Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

Kentucky reported three deaths caused by the storm: Two in car crashes and another was a person who was unhoused in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma – an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death, police said.

For days, forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the grim conditions the storm promised to bring, while imploring drivers to stay off the icy, snow-covered roads and other travelers to alter holiday plans for optimal safety.

“Remember your loved ones care more about having you alive and that next Christmas than whether you can make this one,” Beshear told CNN Friday.

“People need to stay off the roads. … Being together is more important than ever, but staying safe is even more important than that,” Beshear added.

The ominous warning comes as the storm continues to bear down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, bringing the double threat of heavy snow and speedy winds.

Hundreds of drivers across multiple states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota, were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states have closed major highways to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel. Plus, more than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday, and more than 10,000 were delayed.

To make matters worse, even if snowfall stops or slows, whiteout conditions are likely because winds are forecast to near or surpass 60 mph, resulting in damage and more power outages.

“If you do lose power, it is going to be dangerously cold,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding people should seek warming shelters provided by some counties. “Please don’t assume that you can weather this cold overnight without heat. You may not be able to.”

So far, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have no electricity, according to PowerOutage.US, which means millions of residents likely do not have proper heating or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist Saturday.

New Hampshire, New York and Virginia each have more than 50,000 outages as of early Saturday, while more than 240,000 outages are reported in Maine, the website shows.

In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


Here’s what else you can expect this Christmas Eve:

• The cold is coming for many: More than 175 million people are under wind chill alerts from across much of the central and eastern US. “The life-threatening Cold Temperatures and Dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded,” the National Weather Service said.

• Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, are forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.

• Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will also see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.

• Flooding threats persist: Both coastal and inland flooding risks are in store for the Northeast from heavy rain falling onto a melting snowpack. Moderate to isolated major coastal flooding is possible due to strong onshore winds.

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World

Exclusive: Biden task force investigating how US tech ends up in Iranian attack drones used against Ukraine

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Washington
CNN
 — 

The Biden administration has launched an expansive task force to investigate how US and western components, including American-made microelectronics, are ending up in Iranian-made drones Russia is launching by the hundreds into Ukraine, multiple officials familiar with the effort tell CNN. 

The US has imposed tough export control restrictions and sanctions to prevent Iran from obtaining high-end materials, but evidence has emerged that suggests Iran is finding an abundance of commercially-available technology. 

Last month, the UK-based investigative organization  Conflict Armament Research examined  several drones that had been downed in Ukraine and found that 82% of their components were manufactured by companies based in the US. 

Among the components found in some of the drones are processors built by the Dallas-based technology company Texas Instruments, according to an investigation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a source familiar with the US inquiry, as well as an engine made by an Austrian firm owned by Canada’s Bombardier Recreational Products. Both companies have condemned any use of their technology for illicit purposes. 

Their apparently unintentional ensnarement in Iran’s drone manufacturing industry underscores how inexpensive products intended for civilian use can be easily retrofitted for military purposes, and often fall just outside the bounds of sanctions and export control regimes.  

Texas Instruments said in a statement to CNN that “TI is not selling any products into Russia, Belarus or Iran. TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and partners with law enforcement organizations as necessary and appropriate. Additionally, we do not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren’t designed for. ”

Bombardier Recreational Products  said in a statement that it was launching an investigation into how the engines ended up in the drones.

The investigation has intensified in recent weeks amid intelligence obtained by the US that the Kremlin is preparing to open its own factory for drone production inside Russia as part of a deal with Iran, the officials said. 

Iran has already begun transferring blueprints and components for the drones to Russia to help with production there, CNN has reported, in a dramatic expansion of the countries’ military partnership. 

Agencies across Washington are involved in the task force, including the departments of Defense, State, Justice, Commerce and Treasury, with one official describing the inquiry as an “all hands on deck” initiative. The effort is being overseen by the White House National Security Council as part of an even bigger, “holistic approach” to dealing with Iran, a senior administration official said, from its crackdown on protesters and its nuclear program to its deepening role in the war in Ukraine.

But the drone issue is particularly urgent given the sheer volume of US-made components, many of them manufactured in the last couple years, that have been found in the Iranian drones Russia has been deploying across Ukraine against civilians and critical infrastructure. 

Conflict Armament Research found that the Iranian drones they examined in Ukraine in November had “higher-end technological capabilities,” including tactical-grade sensors and semiconductors sourced outside of Iran, demonstrating that Tehran “has been able to circumvent current sanction regimes and has added more capabilities and resiliency to its weapons.”

National Security Council official John Kirby told reporters earlier this month that the US would be sanctioning three Russian companies involved in acquiring and using the Iranian drones, and is “assessing further steps we can take in terms of export controls to restrict Iran’s access to sensitive technologies.” 

Much of that work has fallen to the task force, officials said, and among its first tasks has been to notify all of the American companies whose components have been found in the drones. Congressional staffers briefed on the effort told CNN that they hope the task force provides lawmakers with a list of US companies whose equipment is being found in the drones in an effort to force greater accountability by urging the companies to monitor their supply chains more closely.

The task force is also having to coordinate with foreign allies, since the components being used in the drones are not limited to those produced by American companies.  Conflict Armament Research also found that “more than 70 manufacturers based in 13 different countries and territories” produced the components in the Iranian drones they examined.

In October, CNN obtained access to a drone that was downed in the Black Sea near Odesa and captured by Ukrainian forces. It was found to contain Japanese batteries, an Austrian engine and American processors. 

Iran may also be acquiring near-exact replicas of western components from China, according to a study published last month by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. “China plays a larger role than previously assessed in enabling Iran to manufacture and supply drones to Russian forces,” the report found. “It appears that Chinese companies are supplying Iran with copies of Western commodities to produce UAV combat drones.”

The White House believes it is successfully driving home the scale of the issue with allies. The senior administration official told CNN that there was “growing broad and deep international consensus on Iran, from the EU to Canada to Australia and New Zealand, which is being led by US diplomacy.”

There is no evidence that any of the western companies are knowingly exporting their technology to be used in the drones, and that is partly why the task force’s job has been so difficult, officials said. 

The task force has its work cut out for it in tracing supply chains for the microelectronics industry, which relies heavily on third party distributors and resellers. The microchips and other small devices ending up in so many of the Iranian and Russian drones are not only inexpensive and widely available, they are also easily hidden. 

Iran also uses front companies to buy equipment from the US and EU that may have a dual use, like the Austrian engines, that Tehran can then use to build drones, according to the Treasury Department, which sanctioned several of those companies in September. 

 That makes supply chain monitoring a challenge, though experts say US and European companies could be doing a lot more to track where their products are going. 

“American companies should be doing a lot more to track their supply chains,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, the former chief technology officer at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. 

Keeping better track of resellers is a first step, he said, but the task is admittedly difficult because so many of these companies’ products are so commoditized and available off-the-shelf and online for civil purposes. Ultimately, neutering some Iranian front companies with sanctions and cutting off their supply from some western companies will be akin to “a game of whack a mole,” Alperovitch said, noting that they “can easily find another supplier.”

He added that the real “weak underbelly” of US policy when it comes to export controls is enforcement—and prosecuting the specific individuals involved in the illicit transactions. 

“We have to beef up the resources for enforcement of our sanctions to achieve the desired effect,” Alperovitch said.

“You can put companies on the [sanctioned] entities list,” he added, “but if you don’t actually go after the people involved, it doesn’t mean a whole lot.” 

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Science

NASA’s quake-detecting InSight Mars mission has come to an end

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CNN
 — 

After making groundbreaking discoveries about the mysterious interior of the red planet, the InSight lander’s mission has officially ended.

The stationary lander spent nearly 1,500 days on Mars. Mission managers declared the program’s end on Wednesday after the lander failed to respond to two messages from mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The mission, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, ended more than four years after it first landed on November 26, 2018.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in a statement that “while saying goodbye to a spacecraft is always sad, the fascinating science InSight conducted is cause for celebration. The seismic data alone from this Discovery Program mission offers tremendous insights not just into Mars but other rocky bodies, including Earth.”

Designed to last for only two years, InSight’s mission was extended twice. But a heavy accumulation of dust on its solar panels caused a steady drop in the lander’s power source.

Mars is a frigid desert where weather is driven by swirling dust. Over the course of InSight’s time on Mars, it survived dust storms and swirling dust devils. The clever mission team, and wind on Mars, helped clear the solar panels from time to time.

Eventually, nothing could keep the red dust from building up an impenetrable layer on InSight’s solar panels, as captured by one of the mission’s final selfies in April.

Despite these challenges, InSight conserved power to keep capturing science from its home in a plain called Elysium Planitia along the Martian equator. Slowly, it shut off its instruments, one by one, while listening for the rumble of Marsquakes to the very end.

Unlike its roaming rover cousins, InSight was designed to stay in its landing spot and perform the first “checkup” of Mars, bedecked with 7-foot solar arrays, a suite of instruments and a robotic arm.

InSight made history by detecting the first quakes on another planet and heard Mars rumble more than 1,300 times during its mission.

Marsquakes are like the earthquakes we experience on Earth, just a little bit different when it comes to why they occur on each planet.

When we experience earthquakes, it’s because the tectonic plates on Earth are shifting, moving and grinding against one another. So far, Earth is the only planet known to have these plates.

Think of the Martian crust as a single giant plate. This crust has faults and fractures within it because the planet continues to shrink as it cools. This puts stress on the Martian crust, stretching and cracking it.

The lander’s incredibly sensitive seismometer, called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, could detect marsquakes from hundreds and thousands of miles away.

In May, InSight captured “the big one,” a marsquake with a magnitude of 5, which sent vibrations through the planet for at least six hours.

InSight also heard space rocks as they slammed into Mars and left behind fresh, gaping craters. One revealed a treasure trove of buried ice near the warm Martian equator.

When the seismic waves of marsquakes traveled through different materials within the Martian interior, it allowed scientists to study the planet’s structure.

The data collected by InSight also revealed new details about the unexplored Martian core, mantle and crust, including why Mars’ core is still molten. The findings can shed light on whether it was ever able to support life and how rocky planets like Mars and Earth formed in the solar system.

It wasn’t always an easy path for the lander and its instruments.

“The mole,” or the self-hammering heat probe, was designed to reach at least 16 feet beneath the surface to record how heat escapes from the interior, according to NASA.

The InSight team tirelessly tried every trick in the book, including banging on it, to send the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package beneath the Martian soil for nearly two years. But the soil’s odd clumping prevented the mole from having the friction it needed and it was essentially retired in January 2021.

Although dust ultimately ended InSight’s mission, as with other solar-powered Martian robotic explorers like the Opportunity rover, the lander made an in-depth study of its enemy.

InSight collected the most comprehensive weather data of any mission sent to the surface of Mars, according to NASA.

Over four years, it captured daily weather forecasts on Mars, recorded the eerie sounds of wind, rode out Martian winters, and observed thousands of sunrises and sunsets.

InSight has allowed scientists a more complete picture of Mars and gathered information that will be instrumental when humans land on the red planet.

“We’ve thought of InSight as our friend and colleague on Mars for the past four years, so it’s hard to say goodbye,” said Bruce Banerdt, the mission’s principal investigator. “But it has earned its richly deserved retirement.”

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US

Heavy snow to bombard millions in Northeast this weekend as South recovers from deadly tornadoes 5.5

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CNN
 — 

The monstrous storm that walloped much of the US this week has now brought nor’easter conditions as it moves across New York and New England ahead of the weekend.

After many in the South were left grappling with power outages and smashed homes and businesses from a string of tornadoes earlier this week, officials and forecasters across several Northeastern states are warning of heavy snow that could pile up to a foot Friday.

In response to the massive storm system, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents of the hazardous road conditions the storm is threatening to bring as millions across in the Northeast are under winter weather alerts Friday.

“We urge everyone in the impacted regions to avoid unnecessary travel tonight and tomorrow,” Hochul said in a Thursday statement. “Work from home if possible, stay off the roads, and make sure you and your loved ones remain vigilant.”

In neighboring Pennsylvania, state transportation officials implored drivers to avoid unnecessary travel due to the low visibility caused by wind and heavy snow.

“Very heavy snowfall rates reaching 1 to 2 inches/hour will be likely across areas of interior New York and central New England,” the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service said Thursday. “Dangerous travel conditions and scattered power outages are expected.”

Parts of eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine can also see between 18 and 24 inches of snow accumulate in local areas, according to the weather service. Already, parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York have seen several inches of snow, with some areas catching up to six inches.

The unrelenting storm system has cut a dangerous cross-country path since the beginning of week, bringing varying combinations of severe weather to different parts of the US.

Tornadoes in the South killed three people in Louisiana while also flattening many homes and other structures. Blizzard conditions in the Upper Midwest brought piles of snow and fierce winds that tore down power lines, leaving tens of thousands in the dark in freezing temperatures the week before Christmas.

States from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest – including Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin – saw more than a foot of snow this week.

Plus, dozens of tornadoes were reported across Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma since Tuesday. The deadly storms claimed the lives of three people in Louisiana.

And in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the storm brought a quarter inch of ice was reported Thursday morning to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, and about a tenth of an inch had built up in parts of Virginia.

More than 5 million people across portions of Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire are under winter storm warnings Friday.

Heavy wet snow is expected to bombard the region, making travel miserable this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

“For the interior Northeast, precipitation tonight and Friday will fall as snow and become heavy at times,” the weather service said.

Snow totals between 6 and 12 inches are forecast from central Pennsylvania north into interior Upstate New York, with up to 2 feet at areas with higher elevations, through Saturday.

Plus, major cities, including New York and Boston, can expect 1 to 2 inches of heavy rain from the nor’easter into the weekend before the storm system pulls away from the region Sunday,

Some communities along the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware are under flood alerts, though severe flooding is not expected.

The storm inflicted a slew of tornadoes in the South and blizzard conditions in the Upper Midwest, leaving about 100,000 homes and businesses in the dark across Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Virginia as well as Pennsylvania of early Friday, according to Poweroutage.us.

Powerful winds whirled by blizzard conditions knocked down power lines in the Upper Midwest as temperatures in some areas plummeted to near or below freezing, leaving thousands without proper heating.

Meanwhile in Louisiana, Yoshiko A. Smith, 30, and her 8-year-old son, Nikolus Little, were killed Tuesday when a tornado struck Caddo Parish and destroyed their home, local officials said.

The family’s bodies were found far from where their house once stood, officials said. Autopsies have been ordered for both, the county coronor said.

A 56-year-old woman died after a tornado hit her home in St. Charles Parish, the Louisiana Department of Health said Wednesday.

Another tornado in northern Louisiana traveled through the town of Farmerville was rated an EF-3, with 140 mph winds, according to the National Weather Service. At least 20 people were injured, and the tornado demolished parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park, Farmerville Police Detective Cade Nolan said.

The tornado, which moved through Union Parish Tuesday evening, was 500 yards wide at its largest point and was on the ground for more than 9 miles.



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Science

Whales can have an important but overlooked role in tackling the climate crisis, researchers say

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CNN
 — 

The world’s largest whales are more than just astonishing creatures. Much like the ocean, soil and forests, whales can help save humanity from the accelerating climate crisis by sequestering and storing planet-heating carbon emissions, researchers say.

In a paper published Thursday in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, climate researchers suggest that whales are important, but often overlooked, carbon sinks. The enormous size of these marine mammals, which can reach 150 tons, means they can store carbon much more effectively than smaller animals.

And because whales live longer than most animals, some for more than 100 years, the paper said they could be “one of the largest stable living carbon pools” in the ocean. Even when they die, whale carcasses descend to the deepest parts of the sea and settle on the seafloor, trapping the carbon they’ve stored in their stout, protein-rich bodies.

An indirect way whales can be critical carbon sinks is through their feces. Whale poop is rich in nutrients which can be taken up by phytoplankton — tiny organisms that suck up carbon dioxide as they grow. When they die, phytoplankton also sink at the bottom of the seafloor, taking tiny bits of carbon in their carcasses.

The process of carbon sequestration helps mitigate climate change, because it locks away carbon that otherwise would have warmed the planet somewhere else for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Yet whales are threatened, with six out of 13 great whale species classified as endangered or vulnerable due to threats including industrial whaling, which has reduced whale biomass by 81%, as well as entanglement with fishing gear, climate change-induced shifts in prey availability, noise pollution and more.

Heidi Pearson, lead author and researcher at the University of Alaska Southeast, said the research shows that protecting whales has a double benefit — helping to stem the biodiversity crisis as well as human-caused climate change.

The paper puts together all available research about how whales work as critical carbon sinks. As the need grows for nature-based solutions such as tree planting to help solve the climate crisis, Pearson said it is important to understand the ability of whales to trap carbon.

“You can think of protecting whales as a low risk and low regret strategy, because there’s really no downside,” Pearson told CNN. “What if we protect them and get ecosystem benefits in addition to carbon?” She said there was no risk to this strategy compared to other untested, expensive solutions to capturing and trapping carbon, such as geoengineering. There has been much research and analysis into whales’ contribution to carbon storage over the years.

In 2019, economists with the International Monetary Fund attempted to quantify the economic benefits of whales. The first-of-its-kind analysis looked at the market price of carbon dioxide, then calculated the whale’s total monetary value based on how much carbon it captures, in addition to other economic benefits like ecotourism. It put the average value of a great whale at $2 million.

But there remain big gaps in knowledge to fully determine how whale carbon should be used in climate mitigation policies. Asha de Vos, a marine biologist and founder of Oceanswell in Sri Lanka, said it’s important to recognize that whales have “more to offer than their beauty and charisma,” and that protecting them is key to a proper functioning ocean ecosystem.

“But, as the authors suggest, we mustn’t overemphasize the role of whales in these spaces as we do not have sufficient research,” de Vos, who is not involved with the study, told CNN. “Fundamentally, whales will not save our oceans or planet on their own, but they likely play a role in the larger system.”

As Pearson continues to research whale carbon in Alaska, particularly delving into the indirect pathways in which whales can be carbon sinks, she said she hopes the current paper pushes policymakers to consider whales as a significant part of climate mitigation strategies.

It’s another layer that links the biodiversity crisis to the climate crisis — but for now, Pearson said she and a team will go back out in the field to fully quantify the carbon impact of whales.

“Whales aren’t a silver bullet to saving the planet; it’s just one small thing that we could do amidst many other things we need to do for climate change,” Pearson said. “We just need to get the scientific story straight.”

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US

Tornadoes leave a trail of destruction in Louisiana and the Southeast, killing at least 3, collapsing homes, knocking out power

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CNN
 — 

A severe weather system cutting through the South has left a trail of destruction in Louisiana, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of others as violent tornadoes touched down, collapsing homes, turning debris into projectiles and knocking out power.

The deaths attributed to storm-related events include a 56-year-old woman who died after a tornado hit her home in the Killona area in St. Charles Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Additionally, a boy and his mother were found dead after a tornado destroyed their home Tuesday in the northwestern Louisiana community of Keithville, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office said. The mother and son’s bodies were found hours apart, far from where their house once stood, officials said.

Multiple communities throughout Louisiana reported destruction, with roofs ripped off, homes splintered, debris littering roadways and cars flipper over. As ferocious winds downed power lines, more than 50,000 customers were left without power in across Louisiana and Mississippi Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. That number was down to less than 15,000 early Thursday.

There were at least 49 tornado reports across Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center. More tornado reports are likely to come in as surveyors continue to check for damage.

And the threat isn’t over yet. More than 15 million people could see severe weather Thursday in parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as the severe weather shifts the east, according to CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford.

More than 1.5 million people were under tornado watches in southeastern Alabama, northern Florida and southern Georgia until 9 a.m. Thursday. Strong tornadoes are still likely as well as quarter sized hail and powerful wind gusts up to 70 mph.

The massive storm that brought the destruction to Louisiana and across the Southeast is part of a massive system that has also brought blizzard conditions in northern parts of the central US.

For Thursday, the storms are expected to weaken slightly, but there is a risk for severe weather for much of Florida, coastal Georgia and coastal Carolinas. Cities like Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston could see damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes, Shackelford said.

In Louisiana, the damage has been widespread, affecting multiple communities, prompting Gov. John Bel Edwards to declare a state of emergency.

As many as 5,000 structures were likely damaged when a tornado struck the city of Gretna, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, Mayor Belinda Constant said.

Farther north, at least 20 people were injured in the small Union Parish town of Farmerville when a tornado struck Tuesday night, demolishing parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park, Farmerville police Detective Cade Nolan said.

Patsy Andrews was home with her children in Farmerville when she heard “rushing wind like a train” outside, she told CNN affiliate KNOE-TV.

Her son told her not to open the door when she went to investigate, but it was too late.

“All of a sudden that wind was so heavy, it broke my back door,” Andrews said. “The lights went off and all we could hear was glass popping everywhere.”

She said she and her daughter hit the floor, crawling into a hallway as glass shattered around them and water leaked through the roof. They ended up taking shelter in their bathroom.

“We just got in the tub and we hugged each other. We just kept praying and I just kept calling on Jesus,” Andrews said. Her family survived the storm but were left with damage to their home.

In the Algiers area of New Orleans, four residents were taken to area hospitals as the storm battered the area on the west bank of the Mississippi River, Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness told CNN. At least one house collapsed in the area and other residences and businesses have been impacted, Arnold added.

Officials in St. Bernard Parish also reported “major damage” in Arabi, where a tornado touched down, they said, leaving much of the area without power.

Crews in Arabi will be conducting search and rescue efforts throughout the night, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said. Ten people have been rescued due to severe weather, but no serious injuries or deaths have been reported, Pohlmann added.

Cindy DeLucca Hernandez thought she could beat the storm while driving home after picking up her 16-year-old son from school. But on the journey, she found herself facing a tornado.

“It was extremely scary, I’ve never ever been through anything like that,” Hernandez said.

Video she shared with CNN shows her waiting at red light as a tornado blew through Arabi, kicking up debris and taking out power lines.

“We started seeing debris and we got hit a couple of times by it and that’s when I put the car in reverse,” she said. Hernandez and her son made it home safe.

Jefferson Parish Councilman Scott Walker said he saw at least a mile-long path of debris.

“Power lines down, homes severely damaged, rooftops ripped off,” he said in a video shared online describing the scene. “It is an extensive damage scene and a long path of destruction here on the west bank.”

Two schools in Jefferson Parish suffered storm damage and were expected to stay closed Thursday.

Iberia Medical Center “sustained a significant amount of damage,” police Capt. Leland Laseter said on Facebook. CNN has sought comment from the medical center.

The New Iberia Police Department reported on Facebook that two tornadoes touched down in the city, with several homes damaged and reports of people trapped in the Southport Subdivision.

The storm also left damage behind in Texas and Oklahoma as it moved through the south earlier this week, spawning tornadoes.

In Texas, at least seven people were injured Tuesday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – including at least five hurt around the city of Grapevine. Two tornado reports were made in Grapevine, where police said a mall and other businesses were damaged.

An EF2 tornado struck Wise County near the communities of Paradise and Decatur, damaging homes and businesses, officials said. Video showed homes splintered, with roofs ripped off in Decatur.

In Wayne, Oklahoma, an EF2 tornado damaged homes, outbuildings and barns early Tuesday, officials said. No injuries were reported but homes were flattened or had roofs torn off, video from CNN affiliate KOCO shows.



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