Monday, September 06, 2010

WEATHER PHENOMENA?

What have earthquakes, strong winds, highest tides, and extreme wintry weather got in common? Answer: the Moon, says longrange forecaster Ken Ring, author of the Predict Weather Almanac for New Zealand 2010 (Random House).
This week, says Ring, our nearest celestial neighbour is the second closest to Earth for the whole year, something called ‘perigee’ by astronomers. Lunar perigees or apogees are well documented to be responsible for disruption in land, sea and air.
Other extreme events within a few days of perigee/apogee have been the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, the 1886 Tarawera eruption, the 1931 Napier earthquake, the 1968 Wahine storm, and the 1979 Mt Erebus crash, the 1953 Tangiwai disaster, the 1963 Kaimai air crash, the 1968 Inangahua earthquake, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009 Samoan tsunami. This lunar anomaly abates around the end of the week, as accordingly, should aftershocks.

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