KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ISAIAH 33:8
8  The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Kerry: Israel, Palestinians must take hard decisions

"I know this region well enough to know there is scepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism, and there are reasons for it"

By Uzi Baruch & AFP-First Publish: 5/24/2013, 3:54 PM-Israelnationalnews

John Kerry-AFP photo

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Friday to take "hard decisions" to revive the Middle East peace process, which has stalled for almost three years."We're getting toward a time now when hard decisions need to be made," he told a news conference in Tel Aviv at the end of his fourth visit to theregion since he took office in February.Kerry has been pressing Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks that broke down in September 2010.He said there was "one way" to make peace a reality, "and that is through direct negotiations."Ultimately it is the Israeli and Palestinian people who both decide the outcome... and who will get the greatest benefits" from a resumption of talks, he said."I know this region well enough to know there is scepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism, and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment," he said.   But he insisted: "It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, that we can lay on a path ahead that can
conceivably surprise people and certainly exhaust the possibilities for peace."   And in a powerful message to Palestinians, who are used to just seeingAmerican motorcades sweep by into Abbas's high-walled headquarters compound, Kerry went for a stroll along a Ramallah street. Despite public pronouncements of support, there is growing frustration that there has been little sign of a shift in the long-held positions of the two sides.  Complicating efforts is the new Israeli government, which has moved more towards the right and includes some ministers who oppose a two-state solution.Kerry also warned on Friday that there was a time limit on the possibility of peace, after Thursday comments from British Foreign Secretary William Hague -- also on a visit to the region -- that the prospects of a two-state solution "cannot be kept alive forever."
"It is clear that in the long run the status quo is not sustainable," Kerry said.    The secretary of state also touched on the sensitive issue of Jewish settlement building in the Palestinian territories, one of the principal issues over which the 2010 talks stalled.   "The US position on settlements is clear and has not changed... we believe they should stop," he said.

Submerged structure stumps Israeli archaeologists

By TIA GOLDENBERG | Associated Press – Thu, May 23, 2013

TIBERIAS, Israel (AP) — The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.It's thousands of years old — a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored.The problem is — it's at the bottom of the biblical Sea of Galilee. For now, at least, Israeli researchers are left stranded on dry land, wondering what finds lurk below.The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 70 meters (230 feet), emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003. Now archaeologists are trying to raise money to allow them access to the submerged stones."It's very enigmatic, it's very interesting, but the bottom line is we don't know when it's from, we don't know what it's connected to, we don't know its function," said Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa who is one of several researchers studying the discovery. "We only know it is there, it is huge and it is unusual."Archaeologists said the only way they can properly assess the structure is through an underwater excavation, a painstakingly slow process that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And if an excavation were to take place, archaeologists said they believed it would be the first in the Sea of Galilee, an ancient lake that boasts historical remnants spanning thousands of years and is the setting of many Bible scenes.In contrast, Israeli researchers have carried out many excavations in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.Much of the researchers' limited knowledge about this structure comes from the sonar scan a decade ago.Initial dives shortly after that revealed a few details. In an article in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology published earlier this year, Nadel and fellow researchers disclosed it was asymmetrical, made of basalt boulders and that "fish teem around the structure and between its blocks."
The cone-shaped structure is found at a depth of between three and 12 meters (nine and 40 feet) beneath the surface, about half a kilometer (1,600 feet) from the sea's southwestern shore. Its base is buried under sediment.The authors conclude the structure is man-made, made of stones that originated nearby, and it weighs about 60,000 tons. The authors write it "is indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and economic ability."The rest is a mystery.Yitzhak Paz, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority who is involved in the project, said that based on sediment buildup, it is between 2,000 and 12,000 years old, a vast range that tells little about it. Based on other sites and artifacts found in the region, Paz places the site's origin some time during the 3rd millennium B.C., or about 5,000 years ago, although he admits the timeframe is just a guess."The period is hard for us to determine. No scientific work was carried out there, no excavations, no surveys. We have no artifacts from the structure," Paz said.
Archaeologists were also cautious about guessing the structure's purpose. They said possibilities include a burial site, a place of worship or even a fish nursery, which were common in the area, but they said they wanted to avoid speculation because they have so little information.It's not even clear if the structure was built on shore when the sea stood at a low level, or if it was constructed underwater. Paz reckons it was built on land, an indication of the sea's low level at the time.In order to fill in the blanks, archaeologists hope to inspect the site underwater, despite the expense and the complexities.Nadel noted that working underwater demands not only a skill such as scuba diving, but also labor-intensive excavations that are particularly difficult in the Sea of Galilee, which already has low visibility and where any digging can unleash a cloud of sediment and bury what's just been uncovered.Also, divers can remain under water only for a limited amount of time every day and must choose the best season that can provide optimal conditions for excavating.
"Until we do more research, we don't have much more to add," Nadel said. "It's a mystery, and every mystery is interesting."___Follow Tia Goldenberg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tgoldenberg

ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

The Intifada is Here, Even if Media Hasn’t Said So’

Israeli woman’s message: the Intifada has started – take steps to protect yourselves.

By Maayana Miskin-First Publish: 5/24/2013, 11:35 AM-Israelnationalnews

Arab rock throwers / archive-Israel news photo: Flash 90

More and more Israelis living in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) have come under attack as Palestinian Authority terrorist groups increase the frequency of assaults on drivers in the region. One of the victims is Michal Weisel, who shared her post-attack thoughts with Arutz Sheva.Israelis need to take advantage of technology that can reinforce car windows against attack, she said, and not to rely on the IDF to stop attacks.Weisel was attacked by three young Arab men hurling heavy stones. “It’s lucky that the car was a reinforced car owned by the Regional Council – the rocks bounced off the frame of the car,” she recalled.
“I hope the IDF will take strong action against rock throwers, but for my part, I’m going to reinforce my car, because it saves lives,” she said. “A rock can kill, no less so than gunfire.”“We’re in an Intifada, even if they media hasn’t said so yet,” she warned. The Palestinian Authority has launched two past “Intifada” terrorism wars targeting Israeli civilians in a variety of attacks including rock and firebomb attacks on passing cars, stabbings and shootings in civilian homes, and suicide bombings.The IDF has reportedly started preparing for a third round of “Intifada” attacks. However, current and former military leaders have reassured civilians that there is currently no new Intifada, despite the many recent attacks on Israeli drivers.

Kerry, Lavrov to meet on Syria in Paris on Monday

Reuters – 32 mins ago MAY 24,13

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet privately in Paris on Monday to discuss their efforts to bring Syria's warring parties to a peace conference, a U.S. official said on Friday.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two men would "continue their conversation (from) Moscow," a reference to their May 7 agreement to try to get the Syrian government and opposition to discuss an end to the more than 2-year-old civil war."Secretary Kerry will meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov on Monday in Paris to continue discussions from their meeting just a few weeks ago in Russia and provide updates as they plan ahead for the international conference on Syria," the official said.(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Syria opposition struggles to forge transition plan before talks

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis | Reuters – 21 mins ago MAY 24,13

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's divided opposition leaders have failed to back a plan by their outgoing leader for President Bashar al-Assad to cede power gradually to end the country's civil war, highlighting the obstacles to international peace talks expected next month.The 16-point plan proposed by Moaz Alkhatib, who resigned as head of the Western-backed opposition National Coalition in March, urges Assad to hand power to his deputy or prime minister and then go abroad with 500 members of his entourage.Alkhatib's proposal appeared to win little support from other Syrian opposition figures at a three-day meeting in Istanbul to decide how to respond to a U.S.-Russian proposal to convene peace talks involving Assad's government next month.The coalition is under international pressure to resolve internal divisions ahead of a conference Washington and Moscow see as crucial to hopes of ending two years of civil war which has allowed al-Qaeda linked militants a growing role in Syria.Looming large over the Istanbul meeting, which began on Thursday, is the shadow of Saudi Arabia, the main Arab backer of the opposition, which according to coalition sources is pushing to have the transfer of power in Syria top the agenda in Geneva."Saudi Arabia is not happy that Geneva does not look like it will lead with the exit of Assad on day one," a senior coalition source said.Opposition leaders said the coalition was likely to attend the planned peace conference, which could take part in Geneva in the coming weeks, but doubted it would produce any immediate deal on Assad's departure.Coalition spokesman Khaled Saleh said the 60-member body supports "any conference that helps transition the situation into an elective government away from the dictatorship" but would not go without indications Assad is on his way out.Assad, who has defied Western and Arab calls for him to go, has not confirmed his government would attend the peace talks, although Russia said on Friday his administration had agreed in principle to attend.

NEW LEADERSHIP
Syria's opposition in exile also aims to elect a coherent leadership during the talks in Istanbul.It has been rudderless since the resignation in March of Alkhatib, a respected Damascene cleric, who had floated two initiatives for Assad to leave power peacefully.His latest plan, posted on his Facebook page, calls on Assad to step down in favor of Prime Minister Wael al-Halki or Vice-President Farouq al-Shara, a veteran politician who has kept a low profile since the revolt began in March 2011, prompting opposition claims last year that he planned to defect.Alkhatib said Assad should respond within 20 days and that he should then be given a month to dissolve parliament. Once Assad had ceded power, his government should stay in office for 100 days and restructure the military before handing over to a transitional government "which should be agreed upon and negotiated within the framework of international assurances".Opposition figures in Istanbul were dismissive."He has the right to submit papers to the meeting like any other member but his paper is heading directly to the dustbin of history. It is a repeat of his previous initiative which went nowhere," a senior coalition official said.Assad and his father before him have ruled Syria for four decades. He has vowed to defeat what he calls the "terrorists" behind an uprising that began with months of peaceful protests. His violent response eventually ignited an armed revolt.More than 80,000 people have been killed in what is now a full-scale civil war that has dragged in Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas and is spilling into other neighboring countries.Washington has pressured the opposition coalition to resolve its divisions and to expand to include more liberals who can act independently of Islamists."The international community is walking a little faster than the opposition. It wants to see a complete list of participants from the Syrian side for Geneva and this means that the coalition has to sort its affairs," a European diplomat said.Burhan Ghalioun, a strong candidate to become the new head of the opposition, said the coalition was likely to agree to go to Geneva because it did not want Assad to gain political advantage from the meeting, although, he said, it was unlikely to produce any deal for a transition of power.Other possible candidates include Ahmed Tumeh Kheder, a prominent opposition campaigner from the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, which borders Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland; Louay al-Safi, a professor who has taught in the United States; and acting coalition president George Sabra, a Christian who led pro-democracy demonstrations early in the uprising.(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes in Beirut, Thomas Grove in Moscow; editing by Nick Tattersall and Philippa Fletcher)

EARTHQUAKES

ISAIAH 42:15
15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Magnitude 5.7 quake strikes Northern California

Reuters – 6 hrs ago MAY 24,13

(Reuters) - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The epicenter of the quake was 6 miles northwest of the town of Greenville, and near the smaller community of Canyondam, the USGS said.There were no immediate reports of injuries.Allen Shephard, a hunting and fishing guide at Quail Lodge at Lake Almanor in Canyondam, said the quake knocked him "right off the couch and onto the floor."The floor of the lodge was littered with broken dishware, and cabinets were in disarray, said Shephard, 62.An initial report had said the quake was magnitude 5.9.A 5.7 magnitude quake is considered moderate, but has the potential to cause considerable damage.(Writing by the Americas Desk; Editing by John Stonestreet)

Tremors felt in Moscow as 8.2 quake rattles Russia's Sakhalin region

Tremors have been felt all across Russia and in Europe, following a major 8.2 earthquake in the Sakhalin region. Panicking Muscovites began calling security services, and some decided to leave their homes.
The residents informed security services of vibration and tremors that caused furniture and kitchen utensils to move. The magnitude of the tremors felt in Moscow was no higher than 1 on the Richter scale, the Agency of Hydrometeorological and Environmental monitoring indicated.Moscow residents wrote on Twitter about the tremors: “wasn’t really strong, but things hanging on the walls were shaking,” “the fourteenth floor of the Smolensky Passage [a large market in the city center] was noticeably shaking!” and “a house was shaking in the center of Moscow on Tverskaya street.”“The aftershocks occurred in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, in Europe – for instance, in Romania. Almost the entire continent was shaken,” Anatoly Tsygankov, the head of the Situation Center for Agency of Hydrometeorological and Environmental monitoring told Interfax news agency.An employee at news website NEWSru.com recounted the Moscow tremor: “I have a flat on the 7th floor. At 9:43am I was sitting at my desk in front of the computer when the desk started shaking. We have a metro station underground, so I thought that something happened there. But the vibrations continued, and it became clear that everything was shaking like during an earthquake." The witness says there were at least three tremors; two strong ones, and another, weaker one. Then he started calling Emergency. When the operator answered, the reporter heard someone telling another operator their address, and he understood that the vibrations were happening all over Moscow. 
The scientists, however, are sure that there is nothing outstanding in the quake, but it's “deep – around 600 kilometers, in this situation tremors can be felt at long distances from the epicenter,” academic and scientist Alexander Soloviev explained.

http://rt.com/news/quake-asia-tsunami-warning-729/

1 Day, Magnitude 2.5+ Worldwide

93 earthquakes - DownloadUpdated: 2013-05-24 11:54:55-04:00

1. 4.0 9km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 11:26:20-04:00 0.0 km deep
2. 6.8 Sea of Okhotsk 2013-05-24 10:56:31-04:00 623.0 km deep
3. 4.1 Sea of Okhotsk 2013-05-24 10:33:24-04:00 619.6 km deep
4. 2.5 10km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 08:36:14-04:00 1.0 km deep
5. 2.8 10km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 07:59:08-04:00 0.0 km deep
6. 4.6 27km ENE of Cagwait, Philippines 2013-05-24 07:41:11-04:00 76.6 km deep
7. 2.7 88km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands 2013-05-24 07:40:20-04:00 26.0 km deep
8. 3.8 9km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 07:40:15-04:00 0.0 km deep
9. 3.1 84km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands 2013-05-24 07:38:35-04:00 29.0 km deep
10. 2.9 10km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 07:21:38-04:00 0.0 km deep
11. 2.8 10km WNW of Greenville, California 2013-05-24 07:12:41-04:00 0.1 km deep
12. 5.8 South of Tonga 2013-05-24 07:10:48-04:00 10.0 km deep
13. 4.7 90km ENE of Diego de Almagro, Chile

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

NOAA predicts active 2013 Atlantic hurricane season

Era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes continues

May 23, 2013

Hurricane Sandy as seen from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on October 28, 2012.
Download here (Credit:NOAA/NASA)

In its 2013 Atlantic hurricane season outlook issued today, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an active or extremely active season this year..For the six-month hurricane season, which begins June 1, NOAA’s Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook says there is a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 7 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher). These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.“With the devastation of Sandy fresh in our minds, and another active season predicted, everyone at NOAA is committed to providing life-saving forecasts in the face of these storms and ensuring that Americans are prepared and ready ahead of time.” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., NOAA acting administrator. “As we saw first-hand with Sandy, it’s important to remember that tropical storm and hurricane impacts are not limited to the coastline. Strong winds, torrential rain, flooding, and tornadoes often threaten inland areas far from where the storm first makes landfall.”

Three climate factors that strongly control Atlantic hurricane activity are expected to come together to produce an active or extremely active 2013 hurricane season. These are:

• A continuation of the atmospheric climate pattern, which includes a strong west African monsoon, that is responsible for the ongoing era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995;
  
  
• Warmer-than-average water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea; and
  
  
• El Niño is not expected to develop and suppress hurricane formation.

“This year, oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic basin are expected to produce more and stronger hurricanes,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “These conditions include weaker wind shear, warmer Atlantic waters and conducive winds patterns coming from Africa." NOAA’s seasonal hurricane outlook is not a hurricane landfall forecast; it does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a storm will strike. Forecasts for individual storms and their impacts will be provided throughout the season by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center.
New for this hurricane season are improvements to forecast models, data gathering, and the National Hurricane Center communication procedure for post-tropical cyclones. In July, NOAA plans to bring online a new supercomputer that will run an upgraded Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model that provides significantly enhanced depiction of storm structure and improved storm intensity forecast guidance.Also this year, Doppler radar data will be transmitted in real time from NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft. This will help forecasters better analyze rapidly evolving storm conditions, and these data could further improve the HWRF model forecasts by 10 to 15 percent.The National Weather Service has also made changes to allow for hurricane warnings to remain in effect, or to be newly issued, for storms like Sandy that have become post-tropical. This flexibility allows forecasters to provide a continuous flow of forecast and warning information for evolving or continuing threats.“The start of hurricane season is a reminder that our families, businesses and communities need to be ready for the next big storm,” said Joe Nimmich, FEMA associate administrator for Response and Recovery. “Preparedness today can make a big difference down the line, so update your family emergency plan and make sure your emergency kit is stocked. Learn more about how you can prepare for hurricane season at www.ready.gov/hurricanes.”  
Next week, May 26 - June 1, is National Hurricane Preparedness Week. To help those living in hurricane-prone areas prepare, NOAA is offering hurricane preparedness tips, along with video and audio public service announcements in both English and Spanish, featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator at www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/. NOAA’s outlook for the Eastern Pacific basin is for a below-normal hurricane season and the Central Pacific basin is also expected to have a below-normal season. NOAA will issue an updated outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season.NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

Tornado insured losses estimated at $2 billion-$5 billion

Reuters – 48 mins ago MAY 24,13

(Reuters) - Tornadoes that struck the United States from May 18 to May 20 caused between $2 billion to $5 billion of insured losses, disaster modeling company Eqecat said late Thursday.At the high end of the range, the tornado outbreak may rank as the second-worst ever in terms of insured losses, behind the late-April 2011 twisters that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and other communities.Eqecat said most of the losses were attributed to the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday. That storm, with winds that exceeded 200 miles per hour, killed 24 and flattened two elementary schools.Some 76 tornadoes struck across 10 states over a three-day period, said Eqecat, whose models are used by the insurance industry to forecast losses. The worst of it was in Moore, where the firm said about 13,000 structures were damaged.Oklahoma's insurance commissioner, John Doak, said earlier this week he expected damage from the Moore tornado to exceed $3 billion on its own.The brunt of those losses is likely to fall on insurers State Farm and Farmers Insurance Group, which together have an aggregate market share of nearly 29 percent in the state, according to SNL Financial.Over the last two years, tornadoes have become a huge loss driver for the insurance industry. The German reinsurer Munich Re has estimated tornadoes caused about $40 billion in insured losses in the United States in 2011 and 2012.Since 1980, average thunderstorm losses, including tornadoes, have risen sevenfold.(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernadette Baum)

05/24/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Encyclical on faith: From Benedict XVI to Francis

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with Pope Fracnis

The Vatican's spokesman, Federico Lombarbi, has denied Bishop Martella's claim that Ratzinger is currently finishing the encyclical and will then pass it on to his successor.

ANDREA TORNIELLI vatican city Pope Francis is apparently thinking about writing an encyclical on poverty. But first he plans to publish the encyclical on faith which his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the Supreme Pontiff Emeritus (the title given to him in the Pontifical Yearbook), is apparently working on. The Bishop of Molfetta (Italy), Luigi Martella, broke the news which appeared in the latest issue of diocesan weekly Luce & Vita. Martella was recently received by the Pope on the occasion of his ad limina visit to Rome.But although Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that Francis will be publishing the encyclical on faith, he denied the bishops’ claim about Benedict XVI’s involvement. “The news about Benedict XVI finishing off the text, is completely unfounded.”Mgr. Martella outlined what he and Francis talked about during the audience, saying that the Pope “wanted to let him in on a secret, almost like a revelation.” “Benedict XVI is finishing off his encyclical on faith and Francis will be signing it,” the bishop wrote. “He intends to write his own – first - encyclical on poverty soon. It will be titled “Beati pauperes!”, poverty intended in an evangelical not in an ideological or political sense,” he pointed out.According to the Bishop of Molfetta, Ratzinger is apparently working on the faith encyclical himself. Work on the text began months ago and the aim was to have the text published by 2013, the year Benedict XVI chose as the Year of Faith. Until now, however, it was thought that the Pope was not working on the text himself, but that it was being prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under his guidance.The day after Ratzinger announced his resignation, Lombardi confirmed a document did indeed exist but it would not be published before Benedict XVI’s resignation was official. Some thought the encyclical on faith – the last in the faith, hope and charity trilogy (the latter two themes were the focus of Ratzinger’s encyclicals “Spe salvi” and “Deus caritas est”) – would be turned into a book or at any rate a “private” text by the former Pope.But from what Mgr. Martella says, it seems Francis has decided to make the project his own. Something similar happened the day after Benedict XVI’s election. In his fist encyclical, “Deus caritas est” he used some of the material which John Paul II had gathered, to prepare a draft, which was then put away in a drawer until a later date.