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THE GEYSERS, Calif. – A 3.4-magnitude earthquake was reported on Wednesday night near The Geysers geothermal steamfield.
The US Geological Survey’s preliminary report said the quake occurred at 9:17 p.m.
The quake’s epicenter was located two miles north northeast of The Geysers, four miles west southwest of Cobb and six miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, at a depth of 2.5 miles.
Initial shake reports came in Wednesday night from Calistoga, Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Middletown, San Francisco and Suisun City.
If you felt the quake, you can report it at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc71903911#dyfi_form .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – At holiday time, many people who are dealing with loss are caught in a dilemma between the need to grieve and the pressure to get into the spirit of the season.
Holidays or not, it is important for people who feel grief to find ways to take care of themselves. Here are 10 tips for hope for the holidays from Hospice Services of Lake County.
Plan ahead as to where and how you will spend your time during the holidays. Let yourself scale back on activities if you want to.
Select a candle in your loved one’s favorite color and scent. Place it in a special area of your home and light it at a significant time throughout the holidays, signifying the light of the love that lives on in your heart.
Give yourself permission to express your feelings. If you feel an urge to cry, let the tears flow. Tears are healing.
Write an “unsent letter” to your loved one expressing what you are honestly feeling toward him or her in the moment. After you compose the letter, you may decide to place it in a book, album or drawer in your home, leave it at a memorial site, throw it away, or even burn it and let the ashes symbolically rise.
When you are especially missing your love one, call family members or dear friends and share your feelings. If they knew him or her, consider asking them to share some memories of times they shared with your loved one.
If you live within driving distance of the cemetery, decorate the memorial site with a holiday theme.
Play music that is comforting and meaningful to you. Take a few moments to close your eyes and feel the music within the center of your being.
Give money you would have spent for gifts for your absent loved one to a charity in your loved one’s name.
Read a book or article on grief. Some suggestions are “Don’t Take My Grief Away From Me” by Doug Manning, “The Comfort Book For Those Who Mourn” compiled by Anna Trimiew and “A Grief Observed” by C.S. Lewis.
Remember that the anticipation of holidays without your loved one is often harder than the actual holidays themselves.
Linda Laing, MFT, is director of Bereavement Services for Hospice Services of Lake County, Calif.
From Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Christmas is portrayed as a snowy time.
However, many areas of the U.S. do not necessarily have a high probability of a white Christmas.
Since many people may have a different idea of what constitutes a white Christmas, it is being defined in this story as a snow depth of an inch or more on Christmas Day.
Normal December snowfall and temperatures are both critical factors that play a role in who gets a white Christmas. This is due to the fact that snow needs to fall and stay put on the ground to meet the definition.
Based on data from 1981 to 2010, northern New England, the Upper Midwest, Rocky Mountains and Intermountain West have the highest chance, more than 75 percent, of a white Christmas.
Minneapolis, Minn., Green Bay, Wis., Buffalo, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., are among the cities in the U.S. that have the highest chance for a white Christmas.
“It tends to stay colder across the northern tier during the day and night, so when snow falls, it’s less likely to melt,” AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Farther south, Chicago has less than a 40 percent chance of having a white Christmas.
“By the time Christmas comes around, there is a pronounced temperature difference from north to south [across the Midwest],” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. “The ‘refrigeration’ needed to keep the snow from melting is less reliable in Chicago compared to somewhere like International Falls, Minn.”
While December is not typically the snowiest month for Denver, it is the month with the lowest average high temperature. This means that any snow that falls may be less likely to melt. Denver has nearly a 50 percent chance of a white Christmas.
Meanwhile, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have less than a 25 percent chance of having a white Christmas. Mild air from the Atlantic Ocean plays a role in the low probability.
In the West, Seattle also has less than a 25 percent chance at a white Christmas due to the influence of milder air from the Pacific Ocean. However, snow can still often be seen by Seattle residents, since the Washington Cascades have more than a 75 percent chance of a white Christmas.
There is a very low chance of a white Christmas in San Francisco to Los Angeles as well as across central and southern Florida.
Meghan Evans is a meteorologist for www.AccuWeather.com .
After a year of high gas prices, Californians are experiencing a welcome relief as the end-of-the-year holiday travel season approaches.
According to the latest report from AAA Northern California, which tracks gas prices as a service to consumers, every metro area in Northern California saw a decrease of at least nine cents over the past month.
California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.62, down 23 cents since last month’s AAA report on Nov. 13.
For perspective, gas prices as of Tuesday are two cents more than California’s average price on this date last year.
Estimates from both AAA and www.gasbuddy.com put Lake County gas prices as ranging between $3.69 and $4.20.
Among all 50 states, California has the fourth highest state average price for regular, unleaded gasoline. Hawaii is the highest at $4, AAA reported.
Northern California gas prices are now averaging $3.56, down 26 cents from last month. In the San Francisco Bay Area, AAA said motorists can expect to pay an average price of $3.71, which is a 27-cent decrease from last month.
The California state average price of $3.62 is down 26 cents, which is 29 cents more than the national price of unleaded regular gasoline, $3.33.
“Prices at the pump have steadily declined across the country as demand continues to be low and supplies remain robust,” said Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokesperson. “The exception is the East Coast where supplies are increasing but remain somewhat tight following the
disruption in distribution from Hurricane Sandy.”
While the demand will increase slightly for the holidays, overall demand is expected to remain low into 2013, which will keep downward pressure on gasoline prices.
Lower crude oil prices have also contributed to the cheaper gas prices paid by consumers. At the close of formal trading on the NYMEX, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was down 37 cents to settle at $85.56 per barrel. WTI has settled lower for five consecutive trading days and is at its lowest price since Nov. 15.
The least expensive average price in Northern California can be found in Modesto, where regular is $3.40 per gallon in that metro area. Of all the metro areas in Northern California where gas prices are tracked by AAA, Eureka has the highest average price at $3.88.
The least expensive gasoline in the country is found in Missouri, at $3.03 per gallon of unleaded regular, the report said. The highest price of gasoline in the nation’s metro areas is in Wailuku, Hawaii, at $4.06 per gallon.
If you’re outdoors after sunset this week, be alert for meteors.
Not only is the Geminid meteor shower active as Earth passes through a stream of debris from “rock comet” 3200 Phaethon, but also, say forecasters, a new meteor shower could make an appearance.
“The source of the new shower is Comet Wirtanen,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “Dust from this comet hitting Earth’s atmosphere could produce as many as 30 meteors per hour.”
Comet Wirtanen was discovered in 1948, just after World War II, and takes 5.4 years to orbit the sun.
It reaches its closest point to the sun just outside Earth’s orbit. Although this comet has skirted Earth’s orbit many times, Earth has not run into its debris streams before. This year could be different.
Computer models run by Russian forecaster Mikhail Maslov predicted as many as four stream crossings between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14.
“This time period also includes the peak of the strong annual Geminid meteor shower,” noted Cooke.
To sky watchers, he recommends having a “meteor night” after sunset on Dec. 13, when the criss-crossing debris streams could produce the greatest combined number of shooting stars.
“Meteors from the new shower (if any) will be visible in the early evening, with the Geminids making their appearance later on and lasting until dawn,” he said.
The new shower doesn’t have a name yet. Before naming it, astronomers will wait to see if it is real.
If any meteors do materialize, they might be called “Piscids.” The shower’s radiant is located in the constellation Pisces, according to Maslov’s dynamical models of the debris stream.
Maslov also predicted that the meteors will be very slow moving, which should help novice sky watchers distinguish them from the faster Geminids.
Meteor hunting on Dec. 13-14 is a no-lose proposition because, as Cooke pointed out, even if the new shower is a dud, the Geminids should be great.
With no glaring Moon to spoil the show, observers in rural areas should be able to see as many as 120 Geminid meteors every hour.
The best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Friday, Dec. 14.
Enjoy the show(s).
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The community is invited to attend special holiday ceremonies honoring the sacrifices of local veterans to be held this weekend.
The “Wreaths Across America” ceremonies will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Hartley, Kelseyville and Lower Lake cemeteries.
Youth organizations and veteran organizations have volunteered to conduct the Wreaths Across America ceremony this year.
Seven ceremonial wreaths will be placed to remember all soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who served, honor their sacrifices and teach younger generations about the high cost of our freedoms.
The day before the ceremony 894 wreaths will be placed on gravesites at each of the cemeteries.
Take an hour amid the hustle and bustle of this holiday season to attend one of these very special ceremonies that will be performed by members from Boy Scout Troops, Cub Scouts, Girl Scout Troops, Sea Scouts, Highway Patrol Explorers, 4-H, Royal Rangers, K-Corp, FFA, Clear Lake High School seniors, Clearlake Legion Jr. Auxiliary and Path Finders.
The groups post the colors, lay the wreaths and perform the volleys in addition to the Military Funeral Honors Team and Patriotic Guard Riders.
Bianca Torres, Joy Bennett and Joanna Parker will sing the national anthem and “Amazing Grace.”
Chaplain Woody Hughes and Pastors Gary Zeek, Gary Dromi, and T.C. will officiate at the ceremonies.
Wreaths Across America’s mission is to “Remember, Honor, and Teach” – remember the fallen, honor those who serve including their families who sacrifice, and teach our children the cost of the freedoms we enjoy each day.