Third-biggest aftershock rattles Virginia Thursday morning

The third-biggest aftershock since "the big one" a week ago Tuesday woke many Virginians up a little early Thursday, September 1 at 5:09 AM EDT as a magnitude 3.4 earthquake centered slightly northeast of the town of Cuckoo, south of Mineral, occurred. This aftershock has been reviewed by a seismologist, and you can read their full report by clicking here.

USGS Topographic Map, Resolution: 16.0 meters/pixel

Here is the ranking now of our earthquake and the biggest aftershocks since last Tuesday:

This morning's magnitude 3.4 ties the aftershock from August 24th, less than 24 hours after the initial 5.8 earthquake. There have been an official total of 22 aftershocks in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone since "the big one." As of this blog posting, people are reporting into the USGS feeling this morning's aftershock as far north as Baltimore and into southern Virginia from around Lynchburg to Chesapeake.

More aftershocks are likely in the coming weeks, but are not likely to surpass the magnitude of the first earthquake, 5.8.
Stay with CBS 6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Will Irene's name be retired?

CBS 6 Meteorologist Carrie Rose contacted the NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center to inquire about whether or not "Irene" will become a retired name, considering the destruction and death toll caused by her. Here's the answer (via email) from a National Hurricane Center representative:

"Hello Carrie,

Thanks for your email.

The decision to retire a name is made by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Region IV Committee during their annual meeting, which will take place in the spring. The representative of a member nation on this committee can ask for a name to be retired. A vote is taken on that request. If accepted, the name is retired and a new name is voted upon to replace it.

Best regards,

Dennis Feltgen
Public Affairs Officer
Meteorologist
NOAA Communications & External Affairs"

Image: Hurricane Irene along the Delmarva coastline on Saturday, NOAA.

So this means we may not know if "Irene" becomes a retired name, like Katrina and Isabel, for example, until next Spring. Click here to see a list of the retired names. And click here to see what tropical cyclone names are currently in rotation.

Stay with CBS 6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Tropical Storm Katia forms Tuesday

As expected, the large tropical wave that moved off western Africa into the Eastern Atlantic earlier this week has strengthened enough to earn a name: Katia (pronounced KAH-tya). Here is the Tuesday Morning (Eastern Time) view of the Tropics, with Tropical Storm Katia in the bottom right in the red:

Our newest Tropical Storm of the 2011 season will also likely become our second hurricane (Irene was the first) within the next two days, and our second major hurricane by this weekend! Why will this happen? Because Katia will be moving over very warm, favorable ocean waters on which to feed (plenty of moisture as fuel), and also encounter minimal shear, which allows the storm to organize and intensify. Here's the expected track of Katia, as she moves west-northwest around the base of a large Atlantic High Pressure:

Forecast model data is consistent with this track, and they are all in pretty good agreement of the intensification forecast. Here's a look at that:

Stay with CBS6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose