Meteor activity is increasing

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: Meteor activity is increasing as Earth plunges deeper into the debris stream of Comet Swift-Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. On the nights of Aug 4-5, NASA cameras recorded 26 Perseid fireballs over the USA. Counts are high even though the shower's peak is still more than a week away. To see for yourself, get away from city lights and look up during the dark hours before sunrise. You can also hear the Perseids on Space Weather Radio.

ROCKET LAUNCH PRODUCES NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS:

This morning, August 5th, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying the AsiaSat 8 telecommunications satellite. About an hour and a half after the 4 AM launch, electric-blue clouds appeared over Orlando FL:

"These clouds appeared just before sunrise," says photographer Mike Bartils.

These are, essentially, man-made noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Water vapor in the exhaust of the rocket crystallized in the high atmosphere, creating an icy cloud that turned blue when it was hit by the rays of the morning sun. Years ago, space shuttle launches produced similar displays.

Natural NLCs form around Earth's poles when water vapor in the mesospherecrystalizes around meteor smoke. Sometimes they spread as far south as Colorado and Utah, but rarely or never Florida. Electric-blue over the Sunshine State requires a rocket launch, and that's what happened today. Browse the realtime photo gallery for more images of the Falcon 9 launch:

Expect delays over Snoqualmie Pass

By Carol Zinke Published: Aug 5, 201                                                             Mon.-Thurs. both lanes closed 7:30-8:30p.m.     

SEATTLE, WA -  You may experience road closures if you plan on heading to Seattle during the next few days. 

Starting at 7:30 each night, Monday through Thursday, lanes will be closed in both directions on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass. Rock blasting crews will be at work.

Washington Department of Transportation leaders said closures should last no longer than one hour,but longer delays are possible. 

For more traffic alerts, visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/whatshappening

Power Outage

By Carol Zinke Published: Aug 4, 2014                                                      2,000 Clarkston residents lost power on Sunday.

Lewiston, ID: More than 48,000 people were affected by the outage. That number is now down to about 33,000. Crews from Avista in the Valley are up in Spokane right now helping to restore the power.

Small power outages happen throughout the year, but what should you do to prepare for a long power outage like this one? 

"You want to make sure you're prepared," said Avista Regional Business Manager, Mike Tatko.                                                                              "That means having water on-hand, nonperishable food items, a manual can opener. Also, you want to make sure your cell phone is charged and you have a battery-powered radio. That way you can check the status of power outages and the weather status."

Tatko predicted 95-percent of power had been restored by 10:00 Monday night. 

There was also an outage in Clarkston on Sunday, but it wasn't caused by the storm. Tatko said a bird got into a substation on Pound Lane, which caused 2,000 people to lose power but everything in Clarkston has been restored.