jtotheizzoe:

Yesterday’s devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma is a heartbreaking tragedy, a painful reminder of nature’s destructive power. WHile your heart deals with many feelings, your head may be swimming with questions on just why these terrible twisters happen. Here’s some answers:

Learn how tornadoes are formed in the above video from Scientific American. As warm air rushes in from the Gulf of Mexico, it collides with high-altitude cold air forced down from the north. That creates a rotating barrel of air that is bent upwards by the hot, humid updraft (the warm, low-pressure Gulf air wants to rise). If it bends far enough, that barrel can become a funnel cloud and touch down. Of course, all of these factors just make a tornado likely. We still don’t know exactly what the final steps are.

Just how extreme is the energy carried by those colliding air masses? Check out this animated wind map from yesterday, just after the storm, from the amazing real-time Wind Map visualization site:

Why do tornadoes seem to strike the midwest so often? With the exception of Antarctica, every continent is at risk of tornadoes. But a staggering 75% of all tornadoes on Earth strike North America. The large landmass of Tornado Alley is at the convergence of a constant stream of warm Gulf air and cold Polar air. It’s an unlucky coincidence of geography and physics. Here’s 56 years of tornado paths mapped by John Nelson:

Smithsonian Smart Newshas you covered on just how big this tornado was. And Alexis Madrigal and The Atlantic team have a superb collection of info and links on the historical and scientific context of the storm.

Finally, as a reminder of how important hope and optimism is in recovering from a disaster like this, watch this video of an elderly woman who finds her (very much okay) dog in the rubble during a news interview.

How you can help those affected by the Moore Tornado, text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, donate online, or donate by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.

(Reblogged from bigbigbigday006)
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(Reblogged from dangerouslyflauschig)

Words cannot explain how excited I am for the Sam Claflin, Jennifer Lawrence, and Josh Hutcherson interviews this fall

hunger-games-fandom:

a new member?

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sorry Liam

(Reblogged from mellarksloaves)
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(Source: my-amortentia-potion)

(Reblogged from thegirlonpeetamellark)

What was your favorite moment on set if you could pick one highlight? 

(Source: catchingupdates)

(Reblogged from posthungergamessyndrome)

The sensation inside me grows warmer and spreads out from my chest, down through my body, out along my arms and legs, to the tips of my being. Instead of satisfying me, the kisses have the opposite effect, of making my need greater. I thought I was something of an expert on hunger, but this is an entirely new kind. 

It’s the first crack of the lightning storm—the bolt hitting the tree at midnight—that brings us to our senses. It rouses Finnick as well. He sits up with a sharp cry. I see his fingers digging into the sand as he reassures himself that whatever nightmare he inhabited wasn’t real.

“I can’t sleep anymore,” he says. “One of you should rest.” Only then does he seem to notice our expressions, the way we’re wrapped around each other. “Or both of you. I can watch alone.”
                                                          - Catching Fire

(Source: unicorn-feelings)

(Reblogged from fuckingplebe)

allinablur:

Those pop songs you liked when you were a kid and then you grow up and realise they were full of innuendos.

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(Reblogged from allinablur)
bemeans: Each morning, like clockwork, they board the subway, off to begin their daily routine amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.But these aren’t just any daily commuters. These are stray dogs who live in the outskirts of Moscow Russia and commute on the underground trains to and from the city centre in search of food scraps.Then after a hard day scavenging and begging on the streets, they hop back on the train and return to the suburbs where they spend the night.Experts studying the dogs, who usually choose the quietest carriages at the front and back of the train, say they even work together to make sure they get off at the right stop – after learning to judge the length of time they need to spend on the train.Scientists believe this phenomenon began after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, and Russia’s new capitalists moved industrial complexes from the city centre to the suburbs.Dr Andrei Poiarkov, of the Moscow Ecology and Evolution Institute, said: “These complexes were used by homeless dogs as shelters, so the dogs had to move together with their houses. Because the best scavenging for food is in the city centre, the dogs had to learn how to travel on the subway – to get to the centre in the morning, then back home in the evening, just like people.”Dr Poiarkov told how the dogs like to play during their daily commute. He said: “They jump on the train seconds before the doors shut, risking their tails getting jammed. They do it for fun. And sometimes they fall asleep and get off at the wrong stop.”The dogs have also amazingly learned to use traffic lights to cross the road safely, said Dr Poiarkov. And they use cunning tactics to obtain tasty morsels of shawarma, a kebab-like snack popular in Moscow.With children the dogs “play cute” by putting their heads on youngsters’ knees and staring pleadingly into their eyes to win sympathy – and scraps.Dr Poiarkov added: “Dogs are surprisingly good psychologists.”

bemeans:

Each morning, like clockwork, they board the subway, off to begin their daily routine amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

But these aren’t just any daily commuters. These are stray dogs who live in the outskirts of Moscow Russia and commute on the underground trains to and from the city centre in search of food scraps.

Then after a hard day scavenging and begging on the streets, they hop back on the train and return to the suburbs where they spend the night.

Experts studying the dogs, who usually choose the quietest carriages at the front and back of the train, say they even work together to make sure they get off at the right stop – after learning to judge the length of time they need to spend on the train.

Scientists believe this phenomenon began after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, and Russia’s new capitalists moved industrial complexes from the city centre to the suburbs.

Dr Andrei Poiarkov, of the Moscow Ecology and Evolution Institute, said: “These complexes were used by homeless dogs as shelters, so the dogs had to move together with their houses. Because the best scavenging for food is in the city centre, the dogs had to learn how to travel on the subway – to get to the centre in the morning, then back home in the evening, just like people.”

Dr Poiarkov told how the dogs like to play during their daily commute. He said: “They jump on the train seconds before the doors shut, risking their tails getting jammed. They do it for fun. And sometimes they fall asleep and get off at the wrong stop.”

The dogs have also amazingly learned to use traffic lights to cross the road safely, said Dr Poiarkov. And they use cunning tactics to obtain tasty morsels of shawarma, a kebab-like snack popular in Moscow.

With children the dogs “play cute” by putting their heads on youngsters’ knees and staring pleadingly into their eyes to win sympathy – and scraps.

Dr Poiarkov added: “Dogs are surprisingly good psychologists.”

(Reblogged from bigbigbigday006)

mujertropical:

oestranhomundodek:

This is how my dashboard was earlier

Bless you for making these. They are absolutely…wait for it…PERFECT!

(Reblogged from mujertropical)
bellisadinosaur: This baby owl hit our window. Gave us this look the whole time - Imgur YOUR FORCEFIELD DISPLEASES ME AS DOES YOUR INTERIOR DECORATING View high resolution

bellisadinosaur:

This baby owl hit our window. Gave us this look the whole time - Imgur

YOUR FORCEFIELD DISPLEASES ME

AS DOES YOUR INTERIOR DECORATING

(Source: ryulongd)

(Reblogged from bellisadinosaur)