JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Severe thunderstorms have raked across a wide area of the South, packing strong winds, driving rain and some baseball-size hail.
In Mississippi, authorities reported two people were hit on the head by large hail as the enormous storm front crossed the region Monday. Fire official Tim Shanks said baseball-sized hail smashed windows in several vehicles in Clinton, where the two people were hit. He had no immediate word on their condition.
The National Weather Service in Jackson said an off-duty employee measured a piece of hail the size of a softball.
Large hail was reported in several areas with smaller hail reported around the metro Jackson area. Some parking lots and sidewalks were coated in white chunks of ice.
Emergency officials in the state say there were reports of homes damaged in at least five Mississippi counties.
Meteorologists issued tornado warnings for parts of northwest Georgia and severe thunderstorm warnings around the state.
Elsewhere, Alabama Power officials said 198,000 customers were without power as of 5 p.m.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Katrina-Like Storm Surges Could Become Norm
Last year's devastating flooding in New York City from Hurricane Sandy was the city's largest storm surge on record. Though Hurricane Sandy was considered a 100-year-event - a storm that lashes a region only once a century - a new study finds global warming could bring similar destructive storm surges to the Gulf and East Coasts of the United States every other year before 2100.
Severe storms generate both high waves and storm surge, which can combine to erode beaches and dunes and flood coastal communities. Storm surge is seawater pushed ahead of a storm, mainly by strong winds. Onshore, the surge can rise several feet in just a few minutes. High waves travel on top of the surge, and cresting waves raise the sea's height even more.
Looking at extreme events, which researchers called 'Katrinas' after the 2005 hurricane that flooded the Gulf Coast, a new model predicts Katrina-like storm surges will hit every other year if the climate warms 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).
That would be 10 times the rate seen since 1923, after which there has been a Katrina-magnitude storm surge every 20 years, the study, published in the March 18 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,found.
In 2009, the world's nations agreed to try to limit climate change to a 2 C increase by 2100, but recent studies show temperatures could rise 7.2 F (4 C) before the century ends.
But the tenfold increase in Katrina-like storm surges does not have to translate into a tenfold increase in disasters, said Aslak Grinsted, a climate scientist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the lead study author. 'Every Katrina-magnitude event is not necessarily going to be a Katrina-magnitude disaster. It's all about planning smartly,' he told OurAmazingPlanet.
Warmer seas spin stronger storms
Scientists know that warmer oceans will change how the Atlantic Ocean spawns hurricanes. More heat means more energy, and many models predict global warming will bring bigger, stronger storms, though the details between the model scenarios differ. But the models could be biased by changes in hurricane observational methods, such as the switch to satellites from planes and ships, which may impact records of wind speed and other storm data, Grinsted said.
Many studies have looked at how the frequency and size of hurricanes will change as global warming raises ocean temperatures, but few have investigated their impact on the Atlantic coast.
To better assess which model does the best job of divining the future, Grinsted and his colleagues constructed a record of storm surges from tide gauges along the Atlantic coast dating back to 1923. 'Big storm surges give me a new view of hurricane variability in the past,' Grinsted said.
Grinsted weighed each statistical model according to how well they explained past extreme storm surges. One way scientists test climate models is by seeing how well they predict the weather in the past.
Of the competing models, the top performer was one of the simplest. It relied on regional sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean hurricane birthing ground. The researchers also created a new global 'gridded' model, incorporating ocean temperatures around the world. Grinsted said the top models agree roughly on the magnitude of the increase in storm surges, giving him confidence in the results. [Hurricanes from Above: See Nature's Biggest Storms]
A 0.4 C warming corresponded to doubling of the frequency of extreme storm surges, the study found. 'With the global warming we have had during the 20th century, we have already crossed the threshold where more than half of all 'Katrinas' are due to global warming,' Grinsted said.
James Elsner, a climate scientist at the University of Florida, said he agrees with the study's main finding, but thinks the modeling underestimates the effects of climate factors such as the El Niño/ La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index, and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Studies have shown that the warm El Niño events mean fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic, while the NAO influences storm tracks across the ocean basin.
'As the planet warms up and the oceans get warmer, the chances of stronger storms goes up,' Elsner said. 'I think it's an interesting exercise, but I think statistically, it's got some issues,' he told OurAmazingPlanet.
Storm surges and sea level rise
Grinsted is concerned about the combined effects of future storm surge flooding and sea level rise, which adds to the base of the storm surge.
'I think what will be even more important is the background sea level rise, and that is something that is very hard to model,' he said.
Hurricane Sandy brought an 11.9-foot (3.6 meters) surge to southern Manhattan, plus a boost from the high tide, creating a storm tide as high as 13.88 feet (4.2 m).
Hurricane Katrina caused storm surge flooding of 25 to 28 feet (7.6 to 8.5 m) above normal tide level along portions of the Mississippi coast and 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6.1 m) above normal tide levels along the southeastern Louisiana coast.
Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @OAPlanet, Facebook or Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
Severe storms generate both high waves and storm surge, which can combine to erode beaches and dunes and flood coastal communities. Storm surge is seawater pushed ahead of a storm, mainly by strong winds. Onshore, the surge can rise several feet in just a few minutes. High waves travel on top of the surge, and cresting waves raise the sea's height even more.
Looking at extreme events, which researchers called 'Katrinas' after the 2005 hurricane that flooded the Gulf Coast, a new model predicts Katrina-like storm surges will hit every other year if the climate warms 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).
That would be 10 times the rate seen since 1923, after which there has been a Katrina-magnitude storm surge every 20 years, the study, published in the March 18 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,found.
In 2009, the world's nations agreed to try to limit climate change to a 2 C increase by 2100, but recent studies show temperatures could rise 7.2 F (4 C) before the century ends.
But the tenfold increase in Katrina-like storm surges does not have to translate into a tenfold increase in disasters, said Aslak Grinsted, a climate scientist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the lead study author. 'Every Katrina-magnitude event is not necessarily going to be a Katrina-magnitude disaster. It's all about planning smartly,' he told OurAmazingPlanet.
Warmer seas spin stronger storms
Scientists know that warmer oceans will change how the Atlantic Ocean spawns hurricanes. More heat means more energy, and many models predict global warming will bring bigger, stronger storms, though the details between the model scenarios differ. But the models could be biased by changes in hurricane observational methods, such as the switch to satellites from planes and ships, which may impact records of wind speed and other storm data, Grinsted said.
Many studies have looked at how the frequency and size of hurricanes will change as global warming raises ocean temperatures, but few have investigated their impact on the Atlantic coast.
To better assess which model does the best job of divining the future, Grinsted and his colleagues constructed a record of storm surges from tide gauges along the Atlantic coast dating back to 1923. 'Big storm surges give me a new view of hurricane variability in the past,' Grinsted said.
Grinsted weighed each statistical model according to how well they explained past extreme storm surges. One way scientists test climate models is by seeing how well they predict the weather in the past.
Of the competing models, the top performer was one of the simplest. It relied on regional sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean hurricane birthing ground. The researchers also created a new global 'gridded' model, incorporating ocean temperatures around the world. Grinsted said the top models agree roughly on the magnitude of the increase in storm surges, giving him confidence in the results. [Hurricanes from Above: See Nature's Biggest Storms]
A 0.4 C warming corresponded to doubling of the frequency of extreme storm surges, the study found. 'With the global warming we have had during the 20th century, we have already crossed the threshold where more than half of all 'Katrinas' are due to global warming,' Grinsted said.
James Elsner, a climate scientist at the University of Florida, said he agrees with the study's main finding, but thinks the modeling underestimates the effects of climate factors such as the El Niño/ La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index, and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Studies have shown that the warm El Niño events mean fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic, while the NAO influences storm tracks across the ocean basin.
'As the planet warms up and the oceans get warmer, the chances of stronger storms goes up,' Elsner said. 'I think it's an interesting exercise, but I think statistically, it's got some issues,' he told OurAmazingPlanet.
Storm surges and sea level rise
Grinsted is concerned about the combined effects of future storm surge flooding and sea level rise, which adds to the base of the storm surge.
'I think what will be even more important is the background sea level rise, and that is something that is very hard to model,' he said.
Hurricane Sandy brought an 11.9-foot (3.6 meters) surge to southern Manhattan, plus a boost from the high tide, creating a storm tide as high as 13.88 feet (4.2 m).
Hurricane Katrina caused storm surge flooding of 25 to 28 feet (7.6 to 8.5 m) above normal tide level along portions of the Mississippi coast and 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6.1 m) above normal tide levels along the southeastern Louisiana coast.
Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @OAPlanet, Facebook or Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
- 8 Ways Global Warming Is Already Changing the World
- Natural Disasters: Top 10 U.S. Threats
- Infographic: Storm Season! How, When & Where Hurricanes Form
Egypt sees domestic wheat output of 9.475 mln tonnes this season
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt expects wheat production of around 9.475 million tonnes this season if good weather conditions continue, the state news agency quoted Agriculture Minister Salah Abdel Momen as saying on Monday.
Abdel Momen added that Egypt needed 9 million tonnes of wheat to guarantee production of the cheapest form of subsidised bread that is sold for less than 1 U.S. cent per loaf.
Egypt harvested 8.69 million tonnes of wheat in summer 2012, up 4 percent from the 8.37 million tonnes in 2011, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Egypt has endured more than two years of political and economic instability, making it harder for the country to arrange payment for wheat imports. Its pace of purchases has slowed since the start of the year.
The country's strategic stocks of wheat, both imported and local, have fallen to 2.207 million tonnes, enough to last 89 days, a cabinet report said last week. This compares to 2.292 million tonnes, or 95 days' cover, reported on February 27.
International traders say that even with a brighter harvest outlook, the country will need to buy further significant amounts to maintain minimum stock levels prior to its harvest being ready for consumption.
Food supply is a politically-sensitive issue in Egypt, where rising food prices are being passed on to struggling consumers and shortages have provoked unrest in the past.
Abdel Momen added that Egypt needed 9 million tonnes of wheat to guarantee production of the cheapest form of subsidised bread that is sold for less than 1 U.S. cent per loaf.
Egypt harvested 8.69 million tonnes of wheat in summer 2012, up 4 percent from the 8.37 million tonnes in 2011, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Egypt has endured more than two years of political and economic instability, making it harder for the country to arrange payment for wheat imports. Its pace of purchases has slowed since the start of the year.
The country's strategic stocks of wheat, both imported and local, have fallen to 2.207 million tonnes, enough to last 89 days, a cabinet report said last week. This compares to 2.292 million tonnes, or 95 days' cover, reported on February 27.
International traders say that even with a brighter harvest outlook, the country will need to buy further significant amounts to maintain minimum stock levels prior to its harvest being ready for consumption.
Food supply is a politically-sensitive issue in Egypt, where rising food prices are being passed on to struggling consumers and shortages have provoked unrest in the past.
Dry weather in Ivory Coast dashes hopes for bumper cocoa harvest
By Ange Aboa
SAN PEDRO (Reuters) - Ivory Coast is unlikely to harvest a bumper cocoa crop this year as dry and hot weather hampers the development of the upcoming mid-crop in the world's biggest producer, farmers and exporters said on Friday.
Output from the current October-to-March main crop was down around 6 percent by March 10 compared to the same period last season, according to exporters' port arrivals estimates. Traders had been expecting a large harvest from the mid-crop, which opens April 1 and runs through September, to help offset the deficit.
May cocoa future on ICE was down $13, or 0.6 percent, at $2,117 a tonne, after recovering from a nine-month low of $2,034 on March 7 largely on optimism for the West African light crop harvest.
But many of the flowers and small pods that will become the pods harvested in the early stages of mid-crop were killed by extremely hot and dry conditions during the dry season that is now ending, exporters said.
'People have been talking about 450,000 to 500,000 tonnes for the mid-crop, but I don't believe it, simply because we're not seeing it on the trees,' said the director of an Abidjan-based export firm.
'We should hit 350,000 or even 400,000, which is Ivory Coast's normal (mid-crop) production level, but I don't see it above that,' he said.
Though the last two seasons have seen harvests of 1.51 million and 1.47 million tonnes, Ivorian cocoa output over the past decade has averaged around 1.3 million tonnes, with around 350,000 tonnes coming from the mid-crop.
Other exporters and pod counters contacted by Reuters also projected output for the April-to-September mid-crop at around 350,000 tonnes if current weather conditions hold, with estimates rising above 400,000 with improved rainfall.
'I don't yet see the record season we were expecting for the mid-crop. The rains arrived late, and the heat killed lots of flowers and cherelles,' said Ben Sylla, a cocoa merchant based in the western town of Duekoue.
LATE FLOWERING
The marketing season for the mid-crop opens on April 1, but growers are predicting a late start to harvesting.
A Reuters reporter who visited the Ivory Coast's principal growing regions saw that crops had yet to attain the level of development typically seen at this stage in the season.
While trees on plantations in most regions were flowering and cherelles were visible on many trees, mid-sized pods were largely absent, an indication that the mid-crop peak will likely not be reached before late July or early August, a month later than normal.
Cocoa flowers require around 22 weeks to develop into ripe pods.
The main cocoa producing regions of Daloa, Vavoua, Bouafle and San Pedro, all exhibited an abundant setting of flowers and cherelles, according to the Reuters reporter. Total seasonal output in Daloa and Vavoua averages around 250,000 to 280,000 tonnes.
'We can't really talk much about the harvest yet,' said Adou Kouadio, who farms 4 hectares in Meagui, around 50 km (32 miles) north of San Pedro.
'We'll need to wait until May or June to see what pods we have on the trees to have a real idea. It's not yet clear. The flowers could still fall off if we don't get good rains,' he said.
The western region of Duekoue, with seasonal output averaging 250,000 tonnes, and the southwestern region of Soubre, which produces 300,000 to 320,000 tonnes, showed more advanced mid-crop development and some mid-sized pods were visible.
'There are some pods that we will harvest at the end of April, but not many, just a few,' said Augustin Koffie, who works five hectares of cocoa in Fengolo, about 5 km (3 miles) north of Duekoue.
'It will be in July and August that we will see more, because it's only now that the flowers and cherelles are coming out,' he said.
Exporters said a lack of plantation maintenance could also impact production, particularly on older plantations in the country's east where ageing trees are less resistant to harsh weather and disease.
Seasonal output from Abengourou and Aboisso, the two principal eastern growing regions, averages between 125,000 and 150,000 tonnes.
SAN PEDRO (Reuters) - Ivory Coast is unlikely to harvest a bumper cocoa crop this year as dry and hot weather hampers the development of the upcoming mid-crop in the world's biggest producer, farmers and exporters said on Friday.
Output from the current October-to-March main crop was down around 6 percent by March 10 compared to the same period last season, according to exporters' port arrivals estimates. Traders had been expecting a large harvest from the mid-crop, which opens April 1 and runs through September, to help offset the deficit.
May cocoa future on ICE was down $13, or 0.6 percent, at $2,117 a tonne, after recovering from a nine-month low of $2,034 on March 7 largely on optimism for the West African light crop harvest.
But many of the flowers and small pods that will become the pods harvested in the early stages of mid-crop were killed by extremely hot and dry conditions during the dry season that is now ending, exporters said.
'People have been talking about 450,000 to 500,000 tonnes for the mid-crop, but I don't believe it, simply because we're not seeing it on the trees,' said the director of an Abidjan-based export firm.
'We should hit 350,000 or even 400,000, which is Ivory Coast's normal (mid-crop) production level, but I don't see it above that,' he said.
Though the last two seasons have seen harvests of 1.51 million and 1.47 million tonnes, Ivorian cocoa output over the past decade has averaged around 1.3 million tonnes, with around 350,000 tonnes coming from the mid-crop.
Other exporters and pod counters contacted by Reuters also projected output for the April-to-September mid-crop at around 350,000 tonnes if current weather conditions hold, with estimates rising above 400,000 with improved rainfall.
'I don't yet see the record season we were expecting for the mid-crop. The rains arrived late, and the heat killed lots of flowers and cherelles,' said Ben Sylla, a cocoa merchant based in the western town of Duekoue.
LATE FLOWERING
The marketing season for the mid-crop opens on April 1, but growers are predicting a late start to harvesting.
A Reuters reporter who visited the Ivory Coast's principal growing regions saw that crops had yet to attain the level of development typically seen at this stage in the season.
While trees on plantations in most regions were flowering and cherelles were visible on many trees, mid-sized pods were largely absent, an indication that the mid-crop peak will likely not be reached before late July or early August, a month later than normal.
Cocoa flowers require around 22 weeks to develop into ripe pods.
The main cocoa producing regions of Daloa, Vavoua, Bouafle and San Pedro, all exhibited an abundant setting of flowers and cherelles, according to the Reuters reporter. Total seasonal output in Daloa and Vavoua averages around 250,000 to 280,000 tonnes.
'We can't really talk much about the harvest yet,' said Adou Kouadio, who farms 4 hectares in Meagui, around 50 km (32 miles) north of San Pedro.
'We'll need to wait until May or June to see what pods we have on the trees to have a real idea. It's not yet clear. The flowers could still fall off if we don't get good rains,' he said.
The western region of Duekoue, with seasonal output averaging 250,000 tonnes, and the southwestern region of Soubre, which produces 300,000 to 320,000 tonnes, showed more advanced mid-crop development and some mid-sized pods were visible.
'There are some pods that we will harvest at the end of April, but not many, just a few,' said Augustin Koffie, who works five hectares of cocoa in Fengolo, about 5 km (3 miles) north of Duekoue.
'It will be in July and August that we will see more, because it's only now that the flowers and cherelles are coming out,' he said.
Exporters said a lack of plantation maintenance could also impact production, particularly on older plantations in the country's east where ageing trees are less resistant to harsh weather and disease.
Seasonal output from Abengourou and Aboisso, the two principal eastern growing regions, averages between 125,000 and 150,000 tonnes.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Fluorescence Could Indicate Health of Corals
Corals are well-known for the brilliant colors they sport, but less well-known is the light, or fluorescence, that most coral species give off. Monitoring the levels of this fluorescence could be an easier way for scientists to monitor the health of coral reefs around the world, a new study finds, as these reefs are subjected to stress from climate change and other factors.
Coral fluorescence, produced by special fluorescent proteins, is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon, but researchers think it could help protect the coral from damaging sunlight, or possibly other forms of stress.
Marine biologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego monitored the levels of fluorescence and fluorescent proteins in a common branching coral from the Indo-Pacific region called Acropora yongei as the coral was subjected to both cold and heat stress. These stresses both affect corals in nature, with cold snaps sometimes killing corals, and global warming heating up the oceans overall.
Fluorescence levels from the coral in the study declined rapidly in response to both types of stress, initially, but the outcomes of the two tests eventually differed. The coral was able to adapt to the cold temperatures and their fluorescence levels rebounded, but the heat stress caused the corals to bleach, or lose the symbiotic algae that provides corals with the bulk of their nutrition.
Under the heat stress conditions, the fluorescence levels declined at first as they did under the cold stress, but the coral couldn't adapt and the algae were expelled from the corals, study researcher Melissa Roth, now at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, told OurAmazingPlanet in an email. When the bleaching happened, there was actually a spike in fluorescence caused by the fact that the algae had previously been shading the fluorescence and now no longer were.
'This is the first study to quantify fluorescence before, during and after stress,' said Scripps researcher Dimitri Deheyn in a statement.
The results show that fluorescence can be a good marker of the health of corals. In fact, it could be an easier, less invasive method of monitoring corals than those currently used, including analyzing corals collected from reefs back in labs. Fluorescence can be monitored without disturbing the coral and directly at the reef site, and could indicate that the coral is in poor health before it bleaches. [Video: Humans Hit the Oceans Hard]
Roth said that the coral the study tested, Acropora yongei, would be a good one to monitor in the field because branching corals like it are 'very susceptible to bleaching.'
'It would make sense to monitor the corals on the reef that are most sensitive as an indicator for the reef as a whole,' Roth said.
The findings were detailed in the March 12 issue of the journal Scientific Reports.
Follow Andrea Thompson @AndreaTOAP, Pinterestand Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
Coral fluorescence, produced by special fluorescent proteins, is a relatively poorly understood phenomenon, but researchers think it could help protect the coral from damaging sunlight, or possibly other forms of stress.
Marine biologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego monitored the levels of fluorescence and fluorescent proteins in a common branching coral from the Indo-Pacific region called Acropora yongei as the coral was subjected to both cold and heat stress. These stresses both affect corals in nature, with cold snaps sometimes killing corals, and global warming heating up the oceans overall.
Fluorescence levels from the coral in the study declined rapidly in response to both types of stress, initially, but the outcomes of the two tests eventually differed. The coral was able to adapt to the cold temperatures and their fluorescence levels rebounded, but the heat stress caused the corals to bleach, or lose the symbiotic algae that provides corals with the bulk of their nutrition.
Under the heat stress conditions, the fluorescence levels declined at first as they did under the cold stress, but the coral couldn't adapt and the algae were expelled from the corals, study researcher Melissa Roth, now at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, told OurAmazingPlanet in an email. When the bleaching happened, there was actually a spike in fluorescence caused by the fact that the algae had previously been shading the fluorescence and now no longer were.
'This is the first study to quantify fluorescence before, during and after stress,' said Scripps researcher Dimitri Deheyn in a statement.
The results show that fluorescence can be a good marker of the health of corals. In fact, it could be an easier, less invasive method of monitoring corals than those currently used, including analyzing corals collected from reefs back in labs. Fluorescence can be monitored without disturbing the coral and directly at the reef site, and could indicate that the coral is in poor health before it bleaches. [Video: Humans Hit the Oceans Hard]
Roth said that the coral the study tested, Acropora yongei, would be a good one to monitor in the field because branching corals like it are 'very susceptible to bleaching.'
'It would make sense to monitor the corals on the reef that are most sensitive as an indicator for the reef as a whole,' Roth said.
The findings were detailed in the March 12 issue of the journal Scientific Reports.
Follow Andrea Thompson @AndreaTOAP, Pinterestand Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
- Colorful Creations: Incredible Coral
- Images: Colorful Corals of the Deep Barrier Reef
- Gallery of Glowing Sea Creatures
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Space trio lands in Kazakhstan after bad weather delay
ALMATY (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule made a 'bull's eye' landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Saturday, delivering a Russian-American trio from the International Space Station, a day after its originally scheduled touchdown was delayed by foul weather.
NASA's Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who had manned the $100 billion orbital outpost since October as Expedition 34, landed in cloudy weather at 7:06 a.m. Moscow time (0306 GMT) northeast of the town of Arkalyk.
They had spent 144 days aboard the multinational ISS on their space journey of almost 61 million miles (98 million km).
'The landing was energetic and exciting,' Russian TV showed Novitskiy as saying.
NASA television said the deorbit burn and other events during the descent had gone flawlessly. It said the capsule had landed upright, almost hitting its bull's eye target in thick fog.
'Oleg Novitskiy reported to search and recovery teams that the crew is feeling good,' NASA television said. 'Everything seems to be in order.'
Due to hampered visibility, it took a few minutes before helicopters with Russian search and recovery teams could locate the Soyuz capsule after its landing.
The first images shown by Russia's Vesti-24 television featured rescue workers standing in a snow-covered steppe opening the hatch of the capsule.
The three smiling astronauts were seated on semi-reclined chairs and covered with blue thermal blankets. They were then carried to a nearby inflatable medical tent.
On Friday, fog and freezing rain at the landing site in Kazakhstan prevented helicopters from setting up for the crew's return to Earth.
In preparation for their departure, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield took the helm of the space station on Wednesday, becoming the first Canadian to take command of the outpost.
It is only the second time in the 12-year history of the station, a project of 15 nations that has been permanently staffed since November 2000, that command has been turned over to someone who is not American or Russian.
Hadfield will be part of a three-man skeleton crew until NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin arrive later this month.
(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
NASA's Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who had manned the $100 billion orbital outpost since October as Expedition 34, landed in cloudy weather at 7:06 a.m. Moscow time (0306 GMT) northeast of the town of Arkalyk.
They had spent 144 days aboard the multinational ISS on their space journey of almost 61 million miles (98 million km).
'The landing was energetic and exciting,' Russian TV showed Novitskiy as saying.
NASA television said the deorbit burn and other events during the descent had gone flawlessly. It said the capsule had landed upright, almost hitting its bull's eye target in thick fog.
'Oleg Novitskiy reported to search and recovery teams that the crew is feeling good,' NASA television said. 'Everything seems to be in order.'
Due to hampered visibility, it took a few minutes before helicopters with Russian search and recovery teams could locate the Soyuz capsule after its landing.
The first images shown by Russia's Vesti-24 television featured rescue workers standing in a snow-covered steppe opening the hatch of the capsule.
The three smiling astronauts were seated on semi-reclined chairs and covered with blue thermal blankets. They were then carried to a nearby inflatable medical tent.
On Friday, fog and freezing rain at the landing site in Kazakhstan prevented helicopters from setting up for the crew's return to Earth.
In preparation for their departure, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield took the helm of the space station on Wednesday, becoming the first Canadian to take command of the outpost.
It is only the second time in the 12-year history of the station, a project of 15 nations that has been permanently staffed since November 2000, that command has been turned over to someone who is not American or Russian.
Hadfield will be part of a three-man skeleton crew until NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin arrive later this month.
(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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