California aftershocks, Barbara getting weaker

Hope everyone had a pleasant Independence Day and has had a great week! These are the three things you need to know for today, as far as weather and other natural events.

Shaky ground: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern California on Independence Day, followed by dozens of aftershocks, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones, California’s foremost earthquake expert, told the Los Angeles Times yesterday that aftershocks will continue to rumble through Kern County, and there’s about a 5% chance that the area hit by the July 4 temblor will have a bigger earthquake in the next few days.

The epicenter was about 125 miles from the port of Los Angeles. It remains to be seen how ocean carriers will react to something like this. If they’re delayed getting unloaded, this could cause some serious congestion at Los Angeles and other ports in southern California.

Barbara losing steam: Hurricane Barbara is still spinning over the Pacific. Once a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 155 mph, it has deflated to a Category 1 with winds of 80 mph. The good news for ocean shippers and people in Hawaii: Barbara is forecast to collapse even more as it moves into cooler waters and a region of strong wind shear that will further tear it apart. However, the storm could still drop heavy rain and 40-mph wind gusts on the main island of Hawaii early next week.

Another round of severe storms: It will be warm and humid enough to get scattered thunderstorms popping up from coast to coast, but the vast majority of them will be along and east of the Rockies. A particular focus for severe storms will likely be near the Cheyenne, Wyoming and Denver, Colorado metro areas into Kansas. These areas stand the best odds of getting hit with intense straight-line winds, large hail and/or torrential downpours. An isolated tornado is possible, too. Drivers may be delayed by roadblocks due to localized flash flooding on the I-25, I-70 and I-80 corridors.

Have a great day, and stay safe out there!