Oil spill encounters loop current; 20 tar balls found along the beach in Key West; tar ball photo

**BREAKING** A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has just hit southern California. The quake struck approximately 11 miles east of Ocotillo, CA. No injuries reported. U.S. Coast Guard releases photo of the tar ball found along the beaches of the Florida Keys. Oil Spill Shuts Down 19% of Gulf Fishing. According to NOAA, this April was the warmest April globally on record. The period from January through April was also the warmest ever. Illinois is one of five states that has experienced its warmest April on record. 4 die in Central Europe floods on Monday. The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins in two weeks (June 1). Latest observations show that the North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures are at a record high. NOAA deploys new “smart buoy” in the Potomac River near Washington DC to provide weather and water data. BP is siphoning more than one-fifth of the oil that has been spewing out into the Gulf. Flood Warnings are out all along the Mississippi River including several counties in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Severe Weather Reports: 16 tornado reports so far this evening. 90 mph wind gust were reported in Burns, WY. 4.25" hail was reported in Okeene, OK on Sunday. Several reports of hail covering the roads in Oklahoma. On Sunday, there were 6 reports of a tornado: 1 in Nebraska, 2 in Kansas, and 3 in Missouri. In Penalosa, KS, reports of a funnel cloud making it 80% to the ground.

The latest imagery shows the oil spill streaking southeast due to influence from the loop current. (NASA)

After weeks of trying to figure out a method of controlling the oil spill, BP has finally found a way to slow the oil spill disaster.

Over the weekend, the oil company finally succeeded in using a stopper and tube combination to siphon some of the gushing oil into a tanker.

However, another problem has surfaced. The latest satellite images taken by NASA suggest that the oil along the Gulf Coast is extremely close and maybe partially in a loop current. This loop current is responsible for transporting the oil southeast away from the Louisiana Coast and toward the Florida Keys. Scientist have been growing increasingly worried about this.

The pollution could endanger Florida's shoreline mangroves, seagrass beds and the third-longest barrier reef in the world, the 221 mile long Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which helps draw millions of snorkelers, fishermen and other tourists whose dollars are vital to the state's economy.

The University of South Florida's College of Marine Science have computer model simulations of the potential oil path. Unfortunately, all four computer models are in agreement that the oil will indeed be caught in the current and swept to the south in the coming days.

On Monday night, the Coast Guard reported that 20 tar balls were found along the shore at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West. Samples of the tar balls found by park rangers and ranging in size from three to eight inches in diameter will be sent to a laboratory for analysis, according to the Coast Guard.

Ensemble computer model forecast of the oil spill's path. The trajectory of the oil is represented in Magenta. The black area represents where it could spread. Notice all models are now showing the oil spill moving away from the Louisiana Coast over the next few days. Courtesy of The Ocean Circulation Group at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science.

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