Jennifer Lawson predicts we're in for increasingly violent storms, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

[Guest guest]

Australian-born Jennifer Lawson is a long-range weather forecaster who uses a

system based on the principles of astrometeorology. Since her first public

prognostication (tropical cyclone Pierre, 1985), her predictions of the dates

and locations of tropical cyclones and storms have been published every year in

the Australian media. In the United States, where she resides part-time in the

Houston, Texas, area, she has been featured in the local media every year since

1988 with accurate predictions of the dates and locations of each season's

hurricanes.Having no formal training in meteorology or long-range weather

forecasting, Jennifer developed an interest in weather prediction after reading

a small book on the subject in 1980. For five years she conducted research into

planetary effects on weather patterns and the tropical cyclones which form

every year in Australia's Coral Sea region. Through her observations, Jennifer

concluded that the planets do have a major effect on altering weather

patterns.In February 1985, Jennifer had her first predictions of summer storms

and tropical cyclones published by Brisbane's Sunday Sun newspaper. She was

successful in pinpointing three out of four cyclones that formed in the Coral

Sea that season, as well as 85 per cent of the summer storms. Subsequently,

various Queensland newspapers published her tropical cyclone forecasts for

every summer season, and Jennifer began to establish a proven track-record. Her

greatest achievements in forewarning the public of fierce Coral Sea cyclones

that would target the Queensland coast include TC Charlie in 1988 and TC Joy,

the destructive cyclone that hit the far north coast in December 1990.With her

cyclone forecasts for Australia proving successful, Jennifer, living part-time

in Houston, had her list of hurricane dates and locations for the up and coming

1988 Atlantic hurricane season published in June 1988 in Houston's Uptown

Express (Uptown Health and Spirit) magazine.Houston's Channel 2 Nearly Noon

gave Jennifer a spot on the show where she predicted that in early September

1988 a fierce hurricane would move into the Gulf of Mexico. The fierce

hurricane turned out to be Gilbert-a category-five storm which was so large it

almost covered the Gulf of Mexico. The following June, in 1989, Jennifer

appeared again on Nearly Noon, this time predicting that a fierce hurricane

would target the South Carolina coast around September 20-22. Hurricane Hugo

slammed into Charleston right on target. In 1992, Jennifer also predicted the

date and formation of hurricane Andrew and that it would also target the US

east coast.Jennifer Lawson has written her book, Violent Weather Predictions

2000-2001 (Llewellyn, 1999; see review this issue), primarily to forewarn the

public as to when and where in the world severe weather patterns and earthquake

and volcanic activity are likely to create havoc around the turn of the century.

What follows is an interview with Jennifer (plus several inclusions from her

book), in which she summarises some of her key predictions for 2000-2001.1. How

do you predict the weather?It's long-range weather, for a start, and not based

on conventional methods of meteorology. The system I use is based on the

fundamental principles of astrometeorology, which seeks to forecast weather by

studying the angular positions of the Sun, Moon and planets in relation to each

other and to the Earth. Their combined influences disrupt and disturb Earth's

atmosphere, affecting our weather patterns.The celestial bodies'

declinations-their angular distance north or south of the Earth's equator-are

just as important as longitude and latitude when determining long-term weather

patterns. For example, when two or more of the slower-moving outer planets are

grouped together at their most southerly point of declination-23° south at the

Tropic of Capricorn-the winter months in the northern hemisphere will be

severely cold and the summers cooler than usual, while the southern hemisphere

summers will be extremely hot and dry with milder winters. And vice-versa when

the planets are grouped at their most northerly declination, the Tropic of

Cancer at 23° north.Several planets grouped around the Earth's equator at zero

degrees of declination appear to greatly disrupt and disturb the atmosphere,

generating powerful storm systems. The influence of the planet Mars on the

equator is perhaps the most effective planet of all in stirring up great

storms, hurricanes, tropical cyclones and typhoons. Fierce hurricane Hugo was

an example of Mars on the equator at zero degrees declination.How severe a

season will be is determined by the declinations of the slower-moving outer

planets, conjoined by the faster-moving planets Mars and Mercury. Because

Mercury moves so quickly and rotates around the Sun roughly four times a year,

its influence on terrestrial weather patterns is more pronounced and it brings

dramatic changes in weather more quickly than all of the other planets put

together.The planets, Sun and Moon act like characters on a stage. First, the

outer planets-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto-set the scene; then Mars,

Venus and Mercury enter the stage as the major players. Lastly, the Moon makes

the grand entrance on stage as the final "trigger" to them all.The planets also

have a major bearing on the solar surface in heightening sunspot activity and

solar flares-which also affect our weather patterns.2: How do the planets

affect sunspots and solar flares and how do these affect our weather?Research

of the solar surface, done by RCA's shortwave radio expert John Henry Nelson

back in the 1940s, revealed that planets do have a major impact on the unstable

electrified area of the Sun's surface, where the most minuscule gravitational

tug from the planets can create an avalanche effect, causing major turbulence

in the solar atmosphere and heightening sunspot activity and solar

flares.Electromagnetically charged particles and solar winds ejected from large

solar flares stream throughout the solar system, bombarding Earth's ionosphere,

disturbing our magnetic fields and causing powerful magnetic or electric storms

to rage across the planet. Solar flares can also cause the molten interior of

the Earth to move in powerful, circular currents, placing enormous stresses on

the interplay of tectonic plates, resulting in earthquakes and volcanic

activity.Our planet is a part of everything else in our solar system, galaxy

and universe. Everything is interactive, interdependent and interrelated.3. Why

will the weather be so violent in 2000-2001?Although up to 2,000 storms rage

across our planet at any given time, most don't make front-page news. However,

in the years 2000 and 2001, weather patterns will be particularly violent for

several reasons.Not only will the planets be forming powerful angles to each

other, resulting in violent weather patterns, but the disruptive 11-year

sunspot cycle, producing higher-than-normal sunspot activity, will peak in the

year 2000, enhancing violent weather patterns. But this is only the

beginning.In July 2000, three eclipses-two solar and one lunar-will bring

floods of gigantic proportions as well as severe weather and quakes. But the

major feature for the year 2000 will occur on May 4-5, when six planets will

align in almost a straight line, with the Earth on one side of the Sun and five

planets aligned on the other. It will be the first time in 6,000 years that such

an alignment has taken place. The combined effects of all these factors will not

only trigger violent weather, but powerful seismic activity as well.The effects

of high sunspot activity can already be seen in the massive earthquake that

struck Turkey on August 17, 1999, causing a domino effect of violent

earthquakes targeting other areas of the world. If the recent spate of violent

earthquakes is any indication to go by, the May 2000 earthquake could be a

magnitude 8 or higher on the Richter scale, dwarfing the magnitude 7.3 tremor

that struck Turkey.4. What do you think will happen when the planets 'align' on

May 4-5, 2000?Although the Earth could experience some fierce weather patterns

and heightened seismic activity from mid-March through May, my major concern

with the May 4-5 alignment is that it will place stresses on the tectonic

plates, thereby precipitating violent earthquakes and possibly volcanic

eruptions.Location charts earmark northern California as being potentially one

of the major areas that could be hit by seismic activity in May, but not

necessarily on the exact day as the planetary alignment.5. Is this the "big

one" to hit California, that everybody has been waiting for?It could well be

the "big one", although June 12-22, 2001 is another date that will also need

close watching for a major Californian tremor.6. Are earthquakes and volcanic

eruptions predictable?Yes. Using the same system I use for weather forecasting,

earthquake and volcanic activity can also be predicted. Just for the record, my

first public prediction was not weather-related at all, but volcanic-when I

successfully pinpointed Mount St Helens as erupting on August 7, 1980.In the

early 1990s, Houston's Uptown Express magazine published a series of earthquake

predictions for California which rated about 70 per cent accurate, but since

then I haven't worked in that particular line of prediction. So yes, it is

possible to predict quakes.7. Will other areas of the US be affected in

2000-2001?Let's look at 2000 first. I anticipate powerful tornado outbreaks,

most likely beginning around mid-March throughout April, especially 13-23, with

a particularly violent period from May 13-23.Floods could wreak havoc in

midwestern and eastern states, including areas near the Mississippi and Ohio

river valleys, from late June through July.California could also experience

heavy rainfall and mudslides in July.For the Atlantic hurricane season,

tropical storms will begin in July, with several dangerous hurricanes to watch

for in August, mid-September and October.A fierce system forming in the

Atlantic around August 22-31, possibly attaining category-five hurricane

status, could take aim at Florida or the Carolinas.8. And what about 2001 for

the United States?The year 2001 will get off to a stormy start with some pretty

severe, wintry conditions for the US from mid-January through February.

Blizzards, possible ice storms, and lots of heavy snowfall will plague the

northern states.The worst months anticipated for violent weather in 2001 will

be from May through June, when severe tornado outbreaks could rip up through

tornado alley, the Midwest and the Deep South. For the second year in a row,

the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys are likely to experience major

flooding.California could be either rocked by another powerful tremor between

June 10-22, or targeted by a rare offshore hurricane that has meandered further

north than usual.If an El Niño doesn't develop in 2001, the Atlantic hurricane

season will begin in June with several fierce tropical storms. Other intense

hurricanes should form around late August through mid-September, and several

unusually powerful hurricanes are expected to form in October.9. What about the

rest of the world in 2000? And when?Among the countries hardest hit in 2000 will

be India in the months of July and August, when one of the most severe monsoon

floods on record will devastate parts of the country.The eclipse patterns

occurring in July will also trigger floods in western Africa, northern Italy,

Mexico and the British Isles.Several of the world's volcanoes currently going

through an eruptive phase-such as Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano,

Mexico's Popocatépetl and Italy's Mount Etna-should be closely monitored from

April onwards.In fact, any volcano throughout the world showing signs of

renewed activity around the March or April period could be in danger of

suddenly erupting on a major scale in May, July or October.Heightened

earthquake activity will most likely begin around mid-March, increase

throughout April and peak in the month of May. Southern Italy, California,

Turkey, China, Mexico and New Zealand are likely to be among regions of the

globe affected by seismic activity. October is another danger point for

earthquakes and volcanic activity. Countries likely to be affected by

earthquakes in October are Mexico, Japan, southern Italy and possibly northern

California. Violent weather could also target the Philippines and Japan, among

other places.10. Will violent weather and seismic activity be as bad in 2001?I

think that violent weather patterns will still be ongoing throughout 2001,

which gets off to a stormy start from mid-January through February. However,

the time frame when I expect really violent weather patterns, possibly the

strongest for the year, is from May through June. Many areas of the world can

expect some "freak" storms during these months. In my book, I have listed other

months when violent storm activity can also be expected. I don't think seismic

activity will be as severe as in 2000. For one thing, the sunspot activity will

be decreasing with the 11-year sunspot cycle on the wane, and the planetary

alignment will be long gone, so stresses on the Earth's crust should be

lessened. That is, with the exception of June 10-22, when powerful tremors

could strike California and along the Southwest Pacific subduction plate

boundary where the Australian plate dives under the Pacific plate. But I'm not

entirely sure whether this influence will trigger quakes or fierce tropical

storms.Quakes are especially dangerous in the Pacific Ocean, as they can

generate powerful tsunamis-like the monstrous waves which devastated northern

New Guinea in July 1998 and, more recently, Vanuatu on November 28, 1999. If a

powerful jolt does hit the Southwest Pacific region, resultant tsunamis could

threaten nearby island communities as well as the coastline of Queensland,

Australia.11. How do conventional meteorologists regard

astrometeorology?Meteorologists do not place any credence in long-range weather

forecasting because they are of the opinion that the planets are too far away to

have any effect on terrestrial weather patterns. That's more or less their

scientific basis for rejecting astrometeorology as a credible method.But then,

science has always rejected new schools of thought. It took Christopher

Columbus in 1492 to sail around the world to prove it wasn't flat and, less

than fifty years later, Copernicus to prove that the Earth revolved around the

Sun and not vice-versa.12. How accurate is astrometeorology compared with the

more conventional methods of meteorology?It is more accurate, especially in the

long range. Conventional methods can only forecast the weather about two weeks

ahead, and even then with constant updates. I have achieved around 85 per cent

accuracy in forecasting weather patterns, long range, for specific locations,

and the same for tropical storms.Australia's famous long-range weather

forecaster Inigo Jones was able to predict accurately, twenty years in advance,

the severe drought that affected Australia starting in 1982-which demonstrates

how accurate astrometeorology can be.13. How did you become interested in

astrometeorology?My interest in astrometeorology and earthquake prediction

began in early 1980 after reading a small book on the subject when I was living

in Brisbane, Australia.Predicting violent weather patterns of the

life-threatening sort was far more interesting and challenging than forecasting

fair weather, and in 1985 I began to specialise, publicise and successfully

predict tropical storms as well as powerful summer storms.14. When was

astrometeorology discovered, and by whom?The study of planetary effects on

weather patterns is several thousand years old, and it was the Greek

philosopher Aristotle who wrote the first known treatise on the weather.

Throughout the centuries, his works were refined and expounded upon by

astronomers such as Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Dr J. Goad and Sir Isaac

Newton.English astrophysicist Dr John Gribbin and Washington-based astronomer

Dr Stephen Plagemann talked about planetary cycles in their book The Jupiter

Effect, published in 1974. Studying the planetary alignment cycles, they

observed that when all the planets lined up with Jupiter on the same side of

the Sun, around every 179 years or so, great earthquakes would occur on

Earth.In 1981 I met two American weather mavericks-namely, RCA's John Henry

Nelson and Caltech's head meteorologist, Dr Irving Krick. Dr Krick was perhaps

the only conventionally trained weatherman to believe that planets do influence

our weather, and he subsequently set up a multi-million-dollar forecasting

business based in Palm Springs.15. Which of your predictions have come to

fruition?Since 1988 I have successfully predicted and published the date and

location of some of the most notable Atlantic hurricanes, including Gilbert

(1988), Hugo (1989), Andrew (1992), Opal (1995) and Hortense (1996). More

importantly, for nine years in a row between 1988 and 1996, I was able to

pinpoint the most powerful hurricane in every season.For thirteen years in a

row, from 1985 to 1998, I also pinpointed and published the most intense

tropical cyclone for Australia's Coral Sea region in every season. Some of the

notable tropical cyclones include Pierre (1985), Winifred (1986), Charlie

(1988), Aivu (1989), Joy (1990), Justin (1997) and Nathan (1998).16. How

accurate will your 2000-2001 predictions be?Probably not as accurate as if I

was working on one specific location. My track record in weather forecasting

for a specific location runs around 85 per cent, but I do not expect to be this

accurate when covering so many countries of the world simultaneously. The more

areas covered in predictive work, the less likely the accuracy.17. You refer to

Nostradamus's predictions fitting with events for the year 2000. Can you explain

how?Of all the visionaries throughout the centuries, the French seer

Nostradamus, born in 1503, would have to be the most well documented and

outstanding in his amazing ability to foresee future events. Unfortunately, the

fact that he so cleverly concealed his visions in quatrains, to protect himself

from the Inquisition, has made it difficult for anyone else to understand them

fully. Still, there are some interesting parallels between several natural

disasters which Nostradamus foresaw happening at a time when "the great century

draws to a close", and events such as great floods and quakes which I have

pinpointed to occur, especially in the year 2000.One of the most interesting

quatrains could even pertain to the May 4-5, 2000 planetary alignment, where,

in Century 9:23, Nostradamus describes a massive earthquake to take place when

the Sun is at 20 degrees of Taurus:The Sun in twenty degrees of Taurus there

will be a great earthquake.The great theatre, full, will be ruined.Darkness and

trouble in the air, sky and landWhen they call upon God and the saints.Every

year around May 10, the Sun passes over this point and has done so for the past

400 years-and so far without incident. No earthquake of such cataclysmic

proportions as described by Nostradamus has occurred on that date-which means

that the Sun at 20 degrees of Taurus is not the only factor in the equation.On

May 10, 2000, with the planets still tightly grouped together after the

planetary alignment on May 4-5, the Sun will enter the fated degree that

Nostradamus foresaw. This time, not only will the Sun be at 20 degrees of

Taurus, but it will be conjoined by Mercury and the planetary giants Jupiter

and Saturn, and all will be forming a 90-degree angle to the planet Uranus.

This combination alone is explosive enough to trigger violent earthquakes and

weather patterns, without additional backup from high sunspot activity and a

major alignment of the planets.Maybe one of Nostradamus's visions will be

fulfilled by coming true!18. Do you believe that Nostradamus's prediction, that

the Earth will be "plunged into the abyss of perpetual darkness", will come true

in 2000?Nostradamus mentions this particular vision in the preface of his

epistle to Henry II:There will be omens in spring, and extraordinary changes

thereafter, reversals of nations and mighty earthquakes... And there shall be

in the month of October a great movement of the Globe, and it will be such that

one will think Earth has lost its natural gravitational movement and be plunged

into the abyss of perpetual darkness.All of Nostradamus's works are open to

interpretation, and although October's event sounds very much like an axis

tilt, it could be more in line with a volcanic eruption. Earthquake swarms

often accompany major volcanic eruptions where the ground sways around, giving

the appearance that the Earth has lost its natural gravitational movement.

Also, a thick, choking, ash cloud ejected from an explosive volcanic eruption

can block out the sunlight for days, as has happened in cases like Mount

Pinatubo, Mount Pelée and Mount Vesuvius.If Nostradamus is indeed referring to

a volcanic eruption occurring in the month of October, then it could well be

October 2000, for at that time the planets will be forming powerful aspects to

each other which will not only result in violent weather but will also heighten

volcanic activity to such an extent that we could witness a major volcanic

eruption.19. How do you respond to those who try to discredit your theories?No

one can get the weather right 100 per cent of the time; there are just too many

variables in the equation. But just because meteorologists can't get the weather

right at times, doesn't mean that meteorology doesn't work. The same rule of

thumb applies to what I do. So far, my greatest critics have been

meteorologists.In September 1989, after successfully predicting the date and

location when that fierce hurricane Hugo would slam into the South Carolina

coast between September 20-22, a spokesperson from the National Hurricane

Center in Florida said my prediction of Hugo was just "a fluke". The same type

of comments came from Queensland meteorologists when I was dead-accurate in

pinpointing tropical cyclone Pierre-my first cyclone ever!Right or wrong, there

will always be critics standing on the sidelines, especially if you dare rock

the boat of conventional thinking.

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