TEPCO is forced to admit what many experts have been saying for weeks – there were meltdowns at all three reactors.

The BBC reports that Tepco confirms extra partial fuel rod meltdown at plant

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) has confirmed the meltdown of extra fuel rods in reactors at its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The company said that the rods were in its Number 2 and Number 3 reactors.
…

Earlier this month, Tepco had revealed that rods at its Number 1 reactor melted down. It was thought that a similar problem had occurred in the other reactors but it was difficult to confirm.

“Based on our analysis, we have reached the conclusion that a certain amount of nuclear fuel has melted down,” Ken Matsuda, a Tepco spokesman told the BBC.

He said the analysis came from a report that Tepco was required to submit to Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa).

The spokesman added that most of the fuel from the Number 2 reactor had melted approximately 100 hours after the earthquake, which measured 9 on the Richter scale, struck Japan.

The meltdown in the Number 3 reactor took place about 60 hours after the quake.

Mr Matsuda said the new discovery would not alter Tepco’s plans.

What is this “partial” crap? All three reactors have been slagged, and it occurred in the first 100 hours. If there hadn’t been a mandatory reporting requirement TEPCO would still be hiding that fact.

The really maddening part is that if they had admitted how bad things were and asked for help, as a matter of self-preservation, there would have been a lot of assistance offered from around the world. With good and factual information people can model the problem and design solutions. The way this has been handled prevented the rest of the world from offering assistance that was available.

While at my Mother’s today she had a news program on television and a man who was identified as a “political analyst” reported that is is confirmed that Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum [OK, so he didn’t mention the “Man on Dog” part, and referred to him as a former Senator] will be announcing that he will run for President in June.

The woman at the desk remarked “We are now covering announcements of announcements?” The analyst gave a nervous laugh.

Obviously she will have to be replaced for noticing reality.

Update: There are have been dozens of tornadoes or vortex signatures showing on the map tonight in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Another terrible day in the middle of the country.

They weren’t as bad as Sunday, but there were tornadoes that touched down in Ohio and Indiana yesterday. I track them using the Weather Underground’s Tornado Map on my right sidebar.

Dr Masters provides a wrap up on the Joplin tornado:

Severe weather is expected again today in storm-torn Joplin, Missouri, as rescuers sift through the rubble of their town that was devastated by the deadliest U.S. tornado since at least 1947. A violent high-end EF-4 tornado with winds of 190 – 198 mph carved a 7-mile long, ¾ to one mile-wide path of near-total destruction through Joplin beginning at 5:41pm CDT Sunday evening. In nine terrifying minutes, the tornado killed at least 116 people, injured 500 more, and obliterated huge sections of the town. Damage from the tornado is so severe that pavement was ripped from the ground, and the level of damage is so extreme that this is likely to surpass last month’s Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado as the costliest tornado of all-time.

There are two major reasons for these outbreaks this year: the water in the Gulf of Mexico is warmer than normal, and the La Niña has played hell with the jet stream.

When a low pressure system forms in the center of the country, the warm, moist air from the Gulf and the cool, dry Canadian air are pulled towards it. The jet stream provides the “spin” that turns a thunderstorm into a tornado. The greater the temperature differential between the cold and warm air masses, the more powerful the thunderstorm and the more likely it is to rise to the altitude of the jet stream and pick up spin.

Position: 12.7N 127.8E [ 9PM CST 0300 UTC Noon JST].
Movement: West-Northwest [290°] near 6 mph [ 9 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [165 kph].
Wind Gusts: 125 mph [205 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 130 miles [215 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 40 miles [ 65 km].

Currently about 530 miles [ 850 km] East-Southeast of Manila, Philippines.

The track forecast remains consistent – it will parallel the Philippines and then turn to the North before it gets to Taiwan. If nothing changes the track takes the storm over Okinawa on Saturday morning [JST].

The storm has strengthened to Category 2 and it is slowing, probably beginning its turn to a more northerly track as forecast.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]