Weather & Earth Science News

For once the term blizzard is applicable with some strong winds bringing drifting and causing power disruption across Scotland and Northern Ireland overnight, with snow also falling across higher ground over much of Northern England and Wales as well. In Ireland the snow has now mainly cleared but there's still more affecting Eastern and SE Scotland this morning with a scattering of wintry showers elsewhere in Britain. No doubt more updates to post tomorrow or Friday, but for the time being: Spring snow hits parts of north Wales Heavy snow creates travel chaos across Scotland Snow cuts power and transport 300 rescued from Glenshane blizzards Thousands of homes left without power as storms wreak havoc in Northern Ireland And here in Evesham? A bit breezy with the occasional rain shower. In the US, Northeast storm sets records, stops traffic and makes life miserable - it's been the wettest march on record in some parts of the NE. On the other hand, for Washington DC it loo...

In the US, more flooding threatens storm-weary East Coast as a result of which Mass. Governor Patrick declares state of emergency; R.I. prepares for 'life threatening' flood . And in Scotland, snow strands lorries on motorway whilst in Ulster there's heavy snow in parts of Province - and more falling now in both areas as I write. Ironically, here in Evesham we've just had the mildest night of the year so far with a min of 9.2c. According to James Lovelock: humans are too stupid to prevent climate change Odd cloud on Neptune seen splitting in two Over on Iceland, cold weather catches under-prepared volcano trippers out and here's a view of the erupting Iceland volcano seen from space . Undersea volcano threatens southern Italy - well, sort of. There's nothing that has changed to increase the risk, just we weren't aware of it before. The wall of the volcano might collapse tomorrow. Or not for 10,000 years. Did climate influence Angkor's collapse...

Latest findings show that the Gulf Stream 'is not' slowing down - so we're not all going to freeze to death after all. Meanwhile, the risk of snow for these parts has receded over the weekend, though it still looks like a cold wet & wind end to March. However, for Ireland, Southern Scotland, the Pennines and higher ground in Wales there could be a fair bit of snow over the next few days - which inevitably has been picked up by the media with snow forecast as British Summer Times begins . Of course, the dismal weather makes getting up an hour earlier due to the ridiculous and illogical shift to Bloody Silly Time even more depressing ...... Sooner this archaic and pointless change was stopped, and we stick to Real Time (ie GMT - which by fortunate coincidence also corresponds to 'Z' time and UTC) the better. Another consequence is that all Met charts now come out an hour later and one needs to mentally adjust any forecast chart for the corresponding local ti...

Pollution from Asia circles globe at stratospheric heights Randel says more research is needed into the possible effects of the pollutants. When sulfur rises into the stratosphere, it can lead to the creation of small particles called aerosols that are known to influence the ozone layer. The monsoon transport pathway may also have effects on other gases in the stratosphere, such as water vapor, that affect global climate by influencing the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth. Of course aerosols at that level lead to global cooling ..... Could this be another reason why the Earth is not warming as fast as one would expect given all the various factors that are supposed to be causing warming? And this neatly leads on to dawn of the Anthropocene Epoch? ...scientists propose that, in just two centuries, humans have wrought such vast and unprecedented changes to our world that we actually might be ushering in a new geological time interval, and alter the planet for millions of years. ...

Well spring is in the air and the forecast for Britain next week is ......... more snow. At present there's a risk of quite heavy falls over higher ground in the north: the Pennines could take a pasting; and even some to fairly low levels further south though I'm not expecting anything to settle in Evesham. After a spell of more normal temperature it's going to come as quite a shock to many. And the Easter weekend doesn't look much warmer. One important non weather related news: later this year the Times and Sunday Times website will become pay-to-view. It's possible the Sun may follow suit. Therefore I'll be avoiding posting links to any news stories from those publications from now on. Hopefully other media outlets will not follow suite as it will make accessing archive news stories somewhat problematic (unless they make older news items available free of charge) One thing I was surprised to hear was that in 2009 there was a record fall in UK greenhou...

Earlier this week, Hong Kong disappears in cloud of smog and Beijing catches breath after sandstorm whilst today Taiwan braces for severe sandstorm, may close schools . This onslaught of the Mongolian cyclone is natural weather aggravated by human activity - especially in this region, over-grazing/desertification and transport and industrial pollution. And with the world's biggest cities merging into mega-regions , one can only expect things to get worse, in all parts of the world. Stone age could complicate N Sea wind farm plans - in fact, the wind farms could lead to a lot more remains being recovered from Doggerland than we would otherwise find. So might be a good thing. In NZ, gale force winds cause havoc According to WWF, reinvented cities could hold climate key Precise model of tectonic-plate movements developed from 20 year study Greenland ice sheet losing mass on northwest coast

After a very long dry summer, there was chaos as freak storm batters Australia's Perth - with Perth reeling from freak storm ; thousands losing power, 120kmh winds, golf ball sized hailstones and up to 79mm of rain, it's little wonder they're calling Perth storm 'a natural disaster' . Elsewhere in Australia, sheep take to the skies to escape floods while in the Whitsunday's Hamilton Island like a bomb site after Cyclone Ului Earlier news was that Iceland eruption remains stable however this morning it appears that Keflavik and Reykjavik airports were again closed for a time due to volcanic activity. And it's likely to be some time yet before we know whether or not Katla may erupt. If it does, then based on geological evidence from previous eruptions, we could see ash clouds fall over a large part of Europe. Now wouldn't that be fun! Relief in N Dakota, Fargo spared as Red River crests A bit of extraterrestrial weather here: helium rain on Jupiter e...

Now this is something I really would love to see in person! Volcano erupts near Eyjafjallajoekull in south Iceland . Spectacular though it is (especially at night) it's only a small eruption. The big fear is that it could herald a much bigger eruption of the nearby Katla volcano . And if that happens, we can say goodbye to summer 2010! (Image from The Times ) An excellent video of the eruption filmed from the air can be seen here: http://http.ruv.straumar.is/static.ruv.is/vefur/innklipp_eldgos.wmv It's an eruption I'll be following - with hopefully some friends heading out there to see and film it. Also over the weekend, Cyclone Ului engulfs Qld coast and in its aftermath, clean-up steps up in cyclone-ravaged north Queensland China sandstorm leaves Beijing shrouded in orange dust And in America, flood fears recede in well-prepared Midwest cities whilst down in Texas they've had another blast of winter bringing snow that falls just short of setting seasonal recor...

In Queensland, disaster declaration issued as Ului nears - the cyclone, expected to make landfall in the next few hours, has now been upgraded to Cat3. North Dakota residents on tenterhooks eying Red River's rise Cherry blossom forecasts weather change in Japan Seventeen Inodnesia volcanoes on alert Snowstorm blankets Colorado on last day of winter (and, for the record, Spring formally starts at 5.32pm UTC this afternoon) Heavy rains swamp camps holding Haiti's homeless

The multiplying mystery of moonwater - it would seem our moon is not quite so dry as we thought. Let's just hope the cheese mines don't flood! As downgraded cyclone edges closer to Qld coast , in Mackay, cyclone causes cancellations - fortunately it looks like Ului will only be Cat2 on landfall. Mississippi River expected to rise to 'major' flood stage in St Paul In Antarctica, methane making microbes thrive under the ice - or possibly not. Basically they might. And if they do, then any methane they may conceivably produce may possibly be released into the atmosphere if the ice melts. School canceled Wednesday in Dubruque because of dense fog Early butterflies linked to global warming Wind farm plans stir up storm over military radar And even if you don't think CO2 is an issue as regards global warming, there's now a new reason to be concerned as research suggests urban CO2 domes increase deaths

Government rebuked over global warming nursery rhyme adverts . This story is actually a few days old, and I wasn't going to comment on it, but thinking again - isn't this another case of the British Govt doing what it has consistently done for year? Ignoring expert advice and lying to the public. And when the Govt lie and the Media deliberately mislead, is it any wonder the public have so little confidence in the science? Or maybe that's the point ....... Moreover, it seems all this is now affecting our children: is global warming the new apocalypse? Not having any children of my own, it's interesting to see what they are being told, and indeed what they think about it. Whether climate change is quite as scary as nuclear anihilation I'm not sure. But it's more likely to happen. Devastation seen on Fiji's cyclone-hit islands After a mild winter, a mild spring as Canada basks in record high temperatures ; and the danger in Manitoba? Mild weather ...

Attention today remains focused on the West Pacific where Fiji cyclone damage overwhelming, leader says , with first reports saying Cikobia left like a war zone . And as Ului approached Australia, tourists evacuated from Great Barrier Reef islands . Current indications are that it'll make landfall in northern Queensland at the weekend, possibly around the town of Mackay. NASA's Earth Observatory website provides a mosaic image of cyclones Tomas and Ului Drought continues to wreck havoc in southwestern China NOAA warns of big floods after fierce winter - and when NOAA says a flood is coming, best get building your ark! Is the acid rain threat making a comeback? Chemicals that eased one environmental problem may worsen another . Of course, the geoengineering proposal of spraying sulphur into the atmosphere to reduce global warming might also lead to more acid rain (as well as affecting the ozone layer ). In NSW, record rainfall last month breaks drought at Broken Hill , bu...

Cyclone Tomas hits northern Fiji , with other reports saying there was panic as cyclones ravage Fiji whilst Fiji declares state of emergency for cyclone aid . Meanwhile, further west, Queensland holds it's breath as Cyclone Ului tracks parallel with the coast . After TS Hubert, death toll in Madagascar rises to 28 Coldest winter in 30 years results in landscape burnt brown by frost - it killed the cordyline in my front garden and my pampas grass doesn't look too healthy at the moment either, but otherwise, no problems for me. Interestingly, despite only 1mm rain in the past fortnight the ground remains very wet. Mongolia's harsh winter of discontent Following the recent Met Office statement, issued in the wake of the media disinformation frenzy after 'climategate', now Australia's weather bureau backs climate change verdict . El Nino and heavy industry leave South East Asia waterless . Not sure I'm too saddened by the palm oil crop being affected, inde...

Warmest day of the year yesterday, and I think the first time in 2010 anywhere in the British Isles has officially recorded a maximum temperature in the 'teens' - with both Pershore and Solent MRSC hitting 14.1c. Only 12.8c in my garden, but it's fairly well shaded at this time of year. Cyclone Tomas: thousands evacuated from path of storm in Fiji Get ready for the spring floods in N America, with the Red River rising faster than expected in ND, Minn and elsewhere, storm leaves Northeast soggy, windblown and dark . Pakistan mud volcanoes Why is the sun producing so few sunspots Strong earthquake rattles building around Japan

Tropical storm Hubert kills 14 in Madagascar Aquatic 'dead zones' contributing to climate change In Australia, the world's oldest rivers mapped under huge desert dunes Tropical cyclones could threaten NZ And the latest 'well the blame it for everything else' story comes from India: Running nose? You can blame it on global warming, say experts

New study debunks myths about vulnerabilty of Amazon rain forest to droughts - which runs counter to controversial suggestions made in the 4AR ...... Ooops! Snowstorms hit Mediterranean resorts leaving tourists indoors Schools' record bid on weather news Tornadoes, heavy rain and flooding for eastern U.S. Climate change makes birds shrink in North America Nearly half of Americans believe climate change threat is exaggerated . Only half? I'm surprised it's so low given that it has been exaggerated - by the media and politicians who persistently highlight worse case scenarios as the most likely course of events. However, errors in the 4AR were not exaggerations - they were just errors (or, in the case above, based on information believed correct at the time but which subsequent studies suggest may in fact be incorrect) Did the Chilean quake shift Earth's axis? Experts warn of monster landslides in Taiwan Second only South Atlantic tropical storm: 90Q, moving away fr...

It may have been a cold winter in Britain and Europe, but across the Atlantic things were very different and the Canadian Met office have announced it was the warmest, driest winter in Canadian record books and according to at least one climatologist, this wacky winter a signal of years to come . Good by me if that means Britain keeps cold! After slow start, tornado season underway Spanish snow leave 250,000 without power In Australia, dams save border towns from big floods but in Queensland, fuel runs low in flood hit town . UN to review errors made by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change However, in what to some may come as a surprise to some, China and India join Copenhagen accord . Not that it'll make any difference. A nice question and answer session from the Washington Times, in light of recent events is number of earthquakes on the rise? In Sweden, record sub-zero temperature suite broken (in fact, this week northern Sweden has been warmer than Evesham!)

Heavy snowfall has hit parts of NW Spain and Southern France with Barcelona hit with heaviest snowfall in 25 years as a freak snowstorm covers southern France and one train stranded for 18 hours in snow . Further east, Bulgaria buried in snow after blizzard They're still short of the white stuff in the Pacific NW though and a record low snow pack in some areas of BC could means summer drought . Woolly mammoth carcass from Siberia reveals information about ice age creatures - and not a tropical leaf to be found! In Uganda there are now 300,000 homeless after landslides Rain, warm weather, could spark US Midwest flood Drastic musk ox decline 12,000 years ago due to climate, not humans Chilean earthquake moved entire city 10 feet west And there's global interest in Clitheroe's shrinking 'glacier'

Welsh GP at Uganda landslides says it is 'like Aberfan' - and in a separate BBC report , it's stated that " Authorities have blamed the disaster on local people cutting down trees on the hillsides to cultivate crops " - confirming my initial suspicions. More info from Saturday when some rather impressive super-cell thunderstorms hit Melbourne whilst elsewhere in Australia there's been $130m in damage and flood fight goes on . Strong earthquake hits eastern Turkey With a maxima of just 3.5c, yesterday was my coldest March day on record. It certainly felt like winter - and this morning it fell to -5.9c. No sign of spring here just yet! Nor in Europe where at least 7 die in snow-linked accidents in Germany over the weekend. Bad weather blamed for Scotland having more people with ginger hair

In Melbourne storm causes mayhem as a thunderstorm drops hail and 33mm of rain in less than an hour. Not a news story, but an interesting piece of commentary from Jeff Masters at Weather Underground: the skeptics v the ozone hole - well worth a read and my thanks to John Mason for bringing it to my attention. For Scotland it's been the best season in 30 years as ski centres enjoy record visitors Scientists misread data on global warming controversy - no, not that data, but the result of recent polls showing a decline in the number of people concerned about global warming. Were short warm periods typical for transitions between interglacial and glacial epochs? And if so, is the current warm period on of these, indicating the next glacial is imminent? Well, not of the Milankovitch Cycles have anything to do with it. And anyway, I think it'll take more than my lifetime for new ice caps to grown on Baffin Island. Hundreds feared dead following landslide in Uganda - caused...

Thousands of passengers marooned in Baltic ice - now updated as dozens of ships and ferries stuck in Baltic ice freed Met Office seasonal forecasts to be scrapped - no surprise there! However, the GloSea4 output is still available on the Met Office website. Based on latest output, it looks like had they issued a forecast they'd be going for a cold Spring but a warm early Summer. Sod's Law says that's what we will get. Delta IV successfully launches with GOES-P weather satellite Met Office analysis reveals 'clear fingerprints' of man-made climate change Europe's western shores at risk of hurricanes in coming decades In Queensland, locals evacuated ahead of 120-year flood , but one Qld pub has no fear of floods . Hydrothermal vents discovered off Antarctica - about 1,000 miles off Antarctica ..... and although we've only now discovered them they have likely been active for tens of thousands, or even millions, of years (so no, they're not a cause of...

The Met Office have issued a preliminary report on winter 2009/10 (some figures are likely to change once data is in from all the various weather stations around the country - some of which only report weekly or monthly) Provisional figures from the Met Office show that the UK winter has been the coldest since 1978/79. The mean UK temperature was 1.5 °C, the lowest since 1978/79 when it was 1.2 °C. Since mid-December cold weather has often dominated much of the country, with spells of snow and very low temperatures. From southern England to northern Scotland, heavy snow caused travel disruption at times through the season. Overnight temperatures fell to -22.3 °C at Altnaharra, Highland – the lowest UK minimum since 1995. And in Eire, low of -16 degrees recorded in coldest winter for 47 years ...

Atlantic storm kills 55 as it rages across Europe with eye witnesses saying 'it was the worst storm I have ever experienced' . Britain escaped the worst of 'Xynthia', however, sadly, in Yorkshire there was one women killed as downpours and floods hit UK while in the Channel islands, Jersey properties floodedin bad weather . Latest reports I have seen now put the death toll attributed to Xynthia at 58. In Scotland, skiers lucky to be alive after being swept 2,000ft down mountainside and remote village cut off by heavy snow for 4 days - though Polloch is really just a handful of houses inhabited by forestry workers. Still, being at low level near Loch Shiel, it doesn't normally suffer from heavy snowfall. I wonder what it's like around Essan? Deadly snow storm heading for Sweden Chilian military takes control of quake-hit cities whilst Scientists defend tsunami false alarm . At least 700 are so far thought to have died in one of the strongest earthquakes...