Weather & Earth Science News

Nearly missed this, from earlier this week: a six year old girl has been killed as tornadoes wreak havoc in eastern Germany meanwhile the discovery of 2 more bodies means Poland flood toll 18, worst seen over . Cool and showery? Must be time for a hosepipe ban NSW braces for severe weather At Broughty Ferry in Scotland, historic church spire damaged by lightning strike Guatemala declares emergency as volcano erupts Planetary scientists solve 40 year mystery of Mars' northern ice cap Scientists detect huge carbon 'burp' that helped end last ice age - or maybe not. There was no sudden increase in CO2 preceding the termination of the last or any previous Glacial ...... And I personally doubt CO2 plays any significant role in the start or end of Glacial cycles, though it may be a lesser, contributory, factor. In the foothills of the Himalaya Shimla records hottest day in 170 years while dozens die as heatwave bakes India Royal Society to publish guide on climate change to...

Four injured in lightning strikes in Cumbria . Whilst it's not unknown for hillwalkers to be struck by lightning, it is unusual to have 3 separate incidents occuring from the same storm. If you're caught in a storm on the hill, get down off the ridge, avoid prominent crags and caves, remove your rucksack and crouch down on the grass until the storm has passed. In Toronto, soaring temperatures smash city weather records however Calgarians told to brace for more snow ! US predicts busy hurricane season (the UK Met Office having already said the same) but there are also suggestions that Deepwater spill could affect hurricane season - though in what way is not entirely certain! In Europe, flood spares Warsaw, Brandenburg on alert whilst Germany extends shipping ban on Oder as flood waters rise and in the south of Poland horror revealed as flood water clears More flooding worries in New Zealand where they've had one month's rain in a day and the weather drama contin...

As the toll from Poland flooding rises it's being claimed beavers responsible for Poland's flooding - and that's not all, it's partly the water voles' fault as well ..... ! Or are they just convenient scapegoats for inadequately maintained flood defences? Hot weather prompts rise in police calls Eurostar's 'whatever the weather' advert banned due to snow chaos - presumably their new ad will read ' whatever the weather so long as it's not cold, snowy or too hot ..... ' South Island rain eases off - some parts of NZ have had 200mm since Monday - while in Australia heavy rain causes flooding across NSW In India, heatwave, storms kill 88 Global warming 'makes Everest harder to climb' - though given the time, money, some basic skills and fitness, and luck with the weather, these days anyone can make it to the top. Met Office sees active Atlantic storm season Is Iceland Volcano winding down at last? Well, it looks that way. Will b...

So Lost has come to an end ....... and we are no nearer to knowing anything about the Island ..... which turns out to have just been a plot device so that the various characters could find some meaning and purpose to their lives, thus enabling them to cross from Limbo to Heaven after they died. I have no such worries - my meaning and purpose in life is to moan about the weather. Hot weather, anyway. 29.4c in my garden yesterday and that could yet be the highest temp we get to this year, depending on how warm it gets today ...... Though I do expect a few more warm spells through the summer, they won't necessarily be quite so warm so widely. In the meantime, Britain basks in hot weather, but it won't last . Rain, gales, set to batter NZ for days In Taiwan, torrential rain cuts off roads in mountains Climate change concern declines in poll Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano reduces activity Why do Earth's storm tracks differ from those on Jupiter?

25.7c in my garden yesterday - warmest day since 20th August last year. Could well be even warmer today and tomorrow .... Sky News ditches weather forecasters - Francis Wilson is, of course, most famous for his appearance on Tull's 1979 album Stormwatch In India, rain causes great misery as Cyclone Laila weakens into a depression Cloudy with a chance of danger: airplanes v ash is a sober summarisation of the situation facing airlines - and rightly points out that criticism levied against the Met Office is unfounded. Eyfa has now quietened down again. Although there have recently been a few more small earthquakes reported in the vincinity of her big sister Katla ..... Too soon to say whether this is a sign the magma is seeking a new, more explosive, exit point. Ocean stored significant warming over last 16 years according to a new study. Although the team notes that there are still some uncertainties and some biases . Northeast Florida, southeast Georgia having the hottest...

Climate change is a 'distraction' on malaria spread - vindicating Paul Reiter and others who have been effectively saying this for years. Britain to bask in Mediterranean weather on hottest weekend of the year - I think they mean so far ..... well, I guess most people hope so. Though with temps up to 28c forecast for Evesham on Sunday I'll be very happy if it is the hottest weekend of the year! Fed up with the Met Office not micro-managing their forecast, Bournemouth launches own weather site - provided, I'm pleased to see, by my friends at Weathernet. Who produce a very good desktop calendar, btw. Heavy rain swamps Oklahoma In India, dust storm claims 9 lives in UP; mercury shoots up whilst Cyclone Lalia kills 23 in southern India

In Europe, the flood death toll rises to nine as British soldiers offer Czechs helicopters for flood aid . When all hail breaks loose: Oklahoma City is pummeled in freak Spring storm (the Daily Mail may be unreliable and like sensational headlines, but they do also sometimes have some great pictures!) Delhi records highest minimum temperature in 5 years Scotland basks in 'summer slavo' - it actually hit 21c in the NW Highlands yesterday, though there was also an air frost first thing. Should be warmer still at the weekend - with ski-ing still good on Cairngorm to boot! Don't forget the sunscreen! Cyclone Laila strengthens, nears India's east coast Greenland rapidly rising as ice melt continues Volume and depth of world's oceans calculated - the answer (to the first, anyway) is 1.332 billion cubic kilometers. That's quite a lot! Climate change played major role in mass extinction of mammals 50,000 years ago - according to a new study which presumably mea...

Last month was the warmest April on record according to NOAA - whilst NASA data concurs with NOAA that to the end of April, 2010: warmest year on record . So much for global cooling! It was, however, a cold and wet month in China, and May doesn't seem much better for them as storms cause havoc on Xinjiang whilst a new round of torrential rains pound Chinese regions 20c in my garden yesterday afternoon and looks like the next few days will be even warmer - though as the end of May bank holiday approaches temperatures are looking set to fall back below average in many places. And, apart from the last bank holiday weekend, it's been quite a dry month. Not so in parts of the Continent though: floods kill 6 as rain batter Europe and severe weather hits various parts of Slovakia . New Scientist has a special report on living in denial - sobering reading for us catastrophic global cooling deniers .... ! Yet again there are new rules to aid ash flight chaos - and no doubt ...

Hun Sen warns of lightning as Cambodia bakes in heatwave , in Burma (Myanmar), scores die in relentless heatwave whilst heat wave continues unabated in north India and in Africa, warming in Lake Tanganyika highest in 1,500 years Volcanic ash: fresh wave of UK flight disruption spreads south Pakistan Hunza lake 'to overflow within days' Oklahoma farm used in film Twister devastated by real tornado in last week's storm

It's been a disappointingly cold start to the month as snow and frost bring winter chill to May , but good news for some as 'ice-cream' weather forecast for next week with highs above 20c . Which is typical for late May ..... Says something when normal weather for the time of year makes headline news! But it's a popular topic of conversation as Britons spend six months talking about the weather . It's not clear whether that's six months a year or six months every half year ..... It's even warmer further north with the first spell of summery weather to arrive in Finland this weekend producing temps as high as 25c. But all that's nothing to India where earlier this week Hydrabad reels under Sun's gaze and a maxima of 44c - the highest since May 1999. Whilst fried 'day' at 45 degree C is Ahmedabad's hottest since 2005 . An update on the Oklahoma tornadoes: two upgraded from EF3 to EF4 As Eyja continues to look impressvely active (b...

5 dead, dozens injured as tornadoes hit Plains with a warning that tornado ravaged Oklahoma may face more storms today. Did phosphorus trigger complex evolution - and blue skies? Seven Spanish airports close because of ash cloud - as well as others in Morroco. NOAA's assessment of the US weather for April reveals above average temperatures and below average precipitation Taiwan threatened by rising sea levels - though it may be rather presumptuous to assume that higher sea levels in the case described are down to recent global warming. This is a tectonically active region.

Severe storm kills 54 in India Winter's toll in Highlands revealed in police report In South Africa, Cape weather causes chaos Death toll rises as rainstorms devastate southern China Tajikistan flood death toll rises to 21 Storms cut power, bring snow to parts of Michigan Ash from Iceland's volcano shuts European airports

Mudslides, floods in southern Tajikstan kill 16, 40 reported missing Unearthing the truth about volcanic ash - it's not fallen on Spain for 40,000 years ...... well, hadn't. Because guess what? Volcanic ash cloud shuts Spanish airports ....... opps! Climate change and mountain building led to mammal diversity patterns Jersey Royal potato crop threatened by drought - whilst elsewhere in Britain, many garden plants look like being threatened by frost this coming week ......

Severe weather in China, with varying reports on casualty numbers and causes - but with reports of tornadoes and heavy hailstorms , storms leave at least 39 dead in China . Eyja continues to throw out ash, with the plume continuing to affect Irish and some Scottish airports sporadically. Looks like this will continue for some time. 'Massive' ash closing western Irish airports , although it was hoped that today all airports to reopen from 10am but there are predictions that volcanic ash chaos to return within days because of wind direction changes . El Nino weakening as hurricane season nears US storm toll rises to 30 with new death in Tenn. British summer is advancing - not that you'd know it this year! Maximum temps could be pegged down nto single figures tomorrow ..... 255 members of the National Academy of Sciences defend claime science integrity Neanderthal genome reveals interbreeding with humans - although actually, Neanderthals are humans, a sub-species of hom...

Freak weather hits south of France - with snowfall , strong winds and big waves, whilst cold spell hits Spanish spring as well. Not just Britain being affecting by weather patterns of a distinctly wintry nature. Edit: update (takes time for the British media to catch up!) - Cannes struggles to prepare for festival as unseasonal wind and waves batter coast Down in Australia it's autumn, so less surprise here that first snow falls at Victoria's ski resorts after cold snap . And it's still chilly in Canada as old man winter returns to Edmonton . Nashville's famed music quietened by flooding Iceland's volcanic ash cloud shuts Scottish & Irish airports for second day Ice cap on west Ugandan mountain range splits And oh dear, more catastrophic global warming news: future temperatures could exceed livable limits, researchers find Reasonable worst-case scenarios for global warming could lead to deadly temperatures for humans in coming centuries, according to researc...

36.3mm of rain fell in Evesham on Saturday evening though into Sunday morning (making us one of the wettest places in Britain), and on Sunday the daytime maxima was just 9.3c. This morning it fell to 0.8c - just above my lowest ever May minima. Suddenly spring seems to have taken a u-turn ...... with the next week or so not looking especially warm either. However, no floods and in fact it was dry enough on Monday to mow the lawn. In Tennessee on the other hand, Nashville submerged after deadly storms with at least 28 deaths and more victims feared as Tenn, floodwaters recede . The cold weather in Britain does have one upside as skiers enjoy bank hoiliday snow on Cairngorm - and I'm expecting more snow in the Cairngorms and over other higher summits in Scotland through the coming week and possibly beyond. Thought we'd finished with disruption from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption? Think again. Volcano ash cloud closes airspace in Ireland and Scotland again today. Eyja do...

Heatwave claims crocodiles in Chhattisgarh zoo British berries benefit from warm weather Third sunniest April for 100 years in UK Climate change affects subterranean ecosystems More trouble ahead from volcanic ash? Wet snow, howling winds slam southern Alberta 3 dead, 25 hurt as tornadoes rip through Arkansas