Weather & Earth Science News

Last day of summer yesterday (meteorologically speaking) and finally the sun has come out! It's ended up my coldest August on record though, mainly due to the lack of high daytime temps (and some rather cool days near the end of the month). Probably wettest too although records there only go back to 2007. August almost over and finally the sunshine arrives and across the country it was the coldest august for 17 years . So, a cool summer here (although overall warmer than 2007, 2008 and 2009!) but in the USA, Houston weathers its hottest month on record and this was New York's hottest summer too while across the NE the numbers confirm it: summer was a scorcher . 2010 summer 'hottest in 40 years' in the Arabian Gulf as well while Meteorological agency say Japan experienced hottest August since 1946 Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, Perth runs dry as rain goes to Victoria in weirdest of winters Over the weekend Hurricane Earl gains strength in eastern Caribbe...

Pakistan floods 'consuming' southern villages , whilst South Pakistan floods displace a million in 48 hours and today another levee breach threatens south Pakistan city . But at least some good(ish) news from the sub-continent as flood situation eases in Punjab, Haryana There are now 12 dead in northern Turkey landslides Brazil government gives go-ahead for huge Amazon dam - proving once again that the environment will always take second place in the pursuit of 'green' energy. And yes, I'm quite sure the irony is totally lost on them. Having recently heard it's been 'proven' that it was the Chicxulub impact that killed the dinosaurs, is it any surprise now to hear that a double meteorite strike 'caused dinosaur extinction' ? A new crater has been found in the Ukraine. And there may be more .... Indeed, there's already this one in India . And after a wet week in Britain, bank holiday weekend to get 'sunny weather' in summer'...

When a tornado hit Great Livermere in Suffolk on Monday, a cup of tea saved my life (the blacksmith's life that is, not mine!). Meanwhile, picture and report of a nice funnel over Stanford le Hope in Essex from earlier this month, with a typically misleading headline. There's an excellent discuss and site report on the Suffolk tornado on Ukweatherworld Well, over 62mm of rain in the past 4 days here in Evesham, and with a maxima of just 14c yesterday was the coldest August day in my records. Although the overnight minima was 12.2c and therefore warmer than average ..... Anyway, no surprise to see that flooding hits South Wales after torrential rain However, we had nothing compared with Ahaus in Germany which apparently had 153mm of rain yesterday (although the German media report suggests 115mm) Having had a lean season so far, Australian ski resorts expect a rush after biggest dump in decades Canada in track for mildest year ever Death toll rises in northern Turkey land...

This is something you don't see every day, fire devil twister blazes a trail in Brazil (it's not a tornado though!) One of the most intense, prolonged, downpours I've experienced in years produced 17mm of rain in the space of about 20 minutes just after lunchtime on Monday - and means monthly rainfall is now running at about 125% of average, with more on the way. And as the cold front that produced that deluge moved east a tornado damages Suffolk village . Over on WUWT they've been getting excited over a chart that suggests there's lying snow in northern Russia - a quick check revealed that local temperatures were almost spot on average for the time of year and too warm for there to be snow on the ground. Sorry guys! However, there's has been a near decade-high snow dump on Mount Hotham in Australia whilst a current cold snap to bring last snow of winter - though I'm not sure they can be entirely certain about that? It might snow again next week ......

Flood warnings as heavy rain hits England and Wales - we had 15.7mm overnight, which is about a quarter of the expected monthly average. A wet night but nothing special. Some heavy showers likely later today though to help top that total up further. And apparently summer's over say forecasters - although at the moment that late August Bank Holiday is looking not too bad, whatever the doomsters want you to think. And it does seem to be mostly rain related news again today: Tropical storm approaches southern China island amid nationwide rain disasters Hail batters Calgary in wake of record storm . I'm afraid I have no idea how big a looney is though! And in Australia, travellers stranded after outback rain . There's a fight to save Pakistan city from flooding as mighty flood waves hit Shahdadkot In New Zealand, glacier break changes landscape Russian heatwave dents hopes of 'climate winners' Danielle forecast to be hurricane midweek - only the 4th named stor...

Problems continue in Asia with 3 people missing, 50,000 evacuated after flood hits NE China and across China, geological disasters spike this year - in part at least due to El Nino. Latest floods haven't just hit China; State media reports that N Korea devastated by flood caused by the same weather system. And in Pakistan a second wave of floods hits Sindh, Balochistan . In Britain yesterday, heavy rain sparks flash floods in Wales - and there is more rain to come today. Meanwhile, weather station data shed light on wet July in Scotland. As previously noted, here in Evesham it was a significantly drier month than in the past 3 years. Is the ice in the Arctic Ocean getting thinner? Whilst sea ice extent may be down to weather and prevailing synoptic conditions, any long term thinning may be more indicative of a general warming trend. Worrying news for Californians as research shows big quakes more frequent than thought on San Andreas fault . And from the department of t...

There's a report that snow in Kenya destroys crops - similar to a case in 2008 . On the previous occasion we were quite sure it was actually hail and on this occasion too, although hail is seperately mentioned in the report, it seems most likely that the 'snow' is actually a covering of partially melted small hail. Fair bit of rain here overnight - 13.6mm making it the wettest spell since mid June. A lot more over Wales though and there could be some flash flood stories to come over the next day or so with more heavy rain expected and a new weather warning for Wales after overnight rain . Wet too in parts of the USA where Tenn. dries out after deluge washes through State and storms flood parts of Washington region, stranding motorists while storm slams part of metro Detroit, leave 82,000 without power and another storm shatters rainfall records, floods homes across Utah . And down in California, San Francisco sweater weather keeping air cleaner . Meanwhile, in NW E...

Something different to kick off with today. Another study into the megafaunal extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene suggests dwindling green pastures, not hunting, may have killed off the mammoth . Actually, this is nothing new - indeed, Dale Guthrie was saying exactly the same , with regards Alaska, 4 years ago. The authors do also appear to concede that human predation still played a role, though not as big as some have previously suggested. The BBC news story inaccurately implies they think climate/vegetation change was the sole cause. The big question around the megafaunal extincts is why so many dies out at the start of this interglacial, yet appeared to have survived previous once, especially the warmer Eemian. I continuce to believe that in the past they found refugia where they could 'summer' the Interglacial - but this time, due to human activities, either such refugia did not exist or else their numbers were pushed still lower until population levels became...

Moscow's choking smog returns briefly over the weekend as wildfires continue, though temps there are now starting to fall away a bit as a cold front moves in - which has caused problems: force 11 gales buffet Petersburg as Russian heat wave comes to an end . Also, satellite perspective reveals startling images of massive smoke clouds . Now, perhaps this really should be the headline today, quite a groundbreaking announcement: man sets up weather station on home !!!! Imagine, in 10 years time there could be a whole network of people around the country providing weather data from their gardens on the internet, even shops set up specially to sell the equipment ........ doh! A wet morning and a few showers later in Evesham on Saturday as Ian Pickering hosted the annual stormchasers BBQ. Apparently a rumble of thunder was heard in the afternoon but even more excitingly, in the evening we saw several flashes of distant lightning - the most I've seen in over a year in fact. A...

As the biggest natural disaster of modern times continues, Pakistan PM Gilani says flooding affects 20m people This image from the BBC shows the extent of this year's monsoon flooding across Asia: And the big question is, will the Pakistan floods strike again? Rain triggers fresh China landslides and I am not in the least surprised to see where the blame is being apportioned... Our correspondent says people are asking if heavy logging in the area and poor urban planning are to blame for the disaster. He says reports in the Chinese media say studies carried out by researchers in the 1970s and again in the 1990s concluded the area was vulnerable to natural disasters. Logging - both legal and illegal - made the problem worse. The area is extremely poor. Logging was banned there 12 years ago but people continued to cut down and sell trees on the mountainside to make a living. More flash flooding from storms in England yesterday, but even with a fair bit of rain ove...

'Blocked' jetstream to blame for freak weather in Russia and Pakistan - and indeed the cool wet summer parts of Britain have been experiencing Some heavy showers and thunderstorms in parts of England yesterday (yeah, we missed them in Evesham as usual) leading to floods in Greater Manchester after heavy rain whilst heavy rain causes river Wyre in Lancashire to flood. And to put that into perspective, two major peaks due in Indus river in Pakistan, the death toll from flash flooding in India rises to 185 whilst 24 more die in China's flood-hit north-west . Fire close to Russian nuclear center grows Geologists reconstruct Earth's climate belts between 460 and 445 million years ago Arctic ricks offer new glimpse of primitive Earth The US swelters as heatwave lengthens whilst NOAA's monthly report show July hotter and wetter than normal in US . It's so hot in Illinois that there are calls for an August 'snow day' for Chicago public schools . Partly ...

Russian wildfires raise radiation fears as co-pilot Putin helps put out wildfires and the death rate doubles in Moscow as heatwave continues . However, according to the Voice of Russia today, wildfire situation improves in Russia . Notwithstanding which, there may be wider implications as Russia fires cause brown cloud, may hit Arctic - leading to more warming and sea ice melt. China braces for more floods as heavy rains predicted and there are five Europeans among 177 dead in Himalayan floods And due to the extremeness of these events, it's been suggested that climate change 'partly to blame' for sweltering Moscow and also with the Pakistan floods: climate change experts say global warming could be the cause More daft medical news with it being claimed that climate change 'will increase heart deaths' - basically if it gets warmer or it gets colder we become more prone to heart attacks. Presumably if we spend our lives at a constant 18c we'll live ...

A lot of bad weather news from around the world at the moment.... Flash floods strike Central Europe killing at least 15 while Brandenburg braces as floods spread into eastern Germany Meanwhile, as Pakistan floods 'hit 14m people' there are concerns that Pakistan floods threaten key barrage in southern Sindh Rescuers sent to landslide victims in NW China where 1,300 people are missing 'Brutal' weather tranforms Iowa into giant sauna and in New York, as August continues brutal heatwave; could help hurricanes As the heatwave continues, Moscow weather sets sixth heatwave in August but Moscow's toxic smog fails to shift as anger grows whilst reports suggest Russian heatwave kills 5,000 as fires rage out of control . Meanwhile, in the skies above, NASA instrument tracks pollution from Russian fires . And it's not just Russia. Heatwave causes fires across Israel while in neighbouring Jordan power cuts add to suffering as another heatwave starts . And in C...

Just a quick update of stories before I head off to Peebles for an MBA meeting - next blog entry will probably be next Tuesday. Some heavy thunderstorms developed in the SE yesterday, an unconfirmed, but not impossible, 48mm rain reportedly fell in one hour leading to flooding in Haywards Heath with the BBC reporting that flooding follows heavy downpour in Sussex But to put that into perspective, bereaved Pakistanis speak of flood horrors And still on the subject of floods, officials in China are saying flooding this year will not reach 1998 levels . Russia wildfires still spreading - 50 dead Oh, and last but most certainly not least: happy birthday Katy! xxx :-D

As thick smog from raging wildfires engulf Moscow - the worst so far - whilst Patriarch Kirill tells Russians to pray for rain as wildfires spread and the Russia wildfires death toll rises. And in the other big ongoing story, with the flood death toll at 1,400 and expected to rise, there are mass evacuations as flood threatens to destroy dam - and more rain hampers Pakistan relief efforts . Meanwhile, more hot dry weather in western Canada where over 400 wildfires scorch B.C. and even here in Britain the hot summer sparks London grass fire warning . After a hot spring and summer, Acuweather are predicting that US Northeast heading for a mild winter However, in contrast, Argentina has colder winter than Antarctica , spurring record power imports (obviously it's not really colder then Antarctica - just one place was on one night colder than the maximum temperature recorded at a base on the West Antarctic Peninsular) With more heavy rain to worsen flooding in NE China there are wo...

Over the weekend the Pakistan flood death toll 'passes 1,100' and now Pakistan rescuers struggles in flood aftermath Interesting to note that, aside from 2006, last month was my warmest July on record. Although there were no exceptionally high temperatures, maxima were consistently average or above average whilst, thanks in part to all the cloud, minima were well above average. Oh for a cool night and a bright, fresh, sunny morning! Still, autumn is on the way. It was also my driest July with only 38mm of rain - about 82% of the long term average for this area - and the first July in 4 years not to see totals exceed 100mm. However, July was wettest month of year for most of the UK - though not the SE which was even drier than here. And for N Ireland it was the dullest July on record . Russia battles fires as heatwave continues And in Jordan, heatwave continues unabated Good snow, hail and storms whip Victoria 'Wicked' tornado rips through Penola in S Austral...