Weather & Earth Science News

I admit when I first heard about this I thought it was a hoax. But no, it's true, a huge underwater landslide causes 'hair raising' tsunami off coast of Cornwall . Also, just found this article from Phil Plait, the 'Bad Astronomer' written earlier in June: are we headed for a new ice age? Well worth a read. And I was pleased he noted that the LIA began long before the Maunder Minimum!

Although my highest temp of the year, 29.8c, was on Sunday, Monday saw the highest temp be recorded anywhere in Britain since 2006 with 33.1c at Gravesend on the Thames Estuary - a site which often does produce the highest temps. Higher temperatures may have be recorded elsewhere though on station which submit data only on a weekly or monthly basis. Heatwave hits with Caribbean temperatures recorded across Britain - well, southern Britain. The Scots may not agree with that headline! And there's a summary of yesterday's wild weather in the SE with storm chaos as heatwave ends . Weather all back to normal today .... Hot too in parts of the USA: in Texas, temperature records broken across Panhandle , whilst extreme heat breaks Tulsa record and in Washington DC, June more than 4 degrees warmer than usual . Whilst in California, freak storm breaks SF rainfall records And down in the southern hemisphere, freak cold weather grips southern Brazil (though I'm sure this gets re...

Some rather violent thunderstorms have, as forecast, kicked off across SE England today. This is a just a quick round-up of the reported damage: Homes hit by lightning strike in Maidenhead Two Kent homes struck by lightning catch fire Suspected lightning strike starts fire at Lupin Point in Abbey Street , Bermondsey Lightning strikes London Colney homes Lightning strike disrupts Gatwick Airport Lightning strikes chimney of Havant home

Typhoon leaves 13 dead or missing in South Korea. Hottest day of the year yesterday in Britain, with almost 30c in my garden. Today could be even hotter that at the moment all eyes are on a mass of convective storms pushing up from the SW. Thunderstorms and tornadoes to end heatwave - I'm not convinced we'll see any tornadoes, but they are possible, mainly I think in conjuction with any storms that develop on the could front that's pushing down from the NW today and overnight. Souris River crests in North Dakota, surging past 1881 mark whilst in Nebraska, Regulator signs off threatened nuclear plant - though that won;lt stop the conspiracy doomsters who are already convinced the place has exploded, killed dozens of people and spread radiation over a large swathe of the USA (all, of course, being covered up by the Govt and media). But there are still warnings that the worst is yet to come with flooding expected to continue into August. Los Alamos labs closed by large...

Water reaches record level in Minot as the Souris River peaks in N Dakota. And on the Missouri, floods spur wild rumours of nuclear plant perils in Nebraska - some good advice there about not believing the first thing you hear in the internet! Not that the tinfoil hat brigade will take any notice, after all isn't this just proof of more disinformation? LOL! Drought alert and heat warning follows rainy June - though it should be pointed out that not everywhere has been wet and in Evesham, after another 8mm overnight, we have so far had only around 60% of normal monthly rainfall. In the Philippines, 15 missing as storm sparks floods , whilst twisters rip roofs, uproot trees in Quezon City and the number of evacuees in Marikina reach 25,000 What's to blame for wild weather? "La Nada" says a NASA scientist Northern Eurasian snowpack could be a predictor of winter weather in the US Massive ice island headed for Newfoundland Chilean volcano ash hits Argentine flig...

Earlier this week, heatwave grips Korea whilst today Saitama's Kumagaya sees 39.8c as heatwave covers Japan - that's the highest temperature ever recorded in the country in June. 50,000 flee storm in Philippines while Taiwan braces for heavy rain as Typhoon Meari moves north Rain, less heat, help Texas douse wildfires More evacuations in Minot as flood outlook worsens for N Dakota, while in Canada the CP cross-border track shut down and flood emergencies declared in 26 Sask. communities . Meanwhile, Utah braces for flooding as high temperatures melt snowpack Churchill Downs horse racing cancelled aft tornado Here comes the sun - Britain to bask in summer weather at last . Apparently. What's all this sun we've been having this month then? Is my sunburn all an illusion? In fact all that's happening over the weekend is that in the south and east of England especially it'll turn rather warm, humid, muggy and altogether not very nice. And the north will be...

Back from Essan. No ticks, not too many midges, but I did get sunburnt! Sadly, whilst I was away, the news broke that Clarence Clemons, "the biggest man you ever saw" and the greatest rock sax player ever, passed away. A massive loss to music. And Springsteen's concerts will never, ever be the same again. Clarence Clemons, Springsteen saxophone player, dies Bruce eulogises sax man Clemons at Fla funeral RIP Big Man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather failed to dampen Summer Solstice - in fact at Essan on the 21st the morning was gorgeous! Though I believe it rained in the afternoon, after I'd left. After yet more disruption, Australia flights resume as Chile volcano ash clears Tropical storm Beatriz weakens on leaving Mexico coast Wildfire kills two forest rangers in Florida whilst elsewhere crews make progress vs Arizona fires but more blazes likely until summer rains finally come . North Da...

Last update until later next week, while I go off home to Essan to feed the ticks and midges ..... As ash disrupts air travel in East Africa , it's been confirmed by NASA satellite that the Eritrean eruption is from Nabro - a volcano which has not previously erupted in modern times. Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere, flights to Tasmania and Perth have resumed, but the volcano plume is still affecting NZ airspace whilst a NASA satellite gallery shows Chilean volcano plume moving around the world . And does all this mean global cooling anyone? Unlikely. Neither eruption has been big enough to cause any noticeable climate effect - though it has to be said that the Sarychev eruption in Siberia a couple of years ago was followed a couple of weeks later by a noticeably cool mid summer period in Europe and N America. Pat Mooney, writing in the Guardian, says geo-engineering does not deserve serious climate policy consideration, and I agree - we've created enough of a mess as...

Man dies in NSW storms, hundreds evacuated with flood fears as rain lashes down after storms break rainfall records on north coast . Meanwhile, in the US, levee breaches threaten residents along Missouri River . In Arizona, Wallow fire now biggest in state history Thunderstorms bring an end to the hot spell and spark wildfires in Southern and Central Finland The dry, the wet and the very, very hot - a global round up there from my mate Bren. Now the Chile volcano disrupts flights in Western Australia And Austria in twin peak climb-down - and there was me having already saved £2.37 towards buying them! Black carbon study says Asian smog could be a thing of the past And a report says European forests growing, good news for climate . But the big news on the climate front is that Sun's fading spots signal big drop in solar activity - with suggestions that, as some outside of mainstream science (for example, the late Theodor Landscheidt ) have been predicting for some years, we ...

Flash flood warning issued for Missouri after the river broke its levee Over the past 10 days, floods, landslides leave 105 dead in China NZ, Adelaide flights grounded again today due to the Chilean ash cloud. Quantas take a slightly different attitude to public safety than that adopted by Dumb and Dumber at Ryanair and BA. Maybe that's why they have the best safety record? A bit more information coming in after volcano erupts in Eritrea after earthquakes . Further aftershock quakes continue to hit Christchurch Tornado hits NSW town Worst drought in more than a century threatens Texas oil boom Wallow wildfire nears Luna in New Mexico Warning: extreme weather ahead says JohnVidal in The Guardian. But are extreme weather events become bigger and more frequent? Are we just more aware of them? Or, indeed, do we just have poor memories? That of course is one of the purposes of this blog, to provide a ready reference to past events, many of which are soon forgotten. It'...

Christchurch rocked by two large earthquakes as flights in Australia grounded for second day due to ash all the way from Chile. One can only imagine the eruptions here if Dumb and Dumber were told they couldn't fly because of a volcano on the other side of the world! Meanwhile, following a serious of earthquakes, there appears to have been an eruption in Eritrea as well, with reports Dubbi volcanic ash cloud expands westwards through northern Africa . Yesterday there was water, water everywhere ... rain deluges parts of Britain (just as drought's officially declared) . Or, as the Telegraph more soberly puts it, rain at last - but in all the wrong places . I think every spot in the British Isles has seen some rain in the past 24 hours. Although we only had 11mm of rain here (and another 1mm overnight) yesterday was my wettest day since last October. It was also overall my coldest June day (18z to 18z) on record. Garden looks to be drying out pretty quick though and we...

For an explanation of the headline, please see the last story. Summer snow falls on summit of Snowdon - but snow can and does fall over higher summits in Britain in all months of the year. And this dusting won't have lasted long. Some more great shots of the Chilean volcanic eruption from the Boston Globe (thanks Adam) but as ash cloud grounds more flights no word yet from Dumb and Dumber. Or maybe they're on a flight through the imaginary non existent ash cloud as we speak. I do hope so. NASA sees heavy rainfall in Tropical Storm Sarika - which has now just made landfall in China. Twin peaks up for sale in Austria Arizona firefighters 'making gains' on Wallow fire And it's nice to see Cumbrian floods rescue hero in Queen's Birthday Honours - just the sort of person for whom these are intended. 'Celebrities' and politicians take note! Dismay for the so-called sceptics and the anti-science mob as Phil Jones declares global warming since 1995 ...

Parts of England officially facing drought conditions - the Midlands at least should see some decent rain on Sunday, but it looks like only a little getting across to East Anglia where they need it most. Not just the east though, the south needs rain too as Dorset heathland fire crews dampen down the biggest blaze for 35 years. Meanwhile, across the Channel, France pledges 1bn euros for farmers hit by the drought in Europe. And whilst it may not be especially warm here at the moment, across the Atlantic extreme heat bakes East, South as D.C. soars to 102, tying warmest June day on record and record heat, storms wreak havoc on southern Ontario N.D. breaks a flood record as the Missouri continues to rise Wildfire battle intensifies in eastern Arizona Six dead as storm exists Philippines Rain, floods take their toll in central China Australian resorts to open the slopes to skiers a day early - which will no doubt be retranslated by some as evidence it's an exceptional cold wi...

Fatal floods hit southern China after prolonged drought - but was this rain partially human induced? It was earlier reported that artificial rain supplies dry up after a massive barrage of cloud seeding shells was launched to break the drought. Hmmm, I'm not convinced it made any difference, but this isn't the first time China has experienced extreme precipitation following a large cloud seeding exercise. In Nov 2009 it was snow . Residents flee as Arizona Wallow fire grows - it's now the 2nd biggest in the State's history. And in the Midwest, hot weather causes heat warnings, buckled roads . The drought is back, UK told - despite heavy rain in the southeast at the beginning of the week. I only had 1mm rain in the first week of June, although some showers today should top that up a little. And Jersey is 'far to dry' for bonfires says Fire Service . These appeared on the Daily Mail website after I posted Monday's blog: Lightning tears the sky apa...

Over the weekend, thousands evacuated as Chile volcano erupts and there are some spectacular photos of Chilean volcano eruption . Meanwhile, in an unrelated event, thousands evacuated following earthquake in Chile . In NZ, Christchurch hit by magnitude 5.0 aftershock Also in NZ, warm autumn carves up ski season . Arizona forest fire threatens town of Greer and others 3 days after tornadoes hit Mass., trooper rescues puppy trapped in debris Not that anyone who lives there really needed telling, but rainfall in Scotland well above average for May In N America, they've made a major step in improving forecasts of weather extremes such as floods and droughts Will global climate change enhance boreal forest growth? Especially given that it appears carbon release to atmosphere 10 times faster than in the past . According to geologists who've been studying deep sea mud cores dating back to the PETM. Computer simulations suggest that oversized moons like Earth's could be more c...

This is both sad and serious: Australia scientists threatened on carbon research . They are no more responsible for (IMO disingenous, pointless, expensive and ineffective in every way) carbon taxes than Walton and Cockroft were responsible for Hiroshima or Chernobyl. But of course, threatening scientists with death because they don't tell you what you want to hear is nothing new. As Gallileo will tell you. E pur si muove . Meanwhile, in the US it's interesting to see that likely Presidential front-runner Mitt Romney breaks Republican ranks over climate change And just to really confuse the poor ol' Americans, researcher says climate change may be cooling California . After such awful events in April and May, tornadoes move farther north in June while they're calling 2011: the year of the urban tornado, meteorologist says . Intense rain causes flooding in western Manhattan - that's in Kansas, not New York. And as flooding continues across Montana, Missouri R...

There's misery for the Med as Britain laps up the sun - but forecasters pour cold water on predictions of a sizzling June . Which is about as close as we'll get to the Daily Mail admitting that they published a false, made-up and deliberately misleading story - which, oddly, has now disappeared from their website to be replaced by this one. So bad was the original story that the Met office were forced to issue a statement on it. The Daily Telegraph however still have their original story online: Wimbledon and Glastonbury set to be scorching . Basically, a couple of warm days have been predicted by the Met Office, with Brian from TWO adding the possibility that at some time in the next 2 months we could see 33c reached. And from that they decide it's going to be a June heatwave ...... Which is bad news for those in holiday in Britain over the next 2 weeks as it looks loike being a tad cool and not especially dry. But good news for farmers. Second driest spring sin...

Interesting developments regarding last week's Blackpool tremor: small earthquake in Blackpool; major shock for UK's energy policy British sun lovers enjoy warmest spring since 1659 - but although the next few days look quite warm, the rest of June is not currently looking very special. In Florida, wildfires scorch state whilst the Horseshoe wildfire 5th largest in Arizona history and up in Alberta, wildfires still burning close to oilsands . A study shows strongest Gulf hurricanes ease near coast while the National Hurricane Centre predicts above average 2011 season . However that may not be so bad as it sounds - the UK Met Office 2011 Atlantic tropical storm season forecast is for a slightly quieter year than 2010. Steven Goddard has found an interesting report from 1979 predicting global warming during the latter part of the last century, followed by a ' severe cold snap ' after 2000. Wonder when that's going to arrive then? He seems to think that thi...