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Showing posts from November, 2011

30th November - Today's News: Tornadoes as Record Mild November Comes to End

The cold front yesterday may have only produced 1.6mm of rain here, with another double figure maximum, but elsewhere woman hurt as 'tornado' hits Greater Manchester , another tornado rips through Angelsey caravan park with another reported (but unconfirmed) at Breighton in E Yorkshire. And the Daily Mail highlight a driver caught out as floods hit Scotland following rain, gales and even a tornado . Meanwhile, daffodils flower in mild autumn at Eden Project in Cornwall And despite the snowstorm at the end of October, New England has also had a warm month with November expected to break temperature records in Mass. Bad weather lashes Malta and Gozo

29th November 2011 - Heavy Rain Brings Flooding to Scotland

Heavy rain causes flooding in Scotland - and there's plenty more to come But down south, Anglia Water granted drought permit after dry Spring (and summer and autumn ...) - I've only had half the average November rainfall so far this month so looking certain to be my 13th consecutive dry month. More remarkably, we've still not had an air frost nor even a day with a maximum temperature below 10c. Looks like it should turn colder over the weekend and into next week, although nothing exceptional for December. Whither now the record cold spell that was supposed to start on the 27th Nov (but then put back to the 29th when PC saw the lastest weather charts)? A daft headline from the normally reliable Guardian: despite warm autumn, 2011 temperatures fail to reach record highs , globally. Under La Nina we wouldn't have expected them to. It'll be interesting to see what the final UK figure is though. A better piece from the Met Office showing global average tempe

28th November 2011 - Today's News: 5 Missing After Storm Sinks Ship in Irish Sea

Prince William helps rescue two crew by five missing after sinking in Irish Sea during gales at the weekend. Whilst storm force winds cut power supplies in Orkney In Europe it's snow joke: mild weather brings chaos to start of ski season Calgary buildings damaged in storm Flood threat follows big wet across Victoria Last week, three dead as deadly landslide hits town in Sicily NASA launches most capable and robust rover to Red Planet - successfully And an interesting development: outlook fair for amateurs as Met Office releases data - though it's not clear as yet exactly what data is being referred to here? Do they mean curret weather station reports or full model output (as we get from the American GFS)? I guess we'll find out in due course.

26th November - Today's News: Faroes Hit by Hurricane Force Winds

In Scotland, there's snow and large waves as winter storms continue - none of which is the least unusual this time of year - as winter storm 'Berit' barrels towards Sweden and there has been massive damage as Faroe Islands battered by hurricane force winds People rescued, cut off by rising floodwaters in northern NSW Russia's south hit by record low temperatures Across Europe, ski slopes starved of snow thanks to the mild, dry autumn Whilst all the recnet attention has been on Bangkok, flood woes mount in Thailand's south Heatwave kills 200 elephants ion Zimbabwe Climategate II: the scientists fight back whilst in the Guardian, Leo Hickman asks help us find clues in climate email hacker's message And OMG we are going to die: end of world speculation after new Mayan discovery !!! Of course, the Mayans didn't predict the end of the world and even if they did why would we think they were right when so many hundreds of other predictions have proven false.

25th November - Today's News: Woman Dies as Storm Hits Hebrides

Overnight a woman dies as storm-force winds batter into north and west of Scotland and there are fears a 'superwave' storm could hit Norway oil facilities today. It's quite a tight little depression, and there's another following in its wake with a warning of storm force winds and flood risks issued for Scotland this weekend. In the US, travellers face more delays as storms continue to batter the north Hurricane Kenneth sets record for Eastern Pacific storms being the lastest ever to form Unusual warmth leaves Scandinavia snow-free and wondering 'where's winter'? - today should also be the start of Piers Corbyn's predicted record cold spell for Britain. Hmmm .... it reached 13.8c overnight in my garden! In WA, rain brings reprieve but firefighters 'downbeat' over homes lost in bushfires. Elsewhere in Australia, rain drenches NSW, sparking flood rescues A good example of how the media spin stories to suit what they want you to believe: a

22nd November - Today's News: Mild Weather Helps British Tea Growers

Mild weather brews up a record tea crop - in Cornwall! Western parts of Switzerland seeing driest year in decades Heavy rain sets in over NSW as flooding hits outback There's been no let-up in greenhouse gas rise and there are no new climate concerns as 'ozone friendly' HFCs use grows - it's another greenhouse gas. Odd they never thought of that at the time? Ozone from rock fracture could serve as earthquake early warning And temperature records need to be at least 17 years long for seperating signal and noise in climate warming

21st November - Today's News: Fog Disrupts Heathrow Flights

The annual fog disruption of flights from Heathrow continues today - Floods hit homes and roads in Pembrokeshire overnight Cliff crumbles, streets floods as storm hits L.A. In NZ, helicopter rescues people caught in flooding New low temperature recorded in North Pole - that's North Pole, Alaska Climate change means Autumn's birds delay migration

19th November - Today's News: New IPCC Report Issued

Extreme weather will strike as climate change takes hold, IPCC warns in a report that has already been much discussed, expecially in the blogosphere. The report itself is the IPCC SREX Summary for Policymakers - but I've not myself read it as yet so I'll not comment further. More drought signs in England as Kennet and Avon Canal water levels lowest for 90 years whilst over in Cambridgeshire drought forces rail line closure after causing track movement Wind driven wildfire destroys 25 homes in Reno More accurate cyclone prediction model developed Cassini chronicles life of Saturn's giant storm And hypocrisy afoot as climate minister buys a castle with 16 bathrooms and a massive carbon footprint . But then, what would you expect of a politician, especially a very rich one who lives in a different world to the rest of us? Anyway, I bet Gore has an even bigger house!

18th November - Today's News: Concerns Grow Over UK Drought

Following on from Anglia Water's request for a drought order this winter, more water companies now warn that millions of households face water rationing and hosepipe bans next year . I've been warning of this for months. After a wet start, it now looks certain that November will be our 13th consecutive month with below average rainfall in Evesham. It's also been a very mild start to November - so much so that the weather's gone quackers as ducks born born six months earlier and roses bloom in November - though the roses in my garden have often been blooming at Christmas, so nothing unusual here. And no sign yet of the much publicised cold and snow for October, or, um, November then, er, well, December ..... In contrast, over in the US tornadoes in Southeast kill 6, flatten homes whilst up in Alaska record Fairbanks cold continues as air quality warnings issued Weather harder to predict, Environment Canada warns A silent flood misery for 1.8m in Cambodia, Vietnam

16th November - Today's News: October 2nd Warmest on Record for Global Land Surface

October 2011 the 10th warmest on record - but for land areas it was the 2nd warmest, indicating a continuing overall warming whilst La Nina produces cooler ocean surfaces. NOAA report here Record warm Irish temperatures fools Mother Nature that it is springtime For the first time in a decade, Anglia Water seeks winter drought order . Whilst across the Channel too low French water tables need heavy winter rains - and frankly at present there is nothing in the long range probability models to suggest either us or the French will get it with overall a drier than average winter looking most likely. Though I've a feeling another run of warm, wet and windy winters aren't too far away. And on the subject of lack of rain, Texas fire season roars on, with no end in sight In contrast, for Cyprus: excessive rain causes further problems and it's cold there too. A very interesting piece by Jonathan Amos on weather satellites and the gathering storm - we take the data gathered

15th November - Today's News: Study Finds UK Fruit Ripening Earlier

UK trees' fruit rippening '18 days earlier' : according to a new study autumn fruit, nuts and berries is appearing earlier due to changes in our climate (this, of course, follows on from spring flowering occurring earlier as well) Meanwhile, a scientist at the University of Kiel has said that global warming could being 50-degree days to Germany - though I'm not quite sure that's entirely been taken in context. Round 2 of winter storm hits parts of Alaska First winter snow falls in China UK air pollution 'puts lives at risk' According to the Thai PM, Bangkok floods could go into next year In Malaysia, 28,000 personnel on standby for floods , expected this winter - as happens most years. And Richard Black reports mixed messages on climate vulnerability

14th November - Today's News: Aerosols May Cause More Extreme Weather

Autumn could be warmest on record - or, more likely, the second warmest on record after 2006. 18.2c in my garden yesterday was the highest temp I've recorded in November, with the offical UK max 18.1c in Hampshire. Felt a fine summer's day to me. Whilst autumn overall may not be warmest, November could well be. And, as the Sun put it Britain's hotter than Syria! No sign of the promised heavy snow and Arctic freeze so confidently promised for October or November by certain media outlets back in September! But whilst there's no sign of anything on our hills, snow covers Cape mountaintops in SA. In NZ, massive storm hits Rotorua Air pollution linked to extreme weather - given that we'll never cut down on CO2 emissions then it seems the way forward to mitigate the impacts of a warming world are obvious. So dont expect any action this decade .....

12th November - Today's News: Sydney's Warmest November Night

Sydney swelters with record night temperature highs Alaskans weather epic Bering Sea storm In Northern Ireland, family escapes flooding danger in Draperstown There was flooding in the UAE after Masirah Island witnesses heavy rain for hours Is climate scepticism a largely Anglo-Saxon phenomenon? And some great picture here of a baby elephant and its mother pulled from lagoon where they got stuck - I do think the last one of the mother 'crawling' out looks very human ..... But the real point of posting this story is that it demonstrates so well just how mammoths could have become entombed in similar muddy lagoons (albeit rather colder ones) in Siberia - eventually to become preserved as 'mummies'.

11th November - Today's News: Big Storm Hits Alaska

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11 - 11 - 11 Remember Snow, hurricane-force winds batter Alaska and as the huge Alaska storm passes region, leaves widespread damage A spectacular picture here as storm front strikes Victoria whilst in Sydney, storm train chaos 'worst in a decade'. In Portugal, it was the hottest October on record Chance of a shower? You decide as Met Office launches new style weather forecasts Colorado cloud-seeding programme grow - though I'd take their estimates of its effect with a large does of salt. And Iran runs cloud seeding over drying up Orumiyeh lake Ten dead as second earthquake strikes Turkey In the Canaries, beaches shut amid concern over volcano gas And, Chile's volcano ash back forcing delays in air links to Chile Sea change can forecast South America wildfires Anti-wind farm campaigners stage conference in Ayr How global warming could cause animals to shrink And the wierd world of water gets a little wierder

9th November - Today's News: Alaska Braces for 'Epic' Storm

Alaska braces for epic storm; evacuations begin - it could be one of the worst in Alaskan history. With winds up to 100mph and heavy snow, we're talking SERIOUS blizzards! Incredible video shows tornadoes that raked Oklahoma 1 day after earthquakes rattled the state And roofs lost in 'tornado-like storm' in Victoria whilst 'golf ball' hail thrashes Melbourne Bermuda issues tropical storm warning as Sean approaches Beijing in air pollution action Pakistan facing 'unimaginable catastrophe' after second year of floods World heading for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns . Well that's that then. Meanwhile there's another prediction that Arctic sea ice 'to melt by 2015' . I bet it doesn't. In the Canaries, undersea volcano now just 70 meters from surface As the US government confirms link between earthquakes and hydraulic fracturing , specualtion increases that this was the cause of the recent big quakes in Oklahoma Eur

7th November - Today's News: Several Dead as Floods Hit France & Italy

Flood alerts in Turin as river levels rise after rain , further south, Naples braces for flooding after heavy rains , whilst in the France floods - 3 dead, 100s evacuated after the Herault regions saw one years worth of rain in four days . Worth noting that 700mm is more than twice we've seen fall in Evesham all year. And in Thailand, floods approach Bangkok's rail system as northern provinces start cleaning up Deadly landslide strikes western Colombia Now officially over, the 2011 hurricane season costliest, deadliest in three years . All because of Irene and Lee. In Britain, autumn doesn't know whether its coming or going - though I would blame that on weather, not climate change. And I very much doubt the Highland midge has ever waited until July befor emaking an appearance! April is usual though it's not till late May or June they become a nuisance. There were none about in mid October this year. Oklahoma shaken by 5.6 magnitude earthquake , causing quite

5th November - Today's News: Fog Causes Deadly Motorway Crash in Devon

M5 shut as 'several people' die in 27-vehicle crash . From accounts it appears that the motorway surface was still wet from recent rain and that there was patchy fog in the area - sporadic dense fog banks can be very dangerous. This appears the worst British motorway pile up since March 1997 when 3 people died and 160 vehicles were involved, again in an accident caused by fog. Earlier, flooding in Bridgewater sparks river wall collapse fear whilst in Wales, flooding hits Newport and stops Cardiff rugby match . Warm weather melts summit snow in Cairngorms - which actually isn't at all unusual! Although they have had unusually high temperatures. Italy floods: six killed in port city Genoa after torrential rainfall. More heavy rain is expected this weekend. Bangkok continues to battle Thailand floods In East Africa, floods cause havor for Somali displaced UA scientists find evidence of Roman period megadrought in SW USA - much to the confusion of some posters on WUWT w

4th November - Today's News - 11 Die as Heavy Rain Hits Oman

Heavy rain in desert regions can be deadly. The death toll from storm in Oman rises to 11 . We missed most of the rain in England yesterday (including a terrific thunderstorm that ran up just west of here) and had nothing overnight, though many dry eastern parts saw an inch. Just up the road from me there was a report of what may have been a tornado, although, rather bizarrely, the BBC suggest that homes damaged by funnel clouds in Worcestershire (obviously a funnel cloud does not reach the ground - else it is a tornado - and cannot cause damage. And there doesn't appear to have been any sightings of a funnel cloud either. We haven't got a clue how they came up with this one!) And more heavy rain and early snow cause havoc on Beirut In Western Australia, record rain turns bumper harvest to ruin There's been a November snow surprise for southerners in NZ New England's freak snowstorm blamed for at least 22 deaths In the Indian Ocean pollution makes powerful cyclon

1st November - Today's News: IPCC Say Global Warming Makes Weather Extremes Worse

Global warming worsens weather extremes, international climate panel will say in a new report to be published later this month The govt have announced that a cold snap alert plan 'will save lives' whilst up in Scotland trains to be prioritised in severe winter weather . Always assuming we get any. Bangkok floods: anger grows in deluged districts whilst the neighbouring Cambodia floods bring mounting disease toll The weekend's early snow storm leaves major power outages in US , with the trees to blame for nor'easter destruction Doctors urge caution as fog shrouds Beijing Dozens fo houses collapse in China quake And some good nes as rains ease Somalia drought