Weather & Earth Science News

The last entry of 2012!   And guess what ..... it's raining again ......  So flood warnings rise amid threat of further downpours Meanwhile, storm-force 85mph gales and heavy rain batter parts of Scotland   as the year goes out on a stormy note - which looks set to continue over the next 2 days. Weather brings monster fish to Norfolk's shores Devon railway weather damage 'worst for 25 years' But if you're sick of all the rain?  It's not as bad as the Big Freeze of 1963 - and worth noting that in the run up to Christmas, almost everyone I spoke to about the rain and floods commented that "at least it's not snowing". Though if you do want snow, plenty of pictures from Montreal where winter blizzards carve strange shapes around buried cars as Northeast and Canada are pounded before the New Year Shoppers filmed fleeing as tornado hits store in Alabama on Christmas Day A story from earlier in the month,...

Winter snow storm hits New England as '16 die' in US whilst powerful winter storm breaks snow records in Montreal, on way to Maritimes There may be snow on some hills in Britain over the weekend and early next week, but nothing expected to low levels until at least late January .......   Instead, our flood-hit areas face further rain with 2012 poised to become wettest year on record for UK How Scotland was weathering the rain and shine of 2012 and warnings there are 'turbulent times ahead' for UK Perth hits 39c as week-long heatwave intensifies Over Christmas, numerous Japanese cities reach record lows as freezing temperatures persist   But in Europe, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic recorded record highs whilst warm weather wipes out white Christmas wishes in Germany.   They all had it even warmer than we did.

Over Christmas, six die as US winter storm spawns tornadoes   whilst today, snow, high winds to pummel areas as winter weather marches on and snowstorm from US blasts eastern Canada Yet again today bad weather affects Britains rail and roads At Stromeferry, landslide shuts A890 'for several days' Lightning 'may have caused' fires at Dorset school and hotel The BGS issue landslide warning for walkers as deluge mayhem mounts And there's more wet weather forecast to end 2012 Nicaragua San Cristobel volcano: hundreds told to leave Tropical storm Wuong kills 4 in Philippines Study shows rapid warming on the West Antarctic ice sheet Fluctuating environment may have driven human evolution Lake Ellsworth Antarctic drilling project called off

It's raining again ........ as flood fears heightened by new downpours Residents in Pontypridd escape wall collapse Clean-up continues in Stonehaven Woman saved from Devon river Elsewhere: Dozens die in Ukraine's cold snap In China, snow brings smiles to the chilly north Australian boy dies after hike as heatwave sparks Australian fire alerts whilst in Melbourne, records fall as heatwave rolls on and in Canberra, Oxley homes evacuated after lightning strike causes gas leak West Antarctic ice sheet warming twice earlier estimate Chile and Argentina on alert over Copahue volcano eruption

Sadly, as predicted, the situation has become quite dire in the SW, and elsewhere - with more rain expected tonight... Floods leave hundreds homeless for Christmas Flood disruption continues as more rain forecast Heavy rain causes flooding in parts of Scotland Isle of Man drivers warned over flood chaos Stonehaven's flood-hit homes evacuated

More rain today ...... Evacuations as rivers rise in Devon this morning with flooding in Plymouth after another day of heavy rain with fears of further floods as more torrential rain set to bring travel chaos .  Glad I'm going nowhere! Afternoon update:  Braunton flooded after river defences breached whilst First Great Western warn passengers not to travel In the US, blizzard barrels east with a little less snow, high winds But in the Pacific NW, with climate change, winter isn't waht it used to be An Alabama woman sleeps soundly as tornado rips part of her roof off   Weather crisis in eastern Bulgaria complicates festive season exodus Another blast of snow hits China In South Africa, KZN tornado hits inland And severe weather closes link roads in Pakistan Marine heatwave brings sharks to WA Whilst in NZ, Cyclone Evan set to bring gift to farmers Hawaiian islands are dissolving from within, study says And Lake Ells...

21st December and the world hasn't ended ..... yet!   Though may feel like it for some.   As mentioned a couple of days ago, we've seen some heavy rain across Britain and there's still a lot more to come.  It's likely to be the big story over the next few days into Christmas. In Hampshire, Wallington evacuated in flood fear as heavy rain hits England .   Locally, Worcestershire flood defences up as heavy rain forecast with flood warnings issued along Severn and Avon - the River is continuing to rise though still a few feet below the level reached in November.  However that may be exceeded by Christmas Eve if, as predicted, we get another inch of rain on Saturday. Another numptie needs rescuing as Barwick Ford flood in Hertfordshire leaves van driver standed Heavy rain hits parts of Scotland overnight with reports of over 100mm in parts of Perthshire And Britain on alert as rain forecast to lash the country fo...

No sign of a white Christmas, except on Scottish hills, but big concerns about the amount of rain expected over the next few days. South West on flood alert as forecasters warn of seven days of unsettled weather across the whole of the UK dashing hopes of a white Christmas   whilst Scotland on flood alert as 60mph winds and rain are forecast today.  A lot more areas will be on flood warnings come the weekend. At least all this rain means there'll be 'no drought in SE England' for next 2 years In the USA, winter storm hits Rock Mountains   Caution urged as snowfall hits Metro Vancouver   Whilst in Minnesota, ski hills seed clouds with snow - and it really does appear to have worked, based on radar interpretation. A gallery of pictures as Ukraine and Russia hit by extreme cold snap and heavy snow Southern Finland due for snowiest Christmas in decades If you're looking for a warm, dry Christmas, maybe head to Western Australia where Pert...

Cyclone Evan leaves trail of destruction in Fiji - the biggest storm to hit the island in 20 years. Recent heavy rain and landslides leave trail of destruction along South West Coastal Path - and there's a lot more rain to come over the next few days with renewed fears of flooding in the run up to Christmas (which will probably be mild, and perhaps wet & windy as well, although there remains some doubt with hints it could turn colder again next week - so fingers crossed!).  Latest model output has up to 55mm in parts of South Devon tomorrow and an inch or more widely across southern England - with more expected into the weekend it's not looking at all good for those in flood prone areas. In Israel, as rain pounds north, Sea of Galilee on rise - good news after several dry winters there Too big to flood?  Megacities face a future of major storm risks Explosions at Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano Gravity satellites slam into Moon Lake Ellswo...

Clean-up after 'perfect storm' batters coast of eastern Scotland In Norway at the weekend, snow stranded trains, roads closed Typhoon Bopha: Philippines storm death toll passes 1,000 with still around 800 missing Fiji braced for powerful Cyclone Evan IPCC critical of climate change report leak 'Missing' polar weather systems could impact climate predictions Scottish mountain track controls branded 'feeble' by MCofS

Landmark climate change report leaked online by a sceptic - it's only the draft though and really just shows the sceptics as a bunch of spoilt brats who demand that everyone plays with their ball and by their rules - and if we refuse they'll throw a tantrum, mess about and try and spoil everything. Meanwhile, the public think that extreme weather more persuasive on climate change than scientists   whilst bid to heap blame on sunspots for climate change has backfired In Scotland, Stonehaven and Peterhead residents evacuated after floods as storms and high tides cause damage across eastern Scotland Bad weather sparks 999 emergency in Hull - mostly I guess due to black ice More snow and strong wind in the southwest of Norway Snow affects Beijing travel But in the US, measureable snow skirts Toledo area 284 days, believed to be a record And Mississippi river faces shipping freeze as water levels drop to a historic low Reservoirs can make lo...

From 9pm on Monday until 1am today, Friday, the temperature in my garden remained below freezing, except for a brief period on Tuesday afternoon.  Wednesday and Thursday were consecutive ice days, with Wednesday's maximum only -1.1c.   I've only previously recorded consecutive ice days in January 2010 and December 2010 and on both occasions there was deep snow cover at the time.   So all in all, quite a remarkable cold spell, albeit a fairly short one.   Today, we're back to rain ......  though with rainfall this month currently well below average that's perhaps not so bad.   No signs as yet of any return of cold weather this year, but with a block of high pressure over Russia, it's always possible.  Problems this morning with freezing rain and black ice.  In Sheffield, ice skid fire engine crushes car with a black ice warning as rain falls in Wales.  And in the SW, Devon trains cancelled after heavy rain ...

Well, Nathan Rao , Daily Express weather forecaster extraordinaire was right about one thing - yesterday was the coldest day of the year with a max of +0.1c in Evesham (though to be fair, that's not actually what he meant: he was predicting the lowest night-time minima of the year).   And today may be even colder ......   Apart from the odd flurry, and some ice crystals precipitating out of the fog, no snow about though and currently no signs of any in the foreseeable future with the weather turning rather unsettled, though not especially warm, in the run up to Christmas.   However, a white Christmas isn't entirely off the cards yet.   Stay tuned..... Weather like this is fairly common in December and as happens most years Heathrow and London City Airport flights disrupted by fog Meanwhile, it's perhaps no surprise that Britain 'worst in the world' for weather complaints on Twitter .  Well, we hardly have anything else to moan ab...

As forecast, the cold weather has arrived with temps down to -4c overnight and a grey sky today suggesting we'll only see it get a few degrees above freezing at best today.   Not uncommon for December though. Navy helicopter rescues couple from icy Aberfoyle road - first time I've heard of that happening Upper Midwest gets more than a foot of snow but Chicago breaks record with 281 snow-free days.  White Christmas?  Keep dreaming... We could refreeze Arctic, says study; should we? Wind and solar power paired with storage could power grid 99.9 percent of the time .  We just need a means of storage ... Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs also wiped out the 'Obamadon' -  lizards to you and I

6 dead as heavy snow hits Balkans Frankfurt cuts 150 flights as snowstorm hits whilst blizzard rolls across southern Sweden Storm brings heavy snow to Minn., Wis., SD. In Indonesia, 9,000 central Kalimantan homes innundated as flood waters continue to flow Typhoon Bopha: fears for Philippines missing - 800 still missing on top of over 600 now confirmed dead World's oldest and biggest trees 'dying out' Warm sea water is melting Antarctic glaciers And Antarctic 'lost world' to be explored 2 miles beneath the surface

Amsterdam and Paris flights cancelled as snow causes disruption in northern Europe Philippine typhoon rescue efforts hampered: 600 missing Heavy rains and floods cripple several cities across Indonesia The year 2012 likely warmest on record for US Smoke from Arctic wildfires may have caused Greenland's record thaw As Arctic melt accelerates, Bering Sea stands out as icy anomaly NASA's 'Oppy' rover could be rolling on Martian clays - further suggestive of 'clean' water having once existed on the planet's surface.  Meanwhile, Dawn probe spies possible water-cut gullies on Vesta which is even more intriguing, though astronomers admit that really they just don't know what they are. And back in Britain, Nathan Rao comes up with possibly his most fantastical weather story yet.  Apparently, it's going to be too cold for grit to work next week as we get 6 inches of snow, 60mph gales and temperatures down to -30c ........   Ironically, just ...

Three dead as tornado strikes New Zealand city with tornado damage 'utter devastation' - Key and  in the aftermath,  search on for scores of pets left behind during storm .  Today, 'extreme care' urged as storm cordon lifted Freezing UK weather closes schools and slows trains - and there's lots more to come.  Next week looks like being even colder, with a risk of snow for most parts before the week is out. btw, back in August I said " my current thoughts are that we could see a cold start to winter, but a mild end.  Not dissimilar to 2010/11. But that may of course change and I'm starting to lean towards a return of colder conditions in late Feb/March.   A mild January sandwich ."   So far so good! Sweden hit with real snow on Wednesday though with transport standstill as storm lashes Stockholm and on Thursday many still stranded after Stockholm blizzard However, in the US, snow-savvy Mid-west cities breaking no-snow rec...

Must be winter!   Stansted, Luton and Aberdeen airports face major delays as snow heads south and icy conditions cause havoc on the roads   - but why on Earth does a brief dusting of snow that'll be gone in a couple of hours force 50 schools to close ????????   They never closed in '79 or '81 when we had proper snow ..... Meanwhile, Jersey homes hit by hail storms and lightning We just had a brief spell of slightly sleety rain ..... Bread prices set to rise after bad weather hits UK wheat crop In the Philippines: Typhoon Bopha death toll rises Scores of bushfires sparked in Qld heat as hot conditions set to continue and there's a bushfire in Sydney's north whilst in WA, bushfires threaten lives, homes in Bremer Bay Drenched northern California gets more rain Toronto feels record-high December temperature  US wildfire risk worsening, according to climate predictions Arctic sea ice stayed near record low in November ...

Strong typhoon triggers landslides, floods in the southern Philippines, killing at least 5 White Christmas?  Could be as snow dusts Alps - that's the Victorian Alps, just days after records tumble in November heatwave, Bureau says .  Meanwhile, it's still hot in Queensland where Brisbane cooling down after sweltering day .  Big traffic jam has official pointing fingers - but in a way it's reassuring to know that Russia suffers travel disruption in the snow just like us. Snow covers central, south Poland as winter takes its grip And in Britain, December weather brings snow to the north - but it's unlikely to last .  Temperatures do look like remaining generally below average  for much of the month though - but still no sign of any severe weather.  

Northern California endures third major storm but now enjoys short reprieve after two people left dead and thousand without power Snow across Britain brings early start to the ski season - well, earlier than last year which had an extremely mild start to winter .....   Meanwhile, heavy snowfalls to continue this week as drivers warned to take care .  It is winter, after all! England floods: Somerset Levels 'biggest' pumping operations Wales floods: climate change could be to blame, Welsh Secretary says Snow traps drivers for days in giant Russian traffic jam Finland experiences record high winds, waves close to 10 meters whilst a blizzard called Antti leaves trails of snow drifts across Finland And there have been record lows as winter freeze grips Sweden Evacuations as powerful typhoon nears Philippines Kashmir avalanches: several dead in Neelum Valley Carbon emissions are 'too high' to curb climate change .  Maybe.  All e...