Weather & Earth Science News

Fen blow phenomenon: farmer's count cost of 'perfect storm' Average Briton whines about the weather for four months of their life - or, if you're a member of a weather forum, for about four months of every year! More than 44,000 animal carcasses recovered after Northern Ireland snow - that's a lot of lamp chops Video of Spain's spring snow: ususual weather blocks roads Balkans brace for a scorching spring There's been awesome Aussie weather this autumn - and it's still warm in South Africa too.  In the Northern Territories, the wet was dry now dry will start wet as Cyclone Zane forms off north Queensland coast In Oman, rain woes continue unabated and why more rainfall in Oman?  Experts link it to delayed European spring . Plants can moderate climate warming, new study shows , by releasing gases which aid cloud formation Saturn hurricane snapped by Cassini craft And more nonsense from the Daily Mail, claiming the ne...

No respite as more rain forecast across the UAE whilst Saudi city covered by snow following unrelenting weather - actually, it's hailstones. Roof of Sugar Land food mart collapses during severe weather in Houston area - accumulated rain being blamed Taiwanese lawmakers to mull weather act which would allow private companies to issue severe weather warnings.  At present the likes of Piers Corbyn can issue general forecasts, but not for typhoons,  thunderfloods and tornadoes.

Sea surface temperatures reach highest level in 150 years on Northeast continental shelf of the USA, affecting the distribution of local fish stocks. Whilst in Britain, cold weather hits lobster supplies and salmon fishermen set for disappointing year after extreme weather . US weather radar gets a major upgrade, can now distiguish rain from flying cows - useful when tornado chasing! Malawi thunderstorm blows off roofs of over 200 houses, school Indian meteorologists predict a 'normal' monsoon this year NASA Langley jet involved in biofuel testing - but does it increase or decrease contrails? And did an earthquake destroy ancient Greece?

Afghanistan hailstorm kills three and grounds British aircraft whilst earlier in the week floods and earthquake kill 24 in Afghanistan In Midwest, drought gives way to flood Scientists detect 'dark lightning' energy linked to visible lightning NASA probe observes meteors colliding with Saturn's rings

Bad weather causing Lincolnshire beaches to become graveyards Finnish flood situation fluid in the west; more rain in forecast whilst Sweden's spring floods look set to intensify In the US Midwest, flood victims pray for dry weather as rivers crest as last week's rain left a giant Chicago sinhole at least 20 feet deep . Whilst record-shattering April cold and snow stun Rockies, north central US Another 6.2 magnitude earthquake felt across Pakistan And UK CO2 emissions rising, government advisers warn - so why not accept the inevitable, put an end to punative measures aimed at curbing CO2 emissions, and concentrate our efforts on measures which can reduce other human impacts on climate, both here and abroad, as well planning for the inevitablity of life in a globally warmer world?

In East Africa, heavy rain test emergency preparedness  Around Hyderabad, unseasonal rain kills 13, damages crops Heatwave scorches farmers and their earth in Viet Nam Cold spring: what does this mean for flowers in Britain? Flood-drought-flood: is this the new normal for the US Midwest?   And more rain to hit Ontario's flood-stricken cottage country Climate zones will shift faster as world warms And finally a connundrum for St George's Day:  why is there no British flag?   And if there were one, what should it be?

Pollen counts set to soar the summer as experts warn hay fever will be worst for 50 years Norwegian spring chill blamed on warmer Arctic In South Africa, floods leave 3 dead, scores homeless China quake: rescuers reach remote damaged villages First 2,000 year long temperature reconstructions for individual continents shows the LIA started earlier in Europe than the rest of the world, and an overal cooling trend for the past 2,000 years.  

We seem to be suffering quite a few damaging earthquakes at the moment (btw I tend to only post links to those which are destructive and/or in a less usual area)   Scores dead after strong quake hits China with live updates from China Daily here .   And more details emerging from the remote corner of Pakistan flattened by an earthquake earlier this week. In NZ, streets floods as heavy rain falls across North Island Tropical storm wreaks havoc over Dominica And did life exist before Earth? Researchers calculate it began 10 billion years ago - predating our planet - though it's all very hypothetical

Sad news from the Carneddau as bad weather kills half of Welsh wild pony herd whilst in NI, sheep death toll reached 20,000 90ft Aberdeenshire turbine felled by wind Floods invade homes, cut off roads in western Finland whilst in Sweden spring floods cause Uppsala rail havoc In France, hayfever alert as spring arrives From Rockies to Rust Belt, storm brings extremes to the US as massive flooding brings widespread flooding around Chicago But not all bad news as US drought falls below 50 percent for first time in 10 months And studies of seismic waves show that Superstorm Sandy shook the US, literally The first snows of winter around Canberra as cold spell has city shivering Kenya children buried in landslide after heavy rain Eight killed in Bengal storm Brazil's drought reaches historic levels - I wonder how much deforestation has a play in that? And Kepler telescope spies 'most Earthlike' worlds to date - but the nearest being 1,200 lig...

'Sandstorms' hit parts of Scotland amid high winds with more pictures from The Sun .    And earlier this month there were problems further down the coast in Lincolnshire as well where clearing coastal sand drifting 'remains a priority' Major earthquake strikes south-east Iran with Pakistani troops in rescue effort after Iran quake -  although the largest to hit Iran in recent years, it was a fairly deep quake so damage is hopefully not as bad as it could have been. Winter snowstorm dumps on Northern Plains as winter refuses to exit parts of the USA whilst in Canada, spring snowstorm tests patience, worsens flood outlook . Study backs 'hobbit' island dwarfism theory - but controversy remains on just who their ancestors were. Research aims to settled debate over origin of Yellowstone volcano An update on the comet to make close flyby of Red Planet in October 2014 - it currently looks unlikely to impact Mars, which in a way is a shame as it...

Dan yr Ogof caves boss looks at suing weather forecasters - claiming that 'they' wrongly forecast snow for South Wales at Easter.  They didn't.  Well, not the Met Office nor any other real forecasters.   So who did?   Step forward Mr Piers Corbyn ..... “We confirm our warning that this (29 Mar-1Apr) will be (85% confidence) the worst Easter break for decades in Britain, Ireland and NW Europe in terms of travel disruption and general discomfort. Strong biting wintry winds, snow and blizzards are expected to blast across most of the UK and Ireland in two waves during the 4 day Easter Break with heavy rain or sleet in South and West parts at times. The snow depths which could be 6 inches to a foot with drifting of feet in places will be about double the estimates of standard TV forecasts from a day or so ahead. Brighter, less windy, but still cold weather is likely later on Mon 1 April. Most of Scotland will probably be brighter with ...

Warmest day of the year yesterday with 22c in Gravesend and 18.4c in Evesham - though here at least it was quite breezy, cloudy and with rain in the afternoon.  So not quite as springlike as some would have hoped.  Spring limps in at long last, but will the season bring birds, bees and blossom? Warm in the Alps too where avalanches kill four after thaw Meanwhile, British firms count damage done by cold March weather New insight into accelerating summer ice melt on the Antarctic Peninsular - it's higher now than any time in the past 1,000 years, including the MWP, and is increasing at a faster rate than any time in that period to boot.   However, across the West Antarctic ice sheet (which is not the same thing!!!!)  recent Antarctic climate, glacier change at the 'upper bound' of normal -  similar levels of warming/melt have occurred before.   In other words, the main bulk of Antarctica is not yet showing signs of being affected ...

The Daily Mail issues apology after publication of York Minster snow picture :  the picture, published in February this year was actually taken in 2010.   Another case of the media deliberately lying to the public.  At least this time they were caught - but I don't think an apology is enough.   Maybe a punitive fine - say £1m - all going to charity?  They might think twice then about their responsibilities? Snow my God!  Breathtaking aerial snaps of the Mourne Mountain Storm blankets Montreal with unwelcome ice and slush whilst elsewhere in Canada, rainfall records set in Chatham-Kent Arctic nearly free of summer sea ice during first half of 21st century, experts predict Are airplane passengers exposed to radiation from intense bursts of gamma-rays from thunderclouds? 24 injured after M6.3 earthquake hits western Japan Saturn's rings 'showering' on its atmosphere   whilst ice cloud heralds fall at Titan's ...

Three die in US Midwest spring storm packing ice, snow, tornadoes with more pictures from the Daily Mail  as tornado strikes Mississippi killing one as severe weather sweeps across the nation But they're perhaps praying for drought in Maryland as Govenor imposes tax on rain More floods in Argentina as heavy downpours flood Santa Fe's capital Climate change did not cause 2012 US drought, says government report - but it acknowledges it was caused by the jet stream being much further north than usual .......  The actual report can be downloaded here - but both the full report and the summary are poorly produced and in places are effectively impossible to read .....  The conclusion appears to be that the drought had no significant direct cause and was just 'one of those things'. Meanwhile if anyone still doubted that fundamentalist bronze age religious beliefs were behind climate change denial, US congressman cites biblical flood to dispute human link to clim...

Dozens killed and hundreds injured as earthquake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr   More pictures here as dozens of aftershocks follow deadly earthquake US spring storms crawls eastwards as snow, freezing rain cancel flights, knocks out power Extreme heatwave hits parts of Bangladesh I wouldn't normally consider Pravda as a reliable news source, but this seems a fairly accurate explanation of how sudden stratospheric warming - and not anything daft like the Gulf Stream stopping - caused continuing wintry weather across much of Europe - and unsual warmth in southern Siberia - as  spring is shifted north by polar cyclone .   And as it also rightly points out, such unusual weather is actually not all that unusual. Contrary to this finding , British scientists say fracking 'not significant' cause of large earthquakes - or by significant and large do they mean it's not as significant as plate tectonics in causing massive, catastrophic quakes?  And cha...

A warming world will further intensify extreme precipitation events, research shows .  The reasoning being quite simple: a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, more moisture means more precipitation.   And that includes winter snow as well as summer rain.   However, this study doesn't appear to take into account precipitation pattern change wrought by deforestation, urbanisation and other land use change - so we may not necessarily see so many regions receive more rain. Ewe and lamb found alive under nine feet of snow in Llanfairfechan In the US, spring storm moves east, bringing snow to Colorado Floods sweep across Russian regions, people evacuated The Czech Republic's smog situation worse this winter than last Climate change will threaten wine production, study shows - though it has to be said we're already producing very high quality wines in southern England.   And if you're flying out to a vineyard, be warned clim...

Almost 6,000 livestick killed in snow storm in NI last month Why our turbulent weather is getting harder to predict The US tornado season about to roar after slow start Worst of Dubai storm-weather accidents: 4-wheel jumps in air, lands on pick-up Storm kills nine in Angola In La Palta, Argentina, Scioli denies flood death toll is higher than the official figures of 51 plus one still missing  Oceans may explain slowdown in climate change - coupled with increased Asian pollution, negative PDO and low solar activity .....   And yet still it doesn't get any colder, as some catastrophists continue to predict! Peru bores through Andes to water desert Particles from fossil fuels 'affect the growth of corals' And scientists to Jupiter's moon Io: your volcanoes are in the wrong place

Britain's crops suffer in spring cold snap Firefighters extinguish wildfires on Skye Another summer of drought looms for Texas and West After Taiwan's driest spring in 58 years, water rationing to stay: WRA No let-up in heatwave conditions in Hyderabad Karnataka Paranoia and fear of litigation in the wake of the prison sentences given to scientists who downplayed the likelihood of a damaging Italian earthquake: that's why evacuate for an earthquake no-one can feel? And astronomers anticipate 100 billion Earth-like planets - and that's just in one galaxy ........   makes the odds of simple chance leading to the evolution of advanced life rather more likely than creationists would have you believe!   And on that note: how life may have first emerged on Earth: foldable proteins in a high salt environment

Argentina floods 'catastrophe' for La Plata, Buenos Aires with latest reports suggesting death toll from Argentine floods hits 57 after over 300mm of rain fell in just a few hours earlier this week.  Some more pictures here . In Britain, snow flurries hit south as cold weather refuses to lift - we even had some very light snow in Evesham yesterday morning, though nothing like we saw in April 2008 Meanwhile the wildfire season spreads: snow-hit Cumbria faces grass fires whilst Facebook used to fight grass fires in north Wales .   And in Scotland fears for golden eagle nests as wildfires sweep Highlands although some good news today as last of 200 Highland land fires extinguished .  For now.   It's not often I issue a wildfire warning as part of my weekly weather forecast. And just when you thought it was wet, wet, wet Severn Trent water advice follows dry start to the year ......  It has indeed been another dry start, though not nearly as dry as...

Official data now in from Met Office and it's confirmed that March is joint second coldest on record - that's for the UK as a whole.   In the CET series it's the joint 12th coldest and colder than any March since the 19th century.  All in all a very remarkable month.   But I wouldn't at all be surprised if we see a record breaking warm month now, before the year is out.  BBQ summer at last?  Maybe .... Cold winter: winners and losers from the long winter - not many winners!   And it's not over yet, although yesterday saw the temperature almost reach double figures in my garden (and quite pleasant it was in the sunshine) overnight frosts continue and there's more snow expected in the SE tonight ...... And March was coldest on record in many parts of Ireland as well. But cold March not a record breaker in Finland Snowstorm a cruel joke for Muscovites on April Fool's Day with now, Moscow swimming as record snowfall melts ...

March ended up my coldest month since December 2010 and needless to say the coldest in my records which only go back to 2003.   Across the country Mad March was the coldest for 51 years whilst Easter Sunday coldest on record .   In Ireland, record breaking weather resulted in Armagh Observatory recording its coldest March for 111 years. Body found in search for skier Daniel Maddox in Glencoe after he was caught in a large avalanche at the weekend whilst in Wales, 'lucky' walker, 21, airlifted after 1,000ft Snowdon fall - one of  numerous incidents over Easter. Ski fans hit Ulster slopes for fun in snow Welsh hill farmers reel as melting snow reveals carcasses of ewes and  lambs But the cold weather has some uses as snow survey uncovers prehistoric sites in Wales Meanwhile, huge hill fire tackled near Fort William in the Highlands as the dry conditions continue And tragedy strikes as German flea circus hit by freeze Heavy snow knock...