19th June - Today's News: Finally, it's Hot & Sunny in England (for a day)

Looks like being the warmest day of the year here today (so far!) - already up to 18.1c under cloudy skies when I left home but now the cloud's cleared and it's feeling decidedly hot out.  Thunderstorms and sweltering humidity as temperatures are set to top 27C on the hottest day of the year  I reckon at least 26c on the cards in my garden.  But no thunderstorms here, though a small chance of a distant rumble tomorrow.   And looking decidedly cool and unsettled again by the weekend.....

As expected, more storms in France yesterday (and again today) as woman drowned in raging floods near Lourdes

After yesterday's workshop in Exeter, scientists say UK wet summers down to Atlantic warming.  The actual MetO report is here.

But are Britons right to moan about the weather?  Well yes, it's a national pastime!  But seriously, I think we get the best weather in the world: a bit like a Springsteen concert - you never know what you're going to get, but you do know it won't really be all that bad.  And whilst it may spoil our picnics and make us curse, but it's rain that makes the West so beautiful

And to bring our rain into context, in India rain toll rises to 131, over 73,000 pilgrims stranded

More on the story I 'broke' yesterday (do the world media monitor W&ESN?!!!) as unusual heat wave hits 49th state, with temps topping 80 degress in Anchorage (the Daily Mail also has a story on this today)

Tornado touches down on Denver Airport runway

Singapore hit by highest haze levels in 16 years - mainly due to the burning of the rain forest in Indonesia to provide the West with cheap food we don't need.

NASA's 2013 HS3 hurricane mission to delev into Saharan dust