Posts

Showing posts from October, 2013

30th October - Today's News: No Piers, You Did Not Forecast The Storm!

St Jude storm hits Russia after devasting parts of Europe Surfers in Portugal ride towering waves whipped up by storm And how powerful was Monday's storm?    Pleased to see the MetO reference the 3rd Jan 2012 storm as I've been doing the past few days. Could smog be vacuumed away? Thawing permafrost: the speed of coastal erosion in eastern Siberia has nearly doubled Paul Lister plans to push ahead with Alladale wolves plan - some years after he closed Alladale bothy (at short notice) to turn it into a luxury holiday cottage in the midst of what he planned to become a private wildlife park for the rich.   Personally, I'd love to see wolves reintroduced to the wild in Scotland and would certainly have no fears camping alone in the hills knowing they were about.   But I don't want Alladale fenced off. And finally, our old friend Piers Corbyn decided to name Monday's storm after himself because, he claims, he predicted it 6 weeks in adv

29th October - Today's News: Storm Leaves at Least 13 Dead Across Northern Europe

Storm lashes northern Europe leaving at least 13 dead and whilst much of Britain escaped the worst, nonetheless, St Jude's Day Storm: Four dead after 99mph winds and night of destruction - but at least we saw it coming - worth pointing out that the even the Independent isn't immune from sensational, misleading headlines.   99mph refers to one gust recorded by the Needles Lighthouse weatherstation .....    And today, at least 61,000 homes are still without power as Britain's starts to recover from chaos caused by the St Jude's storm So, in England, was St Jude's storm really that bad?   It's worth, perhaps, comparing it with the 3rd January 2012 storm - which produced similar winds (gusts of 93mph outside Sheffield (according to BBC), 89mph at Glasgow Airport and 81mph at Thorney Island on the south coast (according to weatheronline), for example) over a longer period of time and affected the whole country from the Hebrides to Kent, killing two people. 

28th October - Today's News: Disruption as Gales Hit Southern England

An inch of rain in Evesham overnight, making it probably the wettest night of the year.  But winds almost non existent as the center of the "storm of the century" [sic] passed just to our south.   A bit breezer to the south though with the highest inland gust looking to have been 79mph at Andrewsfield in Essex.   So it's not quite true that St Jude's Day storm brings hurricane-strength winds to UK , even if it has caused disruption for commuters in the SE and also problems in the SW where CrossCountry passenger train hits hits tree in Devon .  The Met Office have issue a release detailing wind speeds and rainfall totals . We may see genuine hurricane strength winds (sustained wind speeds in excess of 74mph) in the UK next weekend though - albeit in Scotland.  Sadly, girl dies as storm hits southern UK and certainly some damage in places where they've not strong winds for some time, including Westminster where crane collapses on Cabinet building . Meanwhile, acro

26th October - Today's News: Storm Warning for Southern Britain

Well, it seems it's not just any storm coming on Monday, it's a Megastorm: devastating 100mph winds to bring 48 hours of 'utter hell' this weekend - although it won't arrive until late Sunday night and will be all over by Monday evening.  I guess Nathan doesn't actually know how the days of the week work, along with a lot of other things!   Seriously though, there is now a strong likelihood of damaging winds across parts of Wales and southern and central England on Monday.  First decent windstorm in a while.  And whilst there are warnngs over storm due to hit England and Wales , we shouldn't forget that storm forecasts can change last minute, warns Michael Fish (who did forecast the Oct '87 storm - just not that it'd be as bad as it was) Record dry year continues in California Typhoon Fransisco dumps payload over Shikoku; Kyushu in crosshairs Small tsunami reaches Japan after earthquake Post-Phailin floods wreak havoc in O

25th October - Today's News: Arctic Summers Warmest for 120,000 Years?

New evidence of unprecedented Arctic warming: average summer temperatures in last 100 years may be warmest in 120,000 years (ie since the Eemian interglacial) - but don't tell the new ice agers: for a new ice age, we'd expect summer temperatures to decline ......  which, to be fair, is also what we'd expect as axial tilt declines (less insolation in summer). If New York freezes in January, blame Siberia snow now In Japan, Izu Oshima residents warned to evacuate as Typhoon Francisco draws near More heavy rains batter Andhra Pradesh, thousands evacuated And heavy rain also leads to mass evacuations in South Sudan Seven planet solar system found And apparently, we're facing the worst weather since the Great Storm of 1987: Britain set to be battered by 90mph winds and heavy rain from Atlantic storm system - well it does look like being very windy towards the south coast early on Monday morning, but it'll be only the worst storm to hit Br

23rd October - Todays News: Fairbanks Facing a 'Brown Halloween'

Ice, snow bring winter conditions to Manitoba and more snow and cold to blast central, eastern USA .  But no snow in Fairbanks yet?  A grim outlook at Halloween nears - the last 'brown' Halloween in Alaska's second city was in 1938. Why did South Dakota snowstorm kill so many cattle earlier this month? Hurricane Raymond soaks Mexico's Pacific coast Over an inch of rain has fallen in Evesham in the past 24 hours - so it's now officially a wet month! No thunder here (as usual!) but lightning storm captured on camera over Portsmouth yesterday evening The weekend's Hayling Island storm was 'typical tornado' say my friends from Torro Houses, cars, trees damaged by storm at Ararat, in western Victoria Fire threat to Australia's Blue Mountains 'averted' as Australian Prime Minister denies 25 years of research linking climate change to bushfires - but hey, he is a politician, so you wouldn't actually expect him t

22nd October - Today's News: Flash Floods in Wales; Tornadoes in England

Cardiff hit by flash flooding chaos on Saturday afternoon On Sunday, Hayling Island properties hit by 'tornado' whilst a mini tornado rips off Walsall garage roofs .  And today, roads closed and trains cancelled after heavy rain causes flooding So far, here in Evesham, rainfall this month has been below average - though it looks like continuing very unsettled for the foreseeable future In the Australia bushfires: New South Wales declares state of emergency over the weekend whilst today Australia fire fighters back-burn to merge NSW fires Hundreds evacuate low shore areas, mountain villages as hurricane looms off Mexico's coast

17th October - Today's News: Massive Wildfires in NSW

Hundreds less homeless as the gravest bushfire emergency in a decade strikes NSW Fortunately, no reports yet of an fatalities

16th October - Today's News: Japan Hit by Deadly Typhoon Wipha

Once-in-a-decade typhoon reaches Japan with latest reports that at least 17 dead, 50 missing as Typhoon Wipha grazes Japan Philippines earthquake: death toll hits 100 following 7.2 magnitude quake And after Cyclone Phailin: India intensifies relief efforts Antarctic ozone hole linked to warming in southern Africa Extreme weather can be 'the most important cause of poverty' No further updates till sometime next week as I'll be away over the weekend for the MBA AGM in Ballater.

15th October - Today's News: Deadly Quakes Hits Philippines

Triplet of storms means heavy weather for Asia ;  after India's Cyclone Phailin: thousands marooned by floods and just to add to the problems in the region, deadly Philippine quake hits Bohol and Cebu Big clean-up after storm in NZ Snow-like hail blankets NSW beach Storm Octave on Mexico Pacific coast weakens Strong winds wreak havoc in northern Finland Air pollution 'still harming  European's health' First evidence that dust and sand deposits in China are controlled by rivers Fireball meteor lights up aurora display over Scotland

14th October - Today's News: Cyclone Phailin Hits India

India's Cyclone Phailin leaves trail of destruction as hundreds of thousands return home - though many have no home to return to.  Timely evacuations appear to have saved a great many lives though, although there have still been 22 reported fatalities.  Meanwhile, as a consequence of Phailin, heavy rain triggers floods in Odisha, thousands evacuated Vietnam and China brace for Typhoon Nari which has killed 13 in the Philippines Damaging storm batters NZ Global warming will increase intensity of El Nino, scientists say And Salmond's wind farm 'gravy train' criticised by Conservatives A different type of 'green' energy proposed as paradise island of Nevis plans to shift to volcano power And having told us on Saturday that record-breaking snow predicted for November , Nathan Rao, Daily Express forecaster extraordinaire today says now it's going to rain heavily till Christmas ......  Er, which is it Nathan?   Sadly, there are some

12th October - Today's News: Evacuations as Cyclone Phailin Approaches India

Wind, rain, sea pound eastern India as Cyclone Phailin nears with mass evacuations in eastern India - it could be one of the strongest storms to hit India in modern times. Elsewhere in India, there's more rain on the way, longest monsoon in Delhi in 72 yrs Back home, two motorists killed in storms as torrential rain sweeps across Britain   - that's Britain as in SE England .... and when was the last time we heard "forecasters predict rain for parts of the country"?!!!!!!   That only happens nearly every day of the year!  Oh, and there's nothing to suggest either of the fatal road accidents were directly caused by the weather.   Nice pictures of pumpkins though .... Winter forecasting - responding to the headline .  Yes, it's the silly season again when various journalists (sometimes helped by certain bloggers) make up winter forecasts so that in 6 months time they can claim the MetO got it wrong again .....  A bit of politics: the British cl

11th October - Today's News: First Heavy Snowfalls in Central Europe

Passes close as snow strikes Swiss mountains and there's the  first heavy snow falls in southern Germany as well And winter arrives in Scotland as snow a foot deep hits Cairngorms - but it won't hang around for long. Cyclone Phailin: India's Orissa and Andhra Pradesh prepare for storm Meanwhile, Typhoon Nari barrels towards northern Philippines In Norfolk, Walcott homes evacuated during tidal surge flood warning Despite predictions it could be their warmest October day on record, there was sweet, cool relief last night after mercury topped out at 37.3c in Sydney - almost a degree below the record of 38.2c recorded in 2004.   Meanwhile, southeast Queensland seleters through hottest October in eight years . There's difficult relief for flood-ravaged Chinese city 'Stadium waves' could explain lull in global warming Diamonds may fall as rain and form oceans on Saturn and Jupiter

9th October - Today's News: Record Rainfall Floods Shanghai

Heaviest rain for 52 years floods streets and homes in Shanghai Devastating Auckland wind gusts caused by collapse of air and as wild weather heads south: flights cancelled Severe fire weather sweeps South Australia Thailand flood hits historical sites in Ayutthaya Namibia tackles worst drought in decades Clouds on Mars form in much more humid conditions than clouds on Earth - according to a cloud chamber simulation First ever evidence of a comet striking Earth - not Tunguska nor even the 'Clovis Comet' but one that struck Egypt 28ma and produced the famous Libya desert glass.  So it wasn't ancient aliens or cavemen with nuclear bombs after all ... And Chelyabinsk meterorite is 'as old as the solar system' say Russian scientists

8th October - Today's News: Record Early Snowstorm Kills Thousands of Cattle in S Dakota

Winter storm Atlas kills thousands of cattle in South Dakota Storm topples trees, power lines in NJ And in NZ, strong winds cause significant damage in Auckland with some reports suggesting a tornado Is the British weather unique in the world?   Well yes, I think it is!  And it's also the best - always varied, (almost) never too extreme. Indian lightning storms kill 32 and whilst lightning strikes kill 100 people in Cambodia in 9 months , that's actually a slight reduction on last year Plastic waste threatens lakes as well as oceans - it won't go away, but it will be our legacy in the geological record And National Grid warns of winter black-out risk .  Of course, if we'd built a nuclear or coal power station instead of 2,000 wind turbines (which don't work under winter high pressure, when the coldest weather - and hence highest electricity demand - occurs) we wouldn't have such a worry....

7th October - Today's News: Typhoon Fitow Hits China

Typhoon Fitow hits eastern China after mass evacuation but whilst Fitow did not, as originally expected, hit Japan, there is more certainty of Typhoon Danas targeting Japan this week . Meanwhile, 'lucky' Gulf Coast 'dodges bullet' as storm threat from Karen lifts Winter is coming ..... South Dakota blanketed by several feet of snow as storms hit Great Plains whilst Tornado clean-up continues in NE Neb., NW Iowa Strong winds close botanical gardens and spoil community events in Tasmania Japanese scientists predicts Mount Fuji to erupt by 2015 - with potentially castastrophic consequences Giant channels discovered beneath Antarctic ice shelf

5th October - Today's News: TS Karen Approaches US Coast

Tropical Storm Karen weakens as it aproaches central Gulf Coast; heavy rains expected Storm brings snow, tornadoes to Plains Homes hit by lightning and roads flooded in east Kent after storms batter county Climate puzzle of origins of life on Earth

4th October - Today's News: Tornadoes Hit Ireland

Toddler has lucky escape as trees fall in tornado in Galway, whilst a 'mini tornado' in Athlone sent wheelie bins flying - wot no trampoline?!   US Gulf coast braces for Tropical Storm Karen A possible rare tornado in Puerto Rico on Tuesday Thai flood kills 27 people, damages factories A83 at Rest and Be Thankful reopens after landslip Health of Oceans 'declining fast' Mars once covered in supervolcanoes, scientists find And the strange story of how IPCC report makes US meteorologist cry - and give up flying

1st October - Today's News: Hottest September / 12 Month Period on Record in Australia

Across Australia, September smashes records, with more heat to come .   It's also been the hottest 12 month period on record.  Though for now rather more unsettled in the SE as heavy winds hit Sydney as weather tales turn for the worse and ferocious winds pummel Victoria, leaving trail of damage whilst in WA, it's been the wettest September for 100 years NZ motorist hit by lightning while driving Storm brings tornado to Pacific Northwest - unusual for Seattle - while September rainfall hits record numbers in Ore. as strongest September storm on record strikes Washington and Oregon Several waterspouts filmed in sea off Florida coast Heavy snow covers Romania's mountainous areas Tropical storm kills 3, injures dozens in Vietnam Typhoon Fitow to possibly hit Japan this week Mystery 13th century eruption traced to Lombok, Indonesia NASA create the first cloud map of a planet beyond our solar system