Weather & Earth Science News

It's discovered that mushrooms make their own weather - but only on a micro scale! Auckland hits record high November temperature There was a steep rise in winter deaths in Britain last year - though to be fair, the previous winter was quite a bit milder than average. In the US, Thanksgiving travellers cast a wary eye as storm moving eastward Tropical cyclones bears down on eastern Ghats Kiribati Island: sinking into the sea?   It's maybe not quite that simple, though the problems do appear man made... Arctic seafloor methane releases double previous estimates

Man dreads winter as single snowflake could kill him - well, not quite.  But he is allergic to cold ..... London hammered by snowstorm - that's London, Ontario ..... In the US, killer storm sweeps east Two dead, one missing after storm hits the island of Rhodes In Queensland, man gets struck by lightning and escapes with sore toe Fresh cyclone threat looms over Andhra coast Typhoon Haiyan: the search for bodies continues Indonesia raises Sumatra volcano alert to highest status Greenland's shrunken ice sheet: we've been here before - perhaps as recently as 3,000 years ago.   Although the Holocene Climatic Optimum ended ~5ka, the oceans continued to warm for a time even as the stmosphere cooled, and the suggestion is that the Greenland ice cap is affected more by ocean than air temperature. And pre-industial rise in greenhouse gases had natural and anthropogenic causes Acid rain, ozone depletion contribution to ancient extin...

3 killed in California as winter weather hits west Trees fell and gales blew as Sydney is hit by more wild weather whilst tornado with winds of up to 300km/h destroys one NSW home and damages others Cyclone Helen makes landfall on India's west coast In Derbyshire on Wednesday, tornadoes hit homes in Tutbury and Hartshorne Jokes from Iraqis flood the internet after downpour Missing sea ice data found in crusty Canadian algae showing a decline in summer sea ice extent over the past 150 years

Traffic chaos as strong winds and rain lash the Emirates as storms rage across the Arabian Peninisular killing at least 18 people Heavy rain lashes Andhra Pradesh as Cyclone Helen nears coast Volcanic eruption in the Pacific Oceans creates new island off Japan Black Beauty rock 'is oldest chunk of Mars' And clearly not one to ever give up or admit he was wrong, after the 70mph gales, killer floods, record cold and snow chaos all failed to materialise this week (except on the summit of Cairngorm) Nathan Rao today warns that winter 2013 to be longest in history .   Longest we go without seeing snow in Evesham is more likely!   Though of course, it will actually last exactly the same number of days as every winter (except in a leap year).   Lots of stock pictures of snow there - none current though due to the myserious absence of the heavy snow he forecast for November ....

Severe weather in the Mediterranean as Sardina hit by deadly cyclone and flooding with more pictures from the Daily Mail here Before and after the storm: The heartbreaking aerial photos that show the incredible scale of tornado destruction in Illinois town as survivors of deadly US Midwest tornado sift through wreckage - latest reports are that eight people dies. Wisconsin storm damage blamed on 100mph winds - no evidence of tornado In Australia, freak storm leaves Mount Garnet damage trail whilst southeast Queensland lashed by severe thunderstorms bringing large hail, damaging winds Near-future heat and precipitation extremes predicted Active volcano found under Antarctic ice: eruption could raise sea levels And finally, today's lies from billionaire media-mogul Elliot Carver Richard Desmond are that we're all in for 70mph icy gales ...... to add to the 6" of snow, record low temperatures and killer floods....   The sick b*stard just won't...

Deadly tornadoes hit US Midwest with the usual array of pictures from the Mail as death toll reaches six and one Illinois town is left totally destroyed after massive string of 60 twisters wreak havoc .  And in Canada, severe wind and rain storm leave thousands without power in Ontario Meanwhile, in Australia, shoppers injured as 'mini-tornado' causes damage in Sydney's north whilst record rainfall drenches NSW and the misery will last for most of the week In northern Sweden 30,000 without power as storm Hilde hits , the fury of 'Hilde' stuns central Norway   and in Finland, autumn storm Eino blows in, plunges over 200,000 homes into darkness (different names, same storm) with tens of thousands still without electricty today. Floods kill many in central Vietnam after heavy rains   And here we're looking at 100 days of snow: Britain now facing worst winter in 60 years say forecasters ....... well, no and no and no.   Nathan Rao and his m...

In Valdez, first snow of the 2013 season breaks records whilst elsewhere in Alaska, schools closed, thousands in Fairbanks regions still without power due to winter storm - the storm also brought unusually high temperatures And after some good snow fall, ski season starts early in the Alps - but no skiing in Scotland this weekend: last week's snow has largely melted ....  But there should be more in the week. Massive hail buckets down on Queensland 2013 marked by record sea level, weather extremes: World Meteorological Organisation And asteroids should be colonized or used as transports to planets, Russian scientists say - both ideas examined in the past by 'serious' science fiction writers (along with one other possible use - as extremely cheap and plentiful missiles with which aliens can bombard the Earth!)

The first spell of proper wintry weather across the whole of  the country now looks certain for next week, with even a risk of a dusting of snow over hills in southern England as blast of winter on its way to Britain .  Yesterday the Express warned of 4" of snow , whilst the Star were warning of killer floods - but not to be outdone, today they have decided we'll have 6" of snow .   I wonder what the battle of the comics will produce tomorrow.....   And if they are right, then they will be right for not better reason than Piers Corbyn was right in predicting the St Jude's Day storm (see bottom of this blog entry).  And as pointed out in the Huffington Post Daily Express weather front page forgets snow happens every year .  Meanwhile, it seems the Irish Independent just doesn't understand the rules of the game, warning only that there'll be no big freeze but bitter weather is on the way .  Wot, no killer blizzards?!!! btw the Star's floo...

Overshadowed by Haiyan, Somalia's cyclone-hit Puntland declared a disaster area with unconfirmed reports of up to 300 fatalities Haiyan is dead, better weather ahead for Philippines as the President lowers death toll estimate And, according to UN: Besides Haijan, 2013 storm season near average Almost an air frost in Evesham this morning, and the first noticeable frost in cars and roofs - next week looking even colder as we see the first proper 'northerly' of the season set in, though snow not expected down here and it looks likely to last only a few days.   Proper winter still some way off. In the US, as forecast, first snows hit East Coast and even in South Carolina unusual November snow fall on Colombia  Vast Antarctic iceberg 'could threaten shipping' - it has occurred to me that one reason for more sea ice around Antarctic could be an increase in bergs, which in turn mean calmer waters and more propensity for surface freezing. And  Saturn ...

Typhoon Haiyan relief effort delayed by torrential rain as British and American ships head to Philippines amid devastation .   I've said this before and I'll say many times again: this is why we need a well equipped military - the do the job they are best at: providing aid to those in dire need.   Much if not all our international aid budget would be far better spend training troops and medics and engineers, and building ships and helicopters to carry them where needed all over the world.   In the 21st century, the military should be about saving lives. And yet we cut their budget, curtaining their ability to respond quickly and efficiently to disasters like this.  Bad weather halts flights, trains, boats across Italy as storms claim two lives in Marche Somalis 'killed in Puntland' during tropical cyclone Four small earthquakes hit Indian capital Delhi In the US, about 600,000 bats killed by wind turbines in 2012, study shows ...

As expected, the estimated death toll in the Philippines has risen dramatically over the weekend, with some awful scenes of devastation.  Philippines devastation 'absolute bedlam'   as Philippines battles to bring storm aid .  And more deaths as severe Tropical Storm Haiyan makes landfall in Vietnam. US stormchasers catch Typhoon Haiyan hitting Tacloban And it's not over yet:  S Philppines sets up preparation as another storm looming Haiyan looks to have been the most deadly Asian typhoon since Typhoon Nina caused about 229,000 deaths after the collapse of Banqiao dam in China in 1975.  In comparison, all other weather news pales into insignificance..... In Queensland, more storms coming as southeast clears up after wild weather Himalayan snow season shrinking by 11 days/decade: study Ozone chemicals ban linked to global warming 'pause' - one of many factors, I am quite sure.   I despair at the way the media (and to some extent th...

Typhoon Haiyan: 'More than 120 dead' in Philippines Super Typhoon Haiyan: Satellite images Typhoon Haiyan the biggest yet as world's tropical storms gather force -  predictions based on global warming are for tropical storms to become more powerful, though probably not more frequent.   And, of course, just because the air and seas are warmer and the atmosphere holds more moisture, it's does not follow that other factors won't continue to affect tropical storm development!   And with that in mind, what really alarms Filipinos is the rich world ignoring climate change .

Reportedly the most powerful tropical storm ever to make landfall (imagine the news coverage if this were the USA?!)  monster Typhoon Haiyan roars into Philippines with three people killed as one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded wreaks havoc across Philippines - sadly the death toll will almost certainly rise, considerably.   We'll know a lot more tomorrow. Disturbingly, Philippines disaster prevention website hacked as storm looms - with suggestions that the rich, anti-social, morally bankrupt, cyber-geek-terrorist cowards 'Anonymous' were behind it. In Alaska, Fairbanks gest some real snow - at last .   There was a small fall late on the 31st October so they did just avoid the first 'brown' Halloween for nearly 100 years Still mild in Russia where absolute temperature record for November set in Moscow Bulgaria has also seen date records broken as lingering summer breaks temperature record in Bulgaria But here in Britain, C...

A first taste of winter for parts of northern Britain as snow falls cover parts of rural Durham (although snow has fallen over some hills in England and Wales in recent weeks, I think this is the first snow fall to affect roads and homes) But that's nothing compared with the US where (not unusually) winter storm dumps half a foot of snow in parts of South Dakota, Minnesota And the colder weather here isn't expected to last long with more Atlantic storms to hit Europe in warmer-than-usual November - which is good news for some as Plymouth scientists prepare for a winter of big storms . Storm pounds Aleutians, western Alaska Iran pollution and 'acid rain' sees at least 50 hospitalized And concentrations of warming gases breaks record in 2012 - though really that's no surprise (the anti-science mob, who bizarrely think CO2 is the only thing that affect temperature (global or local), will of course being asking why 2012 was not therefore the warm...

Aberystwyth seafront 'like warzone' after storm waves on Saturday, whilst more stormy weather causes damage to Sussex coast Monster Typhoon Haiyan to smack Philippines, Southeast Asia In Australia, Fitzroy Crossing breaks national October temperature record : 42c This is what the death of tropical storm Sonia looks like - the birth and death, in fact, on a sequence of satellite images.   Is glacier retreat evidence of climate change in South America ?   Well in some cases it may very well be, And rain forest threat: 30,000 miles of Amazon roads built in just 3 years One in five stars may have Earth-sized, potentially habitable, planets - the chance of life 'out there' just got a whole lot likelier.

Whirlwind rips through Dutch town Storm-force winds bring damage and 10,000 homes lose power in Wales on Saturday - whist winds were not as strong as last Monday, they were more widespread, as predicted. Last week, record-breaking 'heat wave' recorded in Moscow (actually they just had a date record) Tropical Storm Sonia weakens near Mexico's Pacific coast Why this is the year of the Typhoon in Japan Meanwhile, Typhoon Krosa approaches South China Rare solar eclipse sweeps across the world Report suggests slow-down in CO2 emission rise And have scientists worked out why hot water freezes faster than cold water? Finally, I thought I'd take a look at some of Piers Corbyn's recent forecasts, now that he's started uploading archives on his website.   July 2013 is an interesting one .....  who'd have thought it would produce the best summer heatwave since 2006?   Obviously not Piers!   Though to give him his due, at...

Strange year of weather continues with record heat in Fairbanks , Alaska - and it looks like they did, as expected, have a very rare 'brown Halloween' there this year.  And Anchorage's October officially warmest on record Here in Britain, October set for top ten warmest And in France, October was one of the hottest since 1900 Texas man struck by lightning twice on same day In Colorado, ski areas crank up cloud-seeding programs Frost bites Victorian and New South Wales farms There's been record winter ice cover in Antarctica Where have all the hurricanes gone?    It's been a very quiet year and well awry of predictions 'Low health risk' from fracking, says UK agency Is global heating hiding out in the oceans? And a warning that geoengineering the climate could reduce vital rains Earth-sized 'lava world' discovered