15th September - Today's News: Hurricane Odile Hits Baja California

Powerful Hurricane Odile bears in on Mexico's Baja - and has made landfall this morning.  While further north, southern Californians seek relief from soaring temperatures.

Typhoon Kalmaegi hits the Philippines; with target China Vietnam next and as a consequence of the storm, in Taiwan Kaohsiung sees 82-year record-high temperatures today.

It's snowing in September!  Parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado hit by freak snowstorm that dumped 20 inches on the ground

Heath fears loom after Kashmir floods

No rain for decades: stand by for "mega-droughts", scientists warn

Weather forecasters hope new technology will end embarassing gaffes - though it wont stop the media reporting "amateur" forecasts and thus continuing to make very embarassing 'gaffes'.  Or, indeed, the media reporting 'gaffes' which never actually happened!   And on that note, Piers Corbyn's August forecast is now online - the one which came with predictions of the hottest August on record .... Although the CET for the first 10 days was at +1.2c this is not exceptionally high and temperatures were warm rather than hot.  Piers blames the rest of the forecast going awry on 'Bertha' misbehaving, although as of the 16th he was still predicting a return to hot weather in the south for the end of the month and a big contrast in rainfall between Ireland and SE England, with the former being much wetter and the latter rather dry.  The actual rainfall anomaly shows it to have been far from the case (much of the rain in Scotland was off the back of ex-Bertha but some parts of the south - including Evesham - had even more rain later in the month).

Brazil builds giant Amazon observation tower to help monitor climate change

And Rosetta: audacious comet landing site chosen