Weather & Earth Science News

Yet more floods in south of France leave four dead Israel's rain-logged capital lashed by winter storm It never rains but it pours as floods hit drought stricken Brazil A rare, accurate newspaper story about the prospects of snow this winter: an Arctic freeze? Snowstorms?  The worst winter on record?  Probably not says Met Office after cold weather warnings .   But the less said about the Daily Mail's misleading headline the better (there may be a little snow over some hills in Scotland on Monday, but that is all and it's notable only in that there has been so little so far!).  To be fair, several other media outlets are running the same headlines, which will no doubt lead to cries of "where is the snow they forecast?" and "the Met Office got it wrong again!" as well as triumphant calls from certain quarters that "see, we said there would be snow!".   You just can't win. And I beg to disagree with the suggestion that ...

Flood leaves Gaza in ruins, UN declares state of emergency Brisbane storm: huge clean-up in Queenslands with more pictures as Brisbane hail storm captured on social media whilst one Herston family trapped inside house after super hailstorm hits Brisbane   Torremolinos tornado: Devastation as freak storm rips through popular Costa del Sol holiday resort   The dangers of snow clearing: two New York children, buried under snow for hours, rescued by local police   Met Office expects autumn to be UK's third warmest for more than 100 years (ie, since records began) - and still no sign of any cold or snowy weather on the horizon.

Brisbane storms catches city by surprise with widspread damage from winds and golf ball sized hailstones.  And in the west, wild storm brings havoc to Perth Thanksgiving Day disruption as nor'easter storm blasts eastern US with heavy rain and snow What happens in Siberia if it's so cold the brakes on the plane freeze? "If you want to fly, give the plane a push" A report from the Royal Society reports that risk from extreme weather is set to rise (which to be fair, would be the case whatever was going on with the climate, simply by virtue of more and more people living in places already prone to extreme weather events, or even, as in Britain, just living on existing floodplains). And other studies likewise tells us only what we already knew (and I've mentioned here numerous times over the past few years) that geo-engineering: climate fixes 'could harm billions' Renewables 'biggest power source' in Scotland.  Except when it is...

Fierce winds 'no joke' as damage mounts in Toronto Flood fears ease in snowy Buffalo Antarctic ice thicker than previously thought, study finds And global warming skeptics unmoved by extreme weather

Morroco flash flood leaves dozens dead In South Africa, tornado sweeps through KZN Strong earthquake hits central Japan, destroying buildinsg in ski town and there have been four dead in China earthquake this weekend. Buffalo braces for flooding as seven feet of snow starts melting But in the SW, as snow fades, California residents are left high and very dry More than 100 glaciers have vanished from Glacier National Park - and soon there will be none Spectacular sea fog blankets Sydney during heatwave as NSW records its hottest ever November day, whilst today in Sydney, 15,000 properties lose power as bureau warns of damaging hail in regional NSW And  extreme weather 'could become normal' warms World Bank report

Sadly, regional newspapers have been conned into publishing more utter crap as, for example, it is claimed snow and record low temperatures could hit south west within days .  The story is just a repeat of the lies Nathan Rao spread earlier in the week and shows that regional media are no better than anyone else at checking basic facts!  Mind the Telegraph isn't much better warning winter to arrive with below-freezing icy blast - with overnight temperatures predicted to fall to -4c in the Scottish Highlands on Sunday!  Oh my!  There is no unusually cold weather on the horizon and certainly no snow apart from some transient falls over higher hills, mainly in Scotland - and we're set to see November end as yet another warmer than normal month. Meanwhile, the heat goes on: Earth headed for warmest year on record as NOAA data confirms October the warmest ever recorded.  The 4th such this year.  So it's not just us. Buildings collapse and thirtee...

Flood fears as snowfall in north-eastern USA subsides whilst dramatic aerial photos show force of Buffalo storm Australia sizzles: more than 25 bushfires burning as heatwave hits eastern states Reindeer threatened after heavy rains in Norway freeze their food solid Denmark to have second warmest autumn ever Giant sinkhole swallows up old min in Russia's Urals And some great mammatus pictures by Mike Hollingshead

Northern US braced for more snowstorms after seven die and why is record cold and snow hitting US so early?    Also, from the MetO, more on US snowfall and will it impact UK?   (short answer, no - and the only place it may drop to -7c is the summit of Cairngorm, whatever Nathan Rao might say! ) Commuter chaos and blackouts as storm hits southeast Queensland whilst further south yet another heatwave begins with NSW rural fire service warning of a severe fire danger throughout the state Researchers prove for first time that ash clouds can cross Atlantic ocean And careful where you swim (not that you would till next summer now), because acid rain has turned Canadian lakes into a kind of jelly

The Yanks continue to pinch all the cold and snow .....  with 4 killed as 'thunder snow' slams New York and all 50 US states sink below freezing point after second polar plunge dumps five feet of snow on Great Lakes .  Some early signs that we could see some colder weather in Britain by the beginning of December, though no severe frosts or snow to low level at all likely at present. Commuter chaos as storm halts trains, floods streets in Brisbane Drone captures aftermath of Italy floods Sun's magnetic field boosts lightning strikes across UK - though I think I will need to see a bit more lightning that the one big storm we had in July before I am convinced! Chelyabinsk meteor #2? Massive flash over Russia’s Urals stuns locals & scientists And the Jurassic climate of large swath of western US was more complex than previously known - just in case anyone was thinking of building a time machine and popping back there for a holiday any time soon ......

Arctic blast that killed 11 people over the weekend sweeps across the US, leaving half of lower 48 states covered in snow - and it is events like this that on the face of it (if you dont think about it) seem to support the assertions of a so-called climatologist: 30-year cold spell strikes Earth .  In fact, it seems he's just a (former?) aeronautical engineer (working on a space shuttle doesn't make you a climate expert) and is selling a book which, typically, predicts really catastrophic cold weather in about 10 years time: soon enough for the gullible to worry about, but far enough off that by the time it doesn't happen they will have forgotten who scammed them into beleiving in it.   Meanwhile, it has just been discovered that the World extends beyond the borders of the contiguous US states - and it's getting warmer.... Earth has warmest October on record as ocean temperatures top charts (according to NASA, JMA and UAH - NOAA data not yet in) keeping us well on t...

Another rant as the media run another load of complete twaddle, falsely claiming that heavy rain and strong gales expected in 'wettest winter since 1981' .    The Met Office have made no such claim and in any case, since last winter was the wettest on record , this winter can only either beat that, to be the wettest ever, or be the wettest since, er, last year ....  The Mail and most other newspapers - national and local - have made similar claims, which appear to have originated, in of all places,  The Sunday Times .  The full article is behind a paywall and I have not therefore read it all, but from the opening paragraphs this seems to be based on nothing more than the fact that the latest MetO contingency planner's forecast, issued last month, suggested a 25% probability that the period Nov-Jan will be wetter than average, and only 15% that it will be drier than average.    Expect a Met Office rebuttal of the claims later today. ...

Over 50 inches of snow blankets Wisconsin town; possible State record whilst north-east Ohio hammered by first lake effect snow event of the season Temperatures soar as Brisbane records its lowest annual rainfall since 1957 140kmh winds leave path of damage in NZ Eire sees the calm after the storm as rain eases off Rocky Mountain storms lead to new findings about hailstones This summer we had the warmest oceans ever recorded (but they were probably warmer still in the Cretaceous!) Exclusive new pictures inside Siberian crater Alaska shows no sign of rising Arctic methane, NASA study shows Extreme storms erupt in Uranus, baffling astronomers And Mars, too, has macroweather: But weather forecasting on the Red Planet is likely to be even trickier than on Earth

Congratulations to ESA for succesfully making mankind's first soft landing on a comet.  But whilst Philae lander sends back first ever image from comet , with its battery life limited, it's 'time for risks' with comet lander today. Heavy rain causes flooding across Northern Ireland whist there is disruption as hurricane-force winds hit Devon coast and a roof ripped off in Barry as gale force winds hit Wales .   And this morning, M25 'collapses' after roadworks and heavy rain - though it is not as yet clear as to what extent the rain itslef was responsible. Fifth person dies in latest Italian storms Climate change 'will make lightning strike more' - hmmm, believe that when I see it! And it's warmer in Alaska than Texas right now

Couple found dead after landslide engulfs home   after more torrential rain in Liguria, Italy First winter storm of season kills four in Minnesota in weather related traffic accidents as Arctic blast hits Canada and US Dust storm over southern Colorado captured from plane, satellite Pembrokeshire flooding returns as heavy rain continues English coastline flood risk from waves reassessed Rosetta mission: robots heads towards comet surface And just for a laugh, according to the Daily Express we're facing  Britain's 30 days of storms: UK set for half a month's rain in just two hours and if that isn't bad enough, we also have a Polar Vortex Warning: Latest winter weather models show UK faces months of heavy snow .   Both stories are, of course, equally true.  Along with reports that a face of dog faced men have been found living on the Moon and a plague of leprechauns means that after Monday, rainbows will not be seen in Britain or Irelan...

As dubbed by the Weather Channel, winter storm Astro: nearly 400 accidents reported in Minnesota; wisconsin roads covered in snow. Polar vortex: the misused weather term of 2014 - good to see the US media correcting the ignorance of their colleagues! In Italy, two missing in new flood emergency Southern Sweden had 201 days of summer this year - nearly 50 more than usual New leaflet gives walkers and climbers avalanche advice - and a well written piece on the snow that survived summer in Scotland this year Hawaii lava destroys first home in Pahoa And finally common sense prevails, L'Aquila quake: scientists see convictions overturned

Exceptional rain expected in Italy over the next few days with flooding very likely as rare cyclone suspends aircraft activity, power outages reported in Malta.  More on the Mediterannean Cyclone - or Medicane - on Jeff Master's blog Rapidly strengthening monster storm becomes most intense ever for Alaska Heavy rain causes severe flooding in Campbeltown yesterday, with further flooding in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion after downpours in Wales.  And the outlook looks wet for much of the country over the next week or so: expect more floods. Bewick's swans arrival at Slimbridge heralds 'late' winter - and whilst I don't believe their arrival time has any bearing on our winter, I do agree - as mentioned before - that it will be late with a mild December but a notably cold/snowy spell sometime around late January or early February (probably the only really wintry spell for many of us, though a further late burst of cold weather in early Spring is also ...

Severe flooding hits Haiti, Dominican Republic Intense storm headed to Alaska's Aleutian islands With the season now officially over it's been a tale of two oceans: Pacific out-hurricanes Atlantic 'Catastrophic' busfire warming for South Australia In SW Scotland, flooding and landslip shuts A77 north of Cairnryan whilst drivers warned as roads flood in Northern Ireland .  Yes, it's autumn and it's wet.  Again.  With plenty more rain expected this month - but nothing cold yet on the horizon.  Despite what some idiot newspapers might suggest. Italy swamped by flash floods whilst rare tornado tears through Catania, Italy Rare, spectacular weather phenomenom rattles social media as irridescence appears in a fallstreak and is captured on camera.

In France, one dead as storm batters south-east   Tuscany residents saved as floods hit Italy Storm causes chaos in Sydney as 6000 lightning strikes hit in one hour First snow of the season falls across Snowdonia Death toll in BA province flooding rises to three Typhoon Nuri slowly weakens And Japan's kamikaze winds, the stuff of legend, may have been real

In Argentina BA, province keep flooding after endless rain More flooding as south-eastern France hit by violent storms At least one dead after train crashes in cyclone in eastern Siberia Maine digs out of first nor'easter that dropped more than a foot of snow and left 80,000 without power Could rain save Hawaiian town from destruction?   Probably not, but it has briefly slowed the very slow advance of the lava. Arctic warming: scientists identify new driver - basically a new positive feeback: open oceans hold more infrared energy, making them warmer, making more sea ice melt ....

In the US, a powerful storm brings record snow to Southeast before it slams into New England with plenty of pictures in the Daily Mail as snow blankets parts of the South Here on Sunday, tornado leaves path of destruction in Leicestershire Bushfire emergency in Blue Mountains as Sydney experiences hottest day since January Sri Lanka landslide: 38 feared dead as death toll revised down After rapidly intensifying Super Typhoon Nuri may planet's strongest storm of 2014 Fossil fuels should be phased out by 2100 says IPCC - wot!?  No more Victorian technology to light our homes?!! Experts predict ice-free Arctic by 2020 on same day UN releases climate report - note to Wattsy & co: one expert making a prediction is not a statement of fact. 2014 Antarctic ozone hole holds steady And Highland Council's 430 million year old headache - geology makes further landslides inevitable on the Stromeferry by-pass

Yesterday saw temperatures smash the previous UK date record across a large swathe of England with Gravesend and Kew Gardens coming top at 23.6c - some 3.6c above the previous UK date record.  Quite a remarkable end to the month as we experience the warmest UK Halloween on record   Severe flooding hits western Norway earlier this week Over 1,000 people evacuated over floods in BA city, province in Argentina Sri Lanka landslide: hopes fade for '100 buried' Costa Rica on alert after Turrialba volcano spews ash Amazon rainforest losing ability to regulate climate, scientist warns And finally, yet another case of very poor, misleading journalism as it's claimed the Met Office warns this winter could be the worst for 100 years!    Which of course they are not, far from it.  It is only Nathan Rao of the Daily Express who makes that claim .....   But it shows how readily any weather prediction - however ridiculous - becomes fals...