Weather & Earth Science News

First direct observation of carbon dioxide's increasing greenhouse effect at Earth's surface UK very likely to have its sunniest winter on record (although it's pretty grey and dull today) And February now the coldest month on record in London .......... Ontario Winter storm brings travel chaos to north Texas meanwhile, in the NE, the battle to keep the Hudson open: Ice breakers sent out in New York big freeze as hundreds flock to see ice caves opened by perfect winter conditions Rare hole-punch clouds cause spectacle in the sky over Washington and British Colombia   Flooding in Madagascar's capital kills 14, uproots thousands

Avalanches caused by heavy snow kill at least 124 people in Afghanistan - latest reports now have the death toll over 200 Bolivia flooding displaces thousands in Pando province whilst in Brazil, drought-stricken Sao Paulo hit by floods In the US, at least four deaths across the South blamed on winter storm Remus And slurpee waves!  The moment semi-frozen breakers rolled ashore in New England amid record cold The rain in Spain falls mainly .... everywhere At least in part, the interaction of Atlantic and Pacific oscillations caused 'false pause' in warming The Earth has had 30 straight years of record monthly temperatures - the last time we experienced a month that was below the 1901-2000 average was February 1985 It's hardly a surprise, but felling of tropical trees has soared, satellite shows, not slowed as UN study found And meet Sasha - the world's only baby woolly rhino

Deep freeze descends on large parts of US as cold weather breaks records and likewise in Canada as record cold in February caused by arctic air carried by jet stream        Ocean circulation change: Sea level spiked for two years along Northeastern North America Powerful storm brings flooding, heavy snow to Pakistan and Afghanistan And will the Arctic be ice-free in 40 years? Expert claims temperatures in polar regions are rising four times faster than the rest of the plane t.  Well, it could.  All else being equal.   Doesn't mean it will, nor if it is not that those making such predictions were wrong ....

More signs of climate change?  Dozens of new craters suspected in northern Russia In the US, Texas hit by ice storm as frigid weather returns to winter-weary east with snow on the ground in 48 states as 'Siberian Express' sweeps south whilst one enterprising Boston man builds 40ft tunnel to commute to work .   Yle meteorologist: Spring is here - sort of, maybe - in Finland it's determined when average daytime temperatures rise above 0c .... Perth set for 41c scorcher, State faces widespread fire bans as temperature soars whilst massive bushfires, more intense heatwaves tipped for WA in Climate Council report Snow, sandstorms disrupt roads in China Hundreds of Palestinians left homeless by heavy flooding Malaysia ready to face extreme heat wave Central Spain rumbles as earthquake hits

Britain braced for 50ft supertides, flooding, snowstorms and ice as winter roars back with a vengeance Crowds flock to French coast for 'supertides' Australia storms: Army deployed in massive clean-up Taps run dry in Brazil's biggest city as drought bites And no wonder we get so few in Evesham: thunderstorms are more common in cities than the in countryside - and its all down to pollution

It’s Sharknado! Cyclone Marcia leaves ocean predator stranded on the sand… as surfers hit the beach and houses collapse into the ocean , with Queensland and NT braced for for flooding amid heavy rain Rains, snow dwindle as winter storm abates in Israel Despite cold, Great Lakes' ice recedes 'Supertides' batter French coastline And finally, a strange, true tale as climbers mystified by 'bloodcurdling screaming' on Ben Nevis ....

Cyclone Marcia unleashes her fury on Queensland, whilst Cyclone Lam shrinks to category two in NT Record-breaking cold descends on eastern US - so cold that Niagra Falls has almost completely frozen over .  But already spring has sprung in Oregon Jersualem wakes to blanket of white after overnight storm whilst schools ordered shut as Storm Windy buries Lebannon towns under snow and snow breaks Istanbul record in Mideast cold snap Roads closed in Wales and flood alerts in place over fears of rare super tide Weird weather plot thickens as Arctic swiftly warms Climate change is expanding the tropics - meaning more places at risk of powerful tropical storms Some rain falls faster than physics says it should And an alien star system buzzed the Sun just 70,000 years ago.  Maybe it was Nibiru?!!!

US Federal government shut by snow: Workers stay home as snow sweeps Virginia and DC, and leaves 330,000 across the South without power - but despite the cold in the Northeast, nationally its been one of the warmest winters on record in the USA ... In Canada too, Toronto cold weather wreaks havoc on city infrastructure   whilst out west, ski hills in Alberta, B.C. suffer from unusually warm weather Cyclone Lam: Indigenous communities evacuated as category three storm intensifies  And finally, the Daily Mirror have bizarrely decided that sundogs are a rare, once in a lifetime weather phenomenon ....  in which case I must have lived hundreds of lives!

Huge snowstorm paralyses central US as New York cold hits record lows whilst ice storm coats south from Oklahoma to Carolinas, heads to northeast Tropical Cyclone Lam: Tourists leave, locals prepare as NT storms head for coast Now seven dead in Cordoba river floods First-ever evidence of drastic climate change of northern China region 4,200 years ago Mystery Mars haze baffles scientists And can the CIA weaponise the weather?    (or, indeed, anyone else?) In short: no.   A bit of cloud seeding is still as far as it goes ...

Lhasa sees heaviest snow in two decades - I assume that the 17.3mm figure refers to precipitation (ie melted snow measured in a rain gauge), which then resulted in up to 13cm level snow cover.   Doesn't seem a lot either way! Winter storm wallops Maritimes while central Canada spends Sunday in deep freeze as Massachusetts braces for snowstorm, fourth since early January Avalanche 'big enough to bury car' recorded in Highlands The biggest in Queensland for 80 years, Eidsvold earthquake like a "stampede of possums" Two cyclones to buffet Queensland from different directions whilst the Far North's wet weather to keep rolling all week Video captures tornado striking Pokolbin in NSW Hunter Valley Three dead, two missing after Cordoba river floods in Argentina 'Next Pinatubo' a test of geoengineering

In Saudi Arabia Kingdom prays for rain - obviously they have yet to enter the 15th century ....  Although if it were true that their "misdeeds prevent rainfall" it may never rain there again! Lack of snow means 2015 Iditarod to start in Fairbanks, 2nd time in 42 years DSCOVR 'space weather' mission launches And an interesting piece from the New York Times on a campaign to drop the term 'climate skeptic', raising the question of what to call a doubter of climate change?

Region braces for yet another punishing wallop as another snowstorm bears down on Boston and New England this weekend.  So could this end up Boston's worst winter? In the Middle East, Lebannon schools remain closed as storm subsides After orange snow, now mystery blue snow fallout in Chelyabinsk alarms residents Tornado sweeps through Ho Chi Minh City's District 7 Warming pushes western US towards driest period in 1,000 years A new study reveals that around 8 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the oceans per year - and none of  it will ever go away ....  Though some will be in your fish supper tonight.  And in millions of years time, it will clearly state 'Killroy was here' in the geological record. And just for fun ... could huge alien 'air monsters' live inside the clouds above Earth?

Storm 'Yohan' damages Lebannon coastal roads as sandstorm continues to hit Mideast with ports closed, flights grounded .   Bad weather hits Greece with snow and low temperatures whilst in Cyprus severe weather causes problems in Paphos and another round of snowfall hits Turkey . Snow collapses roofs of several Mass. buildings Bright light seen across northern skies in NZ was probably a meteor NASA study shows global sea ice diminishing, despite Antarctic gains And once again, scientists urge more research on climate intervention - though they remain opposed to most geoengineering proposals - with more from Karl Mathiesen in the Guardian on is geoengineering a bad idea?

Third straight Monday winter storm brings freezing rain to NYC with yet another snow storm predicted for Northeast later this week.  Meanwhile, the chances of seeing a level 1cm of snow in Evesham this winter remain at zero ....   So how bad is Boston's winter?  They've run out of room to dump the snow . Nevada dust blamed for 'milky' rain in US Pacific Northwest How North Sea helicopters cause lightning to strike Jakarta floods displace thousands Heart of Earth's inner core reveals - and no dinosaurs, Nazi UFOs or Aghartans to be seen .... The Sun's activity in the 18th century was similar to that now - so, since the Sun is the primary controller of our climate and human activity has a negligable effect, global climate ought be similar too.  Right?   Ah .... Australia's scorching 2013 heat record was 'virtually impossible' without global warming New evidence of global warming: Remote lakes in Ecuador not ...

Snow storm hits New England again, emergency declared in Mass. whilst on the other side of the continent, in B.C., Kitamaat Village evacuated after three days without power due to near record snowfall Is the mysterious 'milky rain' falling over Pacific Northwest made from ash spewed by Japan's Sakurajima volcano? In southern Finland, gloominess as record levels this winter And slightly imaginative maps show what major US cities would look like if world's glaciers melted

Woman killed in Albanian floods as rain and snow batter Balkans with Albanian floods made worse by deforestation, Prime Minister says - very likely!   The floods are reportedly the worst since 1971. Three pensioners die in Italy snow Heavy snowfalls force Sweden's elk on urban food hunt Storm in California knocks out power, delays flights  Cloudy with a chance of acid rain: Extraterrestrial weather forecasts reveal why we shouldn't complain about showers on Earth

Rubbing it in further for us in snowless England .... winter storm causing havoc in southern Europe as Snow traps over 200 motorists in Spain and cold snap brings heavy snow to Italy , whilst further south, Pompeii wall collapses amid heavy rain .   There were some light snow flurries in parts of the SE yesterday, but some parts of England have yet to see even very temporary snow cover (including Evesham, apart from a few minutes in the early hours of last Saturday morning) this winter, and with high pressure dominating for at least the next week, the chances of it occurring diminish by the day .... Decades-old snowfall record broken in Sweden Australia on heatwave alert as temperatures set to soar (again) - and my provisional "antipodean SLATless forecast" for Britain this summer is for some good, hot weather and quite a few thunderstorms.   Much like last year in fact.  Some local records possible even. In Thailand, RID issues drought alert a...

Hokkaido town buried under nearly 2 meters of snow At least eight killed as huge storm batters Turkey Ice danger for millions as snowstorm death toll climbs to 15 in the US whilst in Canada city declares state of emergency for south-central areas of Saint John in New Brunswick Aerial pictures show blanket of snow covering the UK - or, rather, a part of the UK .....  and even there they had little more than a dusting. A monster bushfire scorches WA's south whilst in Perth man found dead on footpath believed to have been struck by lightning Most China cities fail to meet air quality standards Iceland's volcanic eruption stokes toxic gas fears And NZ study unravels mystery of Antarctic sea ice - and why the fact it is increasing in eastern Antarctica is not proof that there is no global warming!

In the US, Boston buried: Record 15 inches of snow dumped on city as Storm Linus causes havoc across Northeast and Midwest - those 15 inches meant Boston history made with new snowfall record for the city's snowiest ever week, London wakes up to snow , as do some places down on the south coast.  But, as usual, nothing in Evesham ...   No "Siberian gales" in the outlook either! In Greece, wind, rain cause major damage across country whilst soldiers rescue villages from Balkans flooding and Bulgaria grapples with aftermath of torrential rain Heavy snow in the Alps with more severe weather set for south-west France   And orange snow covers Russian city, bewilders residents Another day in Perth, another spectacular thunderstorm Smoke from fires linked to tornado intensity   Does cold weather sometimes feel worse than it is?    Global warming slowdown: No systematic errors in climate models, comprehensive stati...

Flash floods hit Greece, Albania, force evacuations   San Francisco gets no rain in January for first time in 165 years Heavy snow hits the Midwest as the northeast US braces for second major snowstorm in a week Lots of nice pictures in the Mail as Britain braces for another week of extreme weather with forecasters predicting snow for much of the country Mountaineer killed after avalanche in Scotland whilst the avalanche death toll in Swiss Alps rises to 11 in the past 4 days 7,000 lose power after heavy snow in the Pyrenees, with two dead as storms batter Spain Thunderstorms bring high winds, rain to Perth and northern agricultural areas