Weather & Earth Science News

Auckland weather bomb breaks June record for heaviest rainfall In the Solomon Islands, Rennell record lowest temperature ever - just 17c .... But it's also been NZ's warmest start to the year on record Tornado spotted in Suffolk Severe drought in India leads to rise in violence as neighbours are prepared to kill to slake their thirst And a regional headline that puts the Daily Express to shame: Bookies slash odds on snow as summer shapes up to be the coldest ever - this comes as June look like ending around 1.5c warmer than average ...  (and snow falling at 4,000ft in the Highlands in June is as unusual as rain falling in Wimbledon this time of year ... )

Freezing temperatures see snow blanket parts of NSW and Queensland as the big chill continues to sweep the country   Lightning sparked dozens of new wildfires across Alaska over the weekend Malaysia's terrifying cloud formations nothing to fear, says expert  Look out Noah: Tropical cyclone develops in the Arabian Sea Super-slow circulation allowed world's oceans to store huge amounts of carbon during last ice age   How we turn peatlands from fire breaks to fire hazards A 'water windfall' discovered beneath California's Central Valley - but it may not be easy to access ... Giant blobs of rock, deep inside the Earth, hold important clues about our planet The latest NASA rover findings point to a more Earth-like Martian past   Jupiter climate creates amazing fireball images   And an incredible image shows solar activity at its quietest in 100 years - but it won't trigger a mini-ice age!

Flood-ravaged West Virginia bracing for more rain Plummeting temperatures see Sydney, Brisbane and Perth all record their coldest day of the year - well, it is mid winter! Two rescued from submerged car in 'significant' flooding in Kent on Saturday Where have all the cyclones gone? And dinosaur eggs, meteorites, signs of an ancient civilisation: what are these giant balls?   Just natural concretiohns, but impressive all the same

Burning house is swept away by West Virginia's worst flooding in a century that left 23 dead including two young boys Meanwhile, on the other side of the country California wildfire kills an elderly couple, destroys 80 homes, threatens 1,500 more and triggers evacuation In Australia, winter finally arrives with a 'season defining' snow dump hailed by ski resorts as Sydney shivers whilst gale-force winds hit southern Queensland, as temperatures drop across state and in Tasmania men caught in Midlands floodwaters plucked from swollen creek by helicopter   Italian seaside resort promises rain refunds   Algae Is Turning Snow Pink and Melting Arctic Glaciers, Study Finds Researchers offer new theory on how climate affects violence Nasa spots giant chasm on Pluto's moon Charon that is 430 miles long and has cliffs over five miles high And the 'clock is ticking' for megaquake in Missouri that could cause 'all hell to break l...

Yesterday saw travel disruption and floods warnings as South East hit by more rain   with terror as 4ft log smashes through window after lightning ‘explodes’ tree 5 Dead in Romania heat wave, some in comas Toddler Swept Away in West Virginia Flash Floods   Heat wave smashes temperature records in Southwest whilst a wildfire ravages dozens of homes in central California In Alberta, Canada a 'crazy' storm leaves High Level main street knee deep in water   Australia's east coast shivers through cold snap   In China, tornado and hail kill scores in Jiangsu whilst a flash flood consumes Chinese shopping centre   Indian farmers demand action as lightning kills 93 people in two days A warning from the past: Future global warming could be even warmer   Possible solution to 'faint young Sun paradox'   Hubble confirms new dark spot on Neptune And finally, on a separate note, it seems we are all going to ...

Cypriot public warned as heat wave takes hold and a second firefighter dies tackling Cyprus forest fires Heat wave knocks out power to thousands in Southern California as the death toll from Southwest heat wave rises and a Los Angeles Suburb Evacuated as Pair of Wildfires Burn Over 5,000 Acres In NZ, 'mini tornado' rips through rural Northland area whilst severe weather floods houses in Auckland   Tropical Storm Danielle dissipates over Mexico   Lightning in Indian states 'kills 79' - although as has been noted before, it's not that unusual with some 2,000 such deaths a year on the sun-continent. Bangkok experiences its heaviest rain in 25 years, governor says   Retreating Yukon glacier makes river disappear Airplanes make clouds brighter (sometimes) It seems an ocean lies a few kilometers beneath Saturn's moon Enceladu...

Danielle heads for Mexico as the earliest 4th named Atlantic storm on record   New wildfires erupt in California as heatwave strikes west coast   Second firefighter dies tackling Cyprus forest fires Heavy floods hit parts of Bangkok   In Japan, 5 dead, 1 missing as heavy rain hits Kumamoto Prefecture Is Iceland’s Hekla volcano really about to blow? Although there's a warning it may be, that doesn't mean it will .... And the mystery of powerful lightning at sea not solved completely

In the US, an intense 120F heatwave kills four as 'life threatening' temperatures spark wildfires across four Southwestern states 'Tornado' rips roofs off homes and causes major flooding in Queensland - as NSW and Victoria braces for wild weather from huge East Coast low Images show havoc wreaked by severe floods in China that have killed 25 people and displaced more than 30,000   Death toll from Indonesia floods, landslides rises to 43, disaster agency says In Scotland, video and pictures capture full scale of weekend flooding in north-east town Tragedy on Russia Lake Syamozero: Children die after storm catches boating group      Weather turns tropical across Siberia as abnormal summer heat roasts six regions Melt ponds suggest no Arctic sea-ice record this year And it's raining furniture! Miami storm wreaks havoc as chairs and loungers tumble from sky

A final big soaking on the way home from work, with a solitary crack of thunder .... and the spell of thundery weather comes to an end.   But I think we may well see more this summer.  Meanwhile, some more pictures of the weeks events as flash flooding traps motorists in their cars and forces others into alternative forms of transport Alice Springs residents make the most of a massive hail storm that turned the red centre white In the Northern Territiory, 23pc of Darwin's rural bores 'could run dry' as short wet seasons take toll But in Quuensland, there's been record-breaking rain in state’s west ahead of heavy falls expect to hit southeast on Sunday Washington DC gets a  ‘Hailstorm from hell’: How Thursday’s storms downed trees and dropped baseball-size hail whilst more baseball-sized hail pounds Virginia too. California wildfire triples in size as heatwave looms Torrential rain in Singapore causes flash floods, fallen trees and th...

On Wednesday, Birmingham floods: Parts of the Bullring and Mailbox closed and after it rained virtually all day there yesterday, flash flooding traps motorists in their cars .  There was more flash flooding in other parts of the country too with drivers stranded by flash floods in Wigan for example.  Here, we had nothing until a bit of light rain late in the evening .... And it's not just us getting wet: Floods leave many dead in southern Ghana Whilst 'Plum Rains' bring further flooding to southern China In western Canada, flooding rains prompt state of emergency in northeast B.C. A man killed in severe storms in Midwest, South; tens of thousands lose power And it just snowed in Hawaii. In June.   Tourists trapped after dusty outback Australia is drenched in rare downpour ahead of wild weekend weather .  And as the east coast braces for another wet weekend, eastern Australian flood events: a 'significant' rise in frequency, says stud...

It's not just us having heavy showers, as torrential rain, overflowing rivers flood houses, roads across Bulgaria whilst whirlwinds, rain continue to batter Germany Tonga hit by flooding and power cuts   Heat wave in Minnesota causes highway to buckle and sends cars flying into the air British claim Arctic to be ice free this year is 'incorrect' and 'hasty', say Russian scientists and I agree, though a record low year looks likely.  Also, evidence suggests that Arctic was last ice free in summer during the Holocene Climatic Optimum around 6-8,000 years ago.    Not the Eemian interglacial. El Niño likely to boost CO2 in 2016   Future summers could regularly be hotter than the hottest on record   Drying Arctic soils could accelerate greenhouse gas emissions And May 2016 was the 8th consecutive warmest month on record for the Earth, NASA says

Terror as mini tornado lifts bouncy castle 30ft into the air at Friskney in Lincs,  whilst in Manchester, firefighters rescue elderly woman from rising flood water in a wheelie bin and in Evesham I recorded my highest ever rain rate (80.4mm/h) as nearly an inch fell through the course of the day, with some thunder to boot (third time this year!).  And there's more rain to come ... Paraguay shivers in the coldest night of the year as a cold spell continues to grip parts of South America

Greenland witnessed its highest June temperature ever recorded on Thursday - warmer than most parts of Britain ....  Meanwhile the Arctic sea ice hits new record low for May .  And whilst El Nino and other weather patterns may be largely responsible, we've had El Ninos and the same weather patterns many times before ... June snow blankets Alaska's North Slope, Mt. Washington, New Hampshire - although it's not that unusual in either location. A different type of record, which probably won't last much longer: a streak not seen since 1900: Colin was the 144th consecutive Atlantic tropical cyclone to not make U.S. landfall as a major hurricane How El Nino made a nuisance of itself in 2015 in the US More storms, more flash floods in England as 'freak weather' floods Nottingham suburbs after torrential rain , a Telford flash flood leaves residents trapped and closes store with Liverpool hit by storms and heavy rain as well. Meanwhile,...

Wednesday saw three children rescued from London flash floods as weather paints mixed pictures across the UK whilst in the West Midlands roads swamped, cars abandoned and shops evacuated in floods - it remained dry in Evesham, but at 26.5c (26.3c Pershore) was the warmest day so far this year. And was there freak weather at Tan Hill as pub goers are hit with snow and hail...in June! ?  Er, not really.  It was only hail, and the biggest hailstorms  usually occur during summer thunderstorms .... A record-breaking warm winter's day for southern Queensland, BoM says Hydro Tasmania asked to explain cloud seeding in catchment day before flooding - but despite their success claims, I doubt it made any big difference and the floods would have occurred much the same regardless.  Especially since the rain fell over a much wider area that that which was seeded. A week late, the Indian monsoon has arrived on the mainland Greenland's 2015 melt re...

House struck by lightning, twister and flash floods as downpours hit parts of Scotland In Brighton, a month's rain falls in minutes causing flash flooding London flood victim tells of his rescue as forecasters say more thunderstorms and heavy rain are on way And Lisburn lightning strike father and son critically ill after Co Antrim incident No longer tropical storm, Colin still felt in Florida   Drought sparks larger wildfires throughout California In Tasmania, flood-hit spiders find higher ground   Tornado hits Hamburg, more storms predicted for south Germany whilst there is a also video as dramatic and extremely rare twin tornadoes strike Germany last weekend Major glacier at Yangtze River source retreating Are wind farms really bad for your health? And finally, on a very personal note, a very sad week.  Last night I heard that Archie Gillies, 'keeper on the Inverailort Estate, whom I have known for very many year...

Tropical Storm Colin hits Florida with heavy rain, hail and tornadoes cause chaos from Indiana to Florida as Tropical Storm Colin heads for the East Coast Thousands told to evacuate as rivers rise in northern Tasmania whilst in NSW, Collaroy Beach 'loses 50m' after Australia storm .  Meanwhile, up north,  NT's weather 'all wrong' as records tumble in first week of June with record temperatures for the month and unusual rainfall patterns.  And what was climate change's role in eastern Australia's storms ?  As usual, the conclusion is none specifically - and any individual event cannot really be attributed to climate change anyway, only a change in long term frequency/intensity.   Cooling in the North Atlantic could lead to less rainfall in Europe   England not windy enough, admits wind industry chief From Siberia, more details about the appearance of a mysterious crater in 2013: big bang formed crater causing 'glow in sky': explos...

Storms continue to wreak havoc in Australia.  In NSW, two dead in floodwaters, search for missing man at Bondi Beach suspended whilst in Tassie, residents spend night in evacuation centres after major flooding .  Earlier in the weekend, Gold Coast cops worst of severe weather system, but Queensland 'dodged a bullet' Video footage as a large tornado rips through China’s Hainan Province In Germany, at least eleven now dead in 'worst floods for a century' whilst Paris floods ease but fresh alerts in France's north In the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Colin speeds up towards Florida And an ice free Arctic could occur this year, warns expert .  But it probably won't ...

Wild weather kills two people in Brisbane and people in Sydney are warned to 'stay at home' May breaks temperature records in NZ - it was their warmest May on record Paris floods: Seine at 30-year high as galleries close At least 51 injured as lightning strikes Rock am Ring festival in Germany Texas floods: bodies of four soldiers found as death toll rises Arctic sea ice set a record low every single day in May Microplastic particles threaten fish larvae And should we ban palm oil?  I have been saying so for years .... leaked figures show spike in palm oil use for biodiesel in Europe and it's causing global warming and massive rain forest destruction.

Paris floodwaters set to peak as more rain forecast while Bavaria on edge as hunt for flood victims continues And  Liam Dutton explains why has the rain been so intense? Heavy fog causes cancellations at Melbourne airports and a severe weather warning is issued for parts of Queensland In the Atlantic, Bonnie is back from the dead, and another tropical storm may be right around the corner   5 dead, 4 missing after Army truck swept away in Texas flood Astonishing footage captures meteor lighting up the sky over Arizona   Storm wreaks havoc in Pakistan, kills 36 Astronomers probe below Jupiter's cloud tops And the shocking image that shows exactly how global warming is turning the Arctic tundra green

Snow falls in Siberia to mark official start of summer Europe floods: Five dead amid fears of fresh heavy rainfall whilst in the US deadly flooding continues in Plains; evacuations, water rescues in Texas Rainstorm hits central China, thousands evacuated Warming, fires, warming, fires: How tundra wildfires could create an unstoppable cycle - although other research also indicates that melting Alaska may not accelerate climate change as expected, scientists now say And Pluto's polygons may have been formed by convection whilst the mysterious 'Planet Nine' could be an alien exoplanet stolen by our sun 4.5 billion years ago (but it's still not home to the Nibblers ...) 

Back from a sunnhy long weekend on Dartmoor - a full account and pictures will hopefully be posted up here later this week .... Meanwhile, the weather news whilst I was away looks to have been dominated by storms over Europe and in the US: Three people die as thunderstorms batter Germany   Fireman dies in Austria on flooding call out   Heavy rain brings floods to northern France   6 dead in Texas floods, and more rain is coming with Texas river expected to rise to record levels as floods overtake state Whilst in East Anglia intense thunderstorms bring nearly a month's worth of rain in six hours And the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season (the first was Alex - way back in January!) occurred whilst I was away as well: Bonnie shuts down I-95 as it soaks Carolinas   In Nepal, lightning strike casualties on rise 'Snow' fall in Midlands of Zimbabwe .... described as actually being 'sleet' in the story, I am pretty...