Weather & Earth Science News

More snow brings 'nasty' travel conditions to some parts of the country as snow causes major disruption at Glasgow Airport whilst down in the SW flats flooded and motorists trapped in flood water after storm batters Devon In Malta: Plane blown into airport building by strong winds One dead after crane crashes down on building during storm in Belgium Brutal cold spell sets record lows across the US From America's hurricanes to Portugal's fires, ABC Weather looks back at 2017's deadly extremes And how Bali's tourist beaches are disappearing under a mountain of plastic garbage with 100 tons of rubbish being removed each day

European storm Bruno: Man dies after being blown off balcony as Spain remains on alert Arctic cold grips Canada, northern United States as Environment Canada says long-lasting cold wave unusual for this time of year   It was 'ankle deep with marble size hail': Homes damaged as 'super-storm' slams into Queensland on Boxing Day

Christmas storm buries Pennsylvania city in more than five feet of snow Here, snow sparks road warnings and power cuts today with even around an inch of slushy snow in Evesham.  Second snowfall here of the winter.  And it was a white Christmas for some areas of UK - but no major towns or cities. Cyclone Tembin: Tropical storm left 240 dead as it cut a swathe across the Philippines but storm weakens as it nears southern Vietnam In Australia Cyclone Hilda hits WA mainland, Broome lashed with 100kmph winds Car ban in place as northern Italian cities fight smog Mars: Not as dry as it seems - but the water is locked in rocks

A rare ‘ghost snow tsunami’ wave caught on camera in Wyoming Italian island gets its first snow in 18 years Hopes fade for dozens missing after Tropical Storm Kai Tak pummels Philippines Warming seas double snowfall around North America's tallest peaks  A new paper from Svensmark on the missing link between exploding stars, clouds, and climate on Earth (Svensmark however believes that this explains all 20th century warming, rather than any anthropogenic factors - Mayhew's Law begs to differ ....)  And ancient fossil microorganisms indicate that life in the universe is common

Storm in Victoria: Buildings damaged, thousands lose power whilst in NSW, western Sydney sweats through new record high 15C hotter than city's beaches in SA, spectacular 'spider lightning' lights up Glenelg beach during storms overnight and WA drenched in huge rainstorm Unfortunately, it appears not to be a dead spaceship, but interstellar object may hold 'alien' water And a new approach promises early warnings of soggy summers

Freak hail & thunderstorms batter UAE desert Death toll rises to 32, dozens missing after Typhoon Kai-tak ravages Philippine province, local authorities say In Chile: Landslide destroys village and kills at least five An extreme heatwave heads to outback towns in Queensland, NSW At least 1 dead as 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia And rising seas will displace 150 million people by 2100, says climate report - which, unsurpisingly, has a different projection of sea level rises to all other studies (none of which ever seem to agree .... )

In parts of Scotland there's a 'stay at home' warning over ice on roads as bookies look set to make money on white christmas gambling - odds continue to fall (down to 7/4 for London!) despite there currently being little sign of snow even in the Highlands on the 25th .....  (though that may yet change) 60 million-year-old meteorite impact found on Skye California fires: Sentinel satellite tracks wildfire smoke plume One dead, thousands flee as storm pounds Philippines   Effects of climate change could accelerate by mid-century Temperatures in Alaska warmed so rapidly this year that a computer rejected the data as false And a real puzzle: If the Ancient Greeks knew the Earth was round, why do so many celebrities think it's FLAT?

In the Philippines, Tropical Storm Urduja brings landslides, floods to Eastern Samar - it's expected to make landfall in the next 24 hours The Arctic saw 2nd warmest year, smallest winter sea ice coverage on record in 2017 A dramatic time lapse shows 'fire cloud' collapsing in the Thomas Fire in California How deadly Storm Ana wreaks havoc in Portugal earlier this week And it looks like Mars overdue a planet-wide dust storm that could harm the rovers

In Australia, Penrith hits temperature record as hottest December day recorded at 43.4 degrees One dead as storm sweeps Switzerland Now it's floods (and more snow): Drivers are stranded and dozens of schools stay shut for third day  but this morning the snow and ice has largely cleared for most. Human-caused warming likely intensified Hurricane Harvey's rains as it's calculated that Hurricane Harvey rainfall 'weighed 127bn tonnes' Meanwhile scientists conclude, based in 2016 extreme weather events, that humans have 'changed world's climate for the first time' Did air pollution cause a deadly Chinese landslide? The oldest ice core ever drilled outside the polar regions goes back 600,000 years and was drilled in Tibet It appears that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet has history of instability How Greenland would look without its ice sheet And how giant storms cause palpitations in Saturn's atmospheri...

Warmer Arctic is the 'new normal' as a study shows how fires are changing the tundra’s face Roads closed, buses stuck in Montreal's 1st major snowstorm 'Flash freeze' hits flights at Glasgow Airport A mystery as thousands of ice balls wash up on Russian coast - or is it?  Some with less short memories may recall the same story last year ..... California Thomas Fire: No end in sight for week-long wildfire In NZ, Wellington welcomes arrival of rain, after almost 30 days without it The mesmerising moment a rare double moonbow appears in front of shimmering Northern Lights is captured in a stunning image Jupiter Great Red Spot has deep roots And 'alien bright spots' could be proof Ceres is not a dead world: NASA reveals they could be a sign of geologic activity

Not as cold here as expected overnight, with a min of just -6.1c - though that's still the lowest temp I have recorded since 4th Feb 2012.   Still plenty of (frozen) snow around - expected to clear as (slightly) milder weather moves in overnight.   Still relatively cold though till next week when we look likely to see above average temps for the run up to Christmas ......  But how long will they last?   No-one yet knows ......    UK snow: Ice warning as commuters faced delays Meanwhile, snow in Europe triggers transport chaos as Storm Ana slams Europe Residents evacuated, traffic disrupted as snow and ice continue to batter Italy Winds wreak damage in southern Poland And there are avalanche warnings as Valais recovers from record snowfall In South Africa, Midvaal Tornado leaves hundreds displaced and multiple injured US flood risk 'severely underestimated' - with 3 times as many household at risk ...

Heavy snow and flooding hits homes, roads and rail in Wales whilst in SW England the wind brings down power lines and disrupts travel and  heavy snow causes 11-car pileup on the A19 as cold weather sparks road, rail and flight chaos across Britain forcing hundreds of schools to close as heavy snow disrupts road, air travel in UK, northern Europe At it's peak we had around 4" (10cm) of snow in my garden - the best snowfall here since December 2010. Meanwhile, today snow and ice thaws after hundreds of accidents on Germany’s streets And next time a sporting event is cancelled due to snow, remember this: NFL match fought in incredible snow storm sees Buffalo Bills edge Indianapolis Colts in overtime California's Thomas Fire scorches area larger than New York City December ‘heat wave’ is warmest in 73 years for Juneau Severe weekend storm could take weeks to fully repair homes in south-east Queensland In NZ, Christchurch's nu...

In the US, snow blankets much of Deep South on weekend trek up East Coast to New England Meanwhile, back home, UK snow: Ice could add to travel disruption as temperatures drop - tomorrow and Monday could be rather "interesting" ......  It's already been the 'Worst Isle of Man snow since 2013' and the same is likely to apply to much of Wales and the Midlands tomorrow.   As happened in 2013, though, I am expecting no more than a bit of slush .... California wildfires: Businesses face ruin as blaze rages CCTV captures dramatic footage of a tornado as it tears through a warehouse turning it to rubble And sweltering 2017 puts Hong Kong on track for hottest temperature and highest number of warm nights in its recorded history

First decent snow shower in years here in Evesham this morning - and a chance of quite a bit more to come over the next few days as snow, ice bring disruption after Storm Caroline But nothing we get is likely to be quite this severe:  Alaska just reported one of the most extreme snowfall rates on record: 10 inches per hour And even more unusually it's snowing in south Texas! Yes, you read that right In the ongoing California wildfires: Nearly 200,000 flee amid new blaze In NZ, baking-hot Christchurch could break dryness records  French bishop issues call for three days of prayers... for rain Extreme weather system Aina batters Norway South African heatwave brings record-setting temperatures across WC Birth of a storm in the Arabian Sea validates climate model And a slightly off-topic but interesting piece on what geomythology can te...

Winter-like weather sweeps across western Queensland - with the temperature in Burketown dropping to +16c and Mount Isa seeing a December record minimum of ......  +12c    Some Aussies found it so cold they had to put a t-shirt on! La Nina declared heralding a humid, wet summer for Australia's south How future arctic sea ice loss could dry out California And as Britain faces the prospect of the coldest, snowiest, December since 2010, a good blog piece by Liam Dutton on why you shouldn’t believe a UK snow forecast more than three days ahead

Taiwan rainbow 'lasts record-breaking nine hours' - if confirmed, it breaks the record previously set in 1994.  In Yorkshire.  Albania braces for fifth day of severe floods Summer in Tasmania brings torrential rain to dry east coast, snowfalls in Central Highlands Watch: mega-storm lights up the skies over Australia (but not if you suffer photo-sensitive epilepsy!) Sydney Harbour spills over into CBD due to supermoon NZ experiences a marine heatwave unfolding as hot temperatures continue Darwin storms: Bureau of Meteorology rain gauge breaks during downpour   Thailand flood death toll rises to 15 India v Sri Lanka Test match halted by smog in Delhi California wildfire: Thousands evacuated in Ventura County Across the US, what happened to winter?  It's not arrived there yet.  But it could hit Britain the end of this week .... Trickle-down is the solution (to the planetary core formation problem) Possi...

An enormous waterspout forms off Italian coast before tornado hits whilst here another waterspout caught on video off coast of Cornwall near Tintagel and Boscastle So far the predicted deluge in SE Australia hasn't been a s bad a feared.  However, in Victoria,  homes flood in Euroa, state's north-east on alert as 1,500 call SES for help whilst in Canberra emergency services to work throughout the night in response to heavy rain .  So whilst it's not been bad in Melbourne, cut the snarkiness and leave BOM alone   Torrential rain, floods paralyse Albania; 1 person dead whilst from elsewhere, pictures of snow as winter weather comes early to Europe New Sentinel satellite tracks dirty air And gravity signals rapidly show true size of giant quakes

As forecast, flash floods hit Melbourne as storm moves across Victoria and an explanation of why south-east Australia is expecting a tropical deluge this weekend Cyclone Ockhi: Dozens of fishermen missing in Indian storm Yesterday saw snow falls on England's east coast beaches whilst a tiny amount of snow hit London and people couldn't contain themselves - but it might be all they see this winter!   No signs of anything for Evesham just yet.  But the weather may turn interesting in a week's time .... Meanwhile, the new radar on Lewis can measure size of snowflakes - so we shoukld get more accurate radar returns from that corner of the Isles. After the successful tranbsfer of data from the Ben Nevis Observatory, there's now an even bigger huge weather rescue project under way And how Alaska's coast is vanishing, 1 storm at a time as Arctic sea ice hits record lows off Alaska