Weather & Earth Science News

Beaches closed along Gold and Sunshine Coasts at start of Easter weekend due to cyclonic surf as ex-Iris approaches   Snow causes Easter chaos in southern Sweden - once again, it's not just this country where wintry weather creates problems!  As for us, well for southern Britain the weekend just looks very, very wet ....  But there could be some snow in the north on Monday In the US, flood threat and severe weather sweep South Two students found dead after heavy flood in Lagos NASA visualizes the dance of a melting snowflake which may help identify precipiation type from radar returns The Sahara Desert is expanding - it's area has increased by 10% since 1920.  Two-thirds of this can be attributed to natural cycles.  The rest is likely down to the effects of a warming atmosphere. Another Papua New Guinea earthquake: Strong tremor off New Britain island Worldwide degradation of land and nature threatens prosperity and ...

Earlier this week  orange snow transforms eastern Europe into 'Mars' and more Saharan dust as the Calima wind brings hazy conditions to Canary Islands Cyclone Nora: Rains cut roads, repair crews work to restore power to western Cape communities whilst the subsequent flooding in Cairns worst in a generation, dozens rescued as region's roads cut Marine heatwave recorded in Tasman Sea breaks records, prompts joint climate report West Greenland Ice Sheet melting at the fastest rate in centuries And the Himalayas wettest, warmest on record: Researchers

Cyclone Nora now expected to cross Queensland coast overnight or tomorrow morning , probably as a Cat 3 storm In South Africa, there's chaos as flooding overwhelms parts of Gauteng This year's Arctic wintertime sea ice extent is among lowest on record - despite which, some still make the bizarre claim that NOAA are " are turning an 80 year cooling trend into a warming trend " - ie not only denying that there is any warming at all but claiming the world is actually getting colder! Germany was covered by glaciers 450,000 years ago - 100k earlier than thought How effective are earthquake early warning systems? And Mount Etna is 'sliding towards the sea' - but only at a rate of 14mm a year

Tropical Cyclone Nora: BOM issues warning as storm approaches Gulf of Carpentaria and Cyclone Marcus and Cyclone Nora joined by two other systems as storms converge on Australia Victorian bushfires: Cobden homes evacuated as peat fires continue to burn Heaviest storm of the season hits Southern California The Great Pacific Garbage Patch plastic pollution dwarfs previous estimates and is 'growing exponentially' Interactive map shows you the impact of climate change worldwide And could this be Noah's Flood?  When the Mediteranean Sea flooded human settlements ~7,600 years ago.   No....  Because that was a storm, silly! 

New data confirm increased frequency of extreme weather events in Europe over the past 36 years Spring snow storm blankets eastern US and it's official: NYC hasn't seen snow like this in 130 years The Met Office announce that La Niña cools 2018 CO₂ forecast, but it will remain close to a record year Toxic gases from Indonesian volcano send 30 to hospital Drought-induced changes in forest composition amplify effects of climate change How the Pacific influences European weather in November Not all icebergs are white: Here's what makes them blue, green or striped A star disturbed the comets of the solar system 70,000 years ago And scientists find new evidence for a giant flood in the central Mediterranean Sea around 5.5mya.  No, it wasn't Noah's Flood!

'Significant damage' in Alabama after storms hit Southeast   and the fourth nor'easter in a month threatens to dump a foot of snow from West Virginia to Massachusetts on the first full day of spring whilst thousands are evacuated as powerful storm begins moving into California Tropical Cyclone Marcus is heading for Perth, but you don't need to panic Croatian river levels break records, flood threaten many areas whilst Spain and Germany are blanketed with snow and ice as the spring gets off to a freezing start across Europe .   And in Britain, will cold conditions return? Maybe ....  Easter not looking like being a heatwave. Mysterious aurora Steve seen from Scotland And a warning that ocean plastic could treble in decade

Bushfire in Tathra wipes out 69 homes, residents still unable to return to NSW south coast town with many Tathra bushfire survivors huddled on beach as 'cyclonic' winds fanned destructive blaze 500 rescued at NSW beaches as state swelters through heatwave Canberra dust storm sees more than 1,000 homes lose power An unexpected 6cm of level snow in Evesham yesterday morning, but not enough to cause any disruption locally, as 'Mini Beast from the East' brings snow and -6C chaos... Meanwhile, strong easterly winds and big waves over the weekend leave Hemsby cliff-top homes 'perilously close' to edge The horrifying moment woman gets trapped in her car with water rising inside the vehicle during flash flood in Brazil 17 die in Madagascar tropical storm And a Daily Mail probe finds airborne plastic particles in every sample of shop-bought fish tested

Mystery of purple lights in sky solved with help from citizen scientists - we now know what Steve is ....  Tropical Cyclone Marcus moves past Darwin as police rescue two people .   Now heading for Kimberley. Meanwhile, girls in bikinis dominate the predictions that Sydney to reach its hottest March day on record as 41C scorcher is set to hit the city Pacific heat wave known as ‘The Blob’ appears to be in retreat And soot transported from elsewhere in world contributes little to melting of some Antarctic glaciers

Heavy rains flood Kenya's capital Nairobi In Australia, shelters open, flights cancelled as Top End braces for Tropical Cyclone Marcus A 'mini Beast from the East' brings fresh snow warnings for much of Britain - after 14c here yesterday, it's going to feel a tad cool this weekend ....   Meanwhile, drifting snow shuts Cairngorms' funicular railway tunnel Shrinking mountain snowpack, drier summers spell trouble for Vancouver water supply And just half a degree more global warming could flood out 5 million more people

There's been an exceptionally large amount of winter snow in Northern Hemisphere this year - and whilst I missed out on the snow earlier this month due to flu, therer could be a wee bit again this weekend Meanwhile, for the US, rapid Arctic warming and melting ice are increasing the frequency of blizzards in the Northeast, study finds In Queensland, unofficial weather forecaster Higgins Storm Chasing criticised for alarmist social media flood post Tiwi Islands Football League grand final postponed as region braces for cyclone Kenyan rains: In Kibera, women and children bear brunt of heavy rains Good news for holidaymakers?  Eastern Mediterranean summer will be two months longer by end of 21st century - bet they still get more snow than us in winter though!  Caribbean volcano Kick 'em Jenny: Ships warned off area over fears of a submarine eruption Rising carbon dioxide levels impair coral growth UK MPs warn of 'poisonous air...

Eight injured after powerful tornado in southern Italy as Spring weather disrupts life across the central Mediterranean Latest nor'easter starts to slam storm-battered Northeast USA Tropical Cyclone Linda forms off the Queensland coast Perth's hot autumn weather exceeds last summer's maximum temperature And more evidence that modern humans flourished through ancient supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago

At least 16 Rwanda Seventh-Day Adventist churchgoers killed by lightning In the US, at least two dead as severe overnight thunderstorms batter the Southwest with golf ball-sized hail and 80mph winds Damaging winds and bushfire cut power to 10,000 WA homes And in NZ, ex-cyclone Hola hits Northland

Major floodwaters easing in North Queensland as disaster situation declared whilst dozens of students are trapped by rising floodwaters at a school camp after the worst rainfall in a decade Incredible 'ice ribbon' formations are captured on a Peak District reservoir Rain and quick thaw brings flooding to the Balkans And planet Jupiter's winds run deep

Second nor'easter in a week blasts New England Strengthened Tropical Cyclone Hola batters Vanuatu, likely to hit New Zealand A row of cows in Australia killed 'by lightning strike'  The MetO give a review of our long-range outlook for the recent cold snap Wildfires set to increase: could we be sitting on a tinderbox in Europe? And NASA Juno finds Jupiter's jet-streams are unearthly

Arctic has warmest winter on record: 'Never seen anything like this' More rush hour delays as snow returns to parts of Scotland Whilst for many of us the snow has long gone, up in Nenthead, snowed-in Cumbrian villagers forced to walk through 12ft snowdrifts for help In the US,  flights, trains canceled ahead of big winter storm expected to hit the Northeast on Wednesday Tornado tears through southern Spain leaving trail of damage La Nina triggers extreme weather in Japan and Australia Caribbean islands battered by stormy seas Wildfires: Smoke and cloud interactions unexpectedly result in cooling And  nerves of Steall: Ice climbers tackle frozen waterfall

Due to the 'flu (which also meant I missed all the drifts .... ) there haven't been any updates the past few days so here's a round-up of the news from last week's snowstorms: Heavy snow traps hundreds overnight on M80 in Scotland UK storm death toll reaches 10 as ice warnings follow snow chaos UK snow: The Lincolnshire villages cut off On Saturday M62 drivers stranded 'indefinitely' UK snow could reach 50cm as conditions worsen Storm Emma smashes boats at Holyhead marina, Anglesey Pictures show destruction of Devon coastal road 'Ten lives saved' by Somerset snow volunteers Dartmoor and Exmoor snowdrifts prompt driver warnings RAF flies supplies into snow-bound Cumbrian residents Big thaw leaves thousands without water in parts of UK And pictures show what a difference a day makes as the Big Thaw defrosts Britain on Sunday In other news: Winter storms batter US e...

Nationally, the snowiest spell of weather we've had in quite a while I think.   We even have a ground cover of powdery snow in Evesham this morning!  National Grid warns UK is 'running out of gas' as England  and Scotland are put on red alert - Britain's highest ever weather warning - for first time as South West faces up to two feet of snow   (there was a red warning issued for snow in Wales in 2013) In Scotland, emergency crews battle to free motorists Paddington Station closed as snow and ice hits rush hour In Lincolnshire, the military called in as Britain struggles to cope with heavy snow Much of Europe is in a similar boat as Siberian ice blankets southern seaside resorts while Spain's big freeze means people are skiing to work in San Sebastián and snow causes transport chaos across south of France And a Reality Check: Where in the world is snow getting rarer? Meanwhile, some good snow news as Scottish skier days dou...