Weather & Earth Science News

State of emergency declared in Ngongotaha on NZ's North Island after record rainfall As the snowpack melts, there are more evacuations in B.C. Interior as floods worsen whilst expanded evacuations in northern Alberta as Peace River flooding worsens due to ice jams In Croatia, summer starts early – new April temperature records set on Sunday The new EU satellite Sentinel tracks ships' dirty emissions from orbit

Death toll in Dead Sea flash floods rises to 10 as last missing teen found - with issues as to whether they should have been hiking in the areas given the weather conditions at the time.  At least two other teenagers have died in floods in the region this week. Floods, landslides, tornado batter Java this week Roads flooded as wind and rain hit Auckland   And a suggestion that fracking may have caused South Korean earthquake

Cape Town roads under water as city welcomes 'real rain' - meanwhile, earlier this month, "day zero" - when Cape Town runs out of drinking water - was pushed back to 2019. Two teens die in flash floods as storm hits Israel, West Bank  Sydney lost as fog, smoke from hazard reduction burns settles over city Russian Arctic glacier loss doubles as temps warm Kilauea's summit lava lake still overflowing into crater It appears that weather associated with sentiments expressed on social media - we're more positive in our comments when it's warm and sunny, but not too hot.  And on that note, a Polish study shows stress hormones spike as temperature rises

The tornado capital of the world goes quiet. Here's why. Experts baffled by mystery phenomenon spotted off coast of Devon - as yet no definite explanation, though a KH wave forming off a fog bank has been suggested.  It's not just heatwaves and floods we're getting more of, now winter wave heights and extreme storms on the rise in Western Europe too, Meanwhile, collapse of the Atlantic Ocean heat transport might lead to hot European summers , as well as colder winters.  Basically, everything's getting more extreme. In the Indian Ocean, Tropical Storm Fakir turns deadly after unleashing destructive winds, mudslides on La Reunion  Video footage as tornado-like winds ‘like the end of the world’ hit southern China - looks to me like it was a tornado. Kenya dams 'a flood risk' after heavy rains Vanuatu: landslide and flash flood hampers relief effort on Ambae where a volcanic eruption has forced evacuations Corals build '...

First thunderstorm of the year on Saturday evening, and I finally managed to capture my first ever photo of lightning.   So it was 4 hot days and a thunderstorm - not bad!   Back to normal April weathe now, but not for all of Europe as April heatwave brings record temperatures to parts of Croatia yesterday.  And last week parts of Switzerland see record temperatures as well as other countries previously reported in this blog Mysterious Arctic ice holes baffle scientists   and c ould sprinkling sand save the Arctic's shrinking sea ice? There's rotten egg gas around planet Uranus (or as another headline read: Uranus smells of rotten eggs) Models show how climate change intensifies droughts in Europe And I bet it won;t be like this when I finally return for a proper holiday later next month! 'Cloudless' view of the Highlands captured from space .  But one can dream ...

France's scorching early summer breaks weather records whilst Denmark has 'earliest summer day since 1964', warmer than any day last year Pre-monsoon heat builds across northern India Another study suggest that unprecedented wave of large-mammal extinctions linked to prehistoric humans - it appears it's just " something that we do ". And it's clear as mud: Desiccation cracks help reveal the shape of water on Mars

As expected, yesterday smashed the date record and was the second highest temperature ever recorded in April as UK temperatures top 29C in hottest April day since 1949 .    It was a date record elsewhere too as Czech records highest temperature in 30 years and the hottest April 19th in Netherlands history as Europe sees hottest day of the year so far And on a very different note, the army are called in to help as a giant plastic 'berg blocks Indonesian river

A ‘remarkable’ wind storm blasts Denver and northeast Colorado whilst snowmelt floods roads, fields in much of northern Montana In Hawaii, survey finds flood damage in parts of Kauai worse than formerly thought And tumbleweed piles two storeys high, fills backyards in US city of Victorville Storm in West Bengal leaves 15 dead Conditions in Scotland highlights weather contrasts during the first half of April whilst this week much of the UK enjoys hottest day of the year as country basks in mini heatwave - today could see the UK date record broken.   It'll all be over by Monday .... There's a planned change to Scotland's biggest hydro project - a new pumped storage scheme that SSE hope to construct in the northern corrie of the Munro Sron a Choire Ghairbh above Loch Lochy Great Barrier Reef: 30% of coral died in 'catastrophic' 2016 heatwave Study reveals new Antarctic process contributing to sea level rise and climate ...

Ontario ice storm captured in photos: CN Tower forced to close Boston Marathon drenched as heavy storm causes flash floods in New York Australian snowfields hit with surprise dumps of snow – just hours after the nation was hit with a record autumn heatwave .  But with 40 degrees in April: Why this autumn has felt more like summer How dinosaurs ended -- and originated -- with a bang! And there's recycling hope for plastic-hungry enzyme

In the US there are four dead and 230 flights canceled: Spring storms move east after causing chaos in the Midwest by dumping two feet of snow Thousands without power in Toronto Sunday night as icy blast hits southern Ontario whilst further west warm weather wreaks havoc as more highways flood across southern Alberta   Hawaii storm strands dozens at Red Cross evacuation shelter with over two feet of rain falling as Kauai sees record-setting rainfall over the weekend There were record breaking April temperature in Dubrovnik – 30 degrees today!   That's the highest temperature the city has ever recorded in April.  And in Ukraine, more new temperature records set in Kyiv (Kiev).  Looks like turning rather hot here too this week. Sydney fire: Passengers film flames as train drives through out-of-control blaze as expert warns more planning needed in wake of intense weekend conditions with the bush fire season now lasting much longer.  Mea...

London goes without a single hour of sunshine for a whole week for the first time in eight years  but it's now turning warmer and sunny across southern Britain.  A heat wave next week! Emergency warning issued as bushfire rips through Holsworthy military base outside Sydney, with residents now warned it's "too late" to leave .... In the US, a massive storm system spawns tornado in Arkansas, blizzard in Plains Snowfall patterns may provide clues to Greenland Ice Sheet Volcano in Vanuatu spills heavy ash as acid rain falls from the sky – sparking evacuation fears for 11,000 residents And the 100th meridian: East-west divide between moist and arid parts of U.S. may be shifting

Taj Mahal minarets damaged in storm Tropical Cyclone Keni makes a direct hit on Fiji   There's video footage as workers flee powerful avalanche at French ski resort 4 remain missing as search continues at Oita landslide site in Japan Scientists discover first super salty subglacial lakes in Canadian Arctic - not dissimilar to the type of environment we think may exist on Europa ...  And mountain erosion may add CO2 to the atmosphere - faster than it draws itthrough weathering and the creation of carbonates

In NZ, a big autumn storm results in  more than 79,000 Auckland homes without power, some may be cut off for days whilst the roof torn off family's holiday home after tornado in National Park village Australian energy and fire authorities monitoring weather as SA heatwave continues whilst record-breaking heatwave settles in over Sydney There's currently enough snow in Scottish mountains for 'skiing into May' In Germany more storms to hit NRW after heavy rains flood streets and basements More than 50 dead geese fall from the sky in Idaho after being struck by lightning as they flew in flock After a relatively small earthquake in central Italy: Traffic disruption, schools closed, damage to buildings 1 dead, 5 missing after landslide in Oita Prefecture in Japan Melting of Arctic mountain glaciers unprecedented in the past 400 years - though to be fair, before that was th...

Sydney and Adelaide experience hottest April day on record with both cities recording over 35c Winter weather tightens grip on parts of North America with some low overnight minima in parts of Canada Yosemite Valley reopens after storm brought flooding to parts of Northern California Cyclone Keni brings more fear to sodden Fiji households The storm that wouldn't die!  Tropical Cyclone Iris could redevelop again, BoM warns There's been a big increase in Antarctic snowfall compared with 200 years ago, especially in the West Antarctic peninsular.   This is what you'd expect with a warming atmosphere.   Despite this, the actual mass of ice on the continent is declining due to increased glacial melt.

In California, rain shuts Yosemite, threatens problems at tallest US dam Meanwhile, storms and tornadoes sweep through South ahead of cold front, causing damage and outages Photo reveals rare 65 foot dome-shaped lava fountain that formed during Hawaii's five-year Mauna Ulu volcanic eruption Once again, the Papua New Guinea highlands shaken by magnitude-6.5 earthquake Farmers flee their homes as huge tear continues to rip Kenya apart due to powerful seismic shifts beneath the ground Hunting mystery giant lightning from space It's not just a supermassive one adter all: At least a dozen black holes found at galactic centre And is this why we haven't found evidence of extraterrestrial life yet?  A paucity of phosphorus hints at precarious path for extraterrestrial life .  Of course, that's for (carbon based) life as we know it.

Recent heavy snow takes toll on Scotland's lambs whilst English lambs dying as North Yorkshire farm hit by wet weather Crews use water bombs for major wildfire on Isle of Rum - but how did the fire start?  TYhere's no muir burn on Rum .....  But at this time of year, just a plastic bottle with a little water inside, acting like a mirror, is all it takes (obviously I don't know that that was the cause). Some good news as the amount of plastic bag litter falls in UK seas A 50-car pile-up, crane topples amid southern Ontario storm As if their summer hasn't been hot enough, a late-season heat blast set to smash records across south-east Australia.  (btw, my unique SLATless Antipodean Forecasting Method predicts that it'll be a long hot summer for Britain this year .....  so probably gonna be wet!) Giant solar tornadoes put researchers in a spin - because it now turns out that they don't actually rotate .... And a geologist i...

Phew!  Pakistan’s 114 degrees is just one of many all-time March records toppled in Asia Niwa reveals 2018 is New Zealand's warmest start to a year, ever And I'm glad I'm not here either: Sweltering Darwin heat the result of its highest April dew point in 60 years Tropical Cyclone Iris weakening as system continues to track along Queensland coast And a crater formed by exploding pingo in Arctic erupts a second time from methane emissions

Cyclone Josie: Four dead, major flooding as tropical storm batters Fiji as a warning comes from the Fiji PM: Climate change threatens our survival Meanwhile,  Tropical Cyclone Iris stirs off north Queensland coast as category two system A cold start to April in parts of the US with Winter Storm Wilbur delivering an expansive swath of snow from the Upper Midwest to Maine Here, s now, rain and floods make bank holiday travels a trial Antarctica 'gives ground to the ocean' whilst in the north, ice-free Arctic summers could hinge on small climate warming range And is there life adrift in the clouds of Venus?