Weather & Earth Science News

Yet another landslip closes A83 at Rest And Be Thankful in Argyll More torrential rain in Brazil raises death toll to 54 The Caribbean urged to prepare for long drought Newly released satellite data reveals the patterns of record warmth in 2019 whilst a new global record ‘likely’ within five years say the Met Office Researchers say that when it comes to climate change: Worst emissions scenario 'misleading' as it's so unlikely to happen And new telescope images show the Sun's surface seen in remarkable new detail

Huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake hits Caribbean leaving trail of damage Yesterday, a few places in Britain had a bit of snow, though nothing exceptional, nonetheless there was chaos on the roads after six-car pile up in hailstorms leaves thousands stranded in tailbacks whilst heavy snow strands drivers overnight on M74 .   Most people snow no snow at all though and may not do so until at least the spring ....   David Viner was right .  It's becoming a rare thing and when it does happen we're not prepared for it.   Meanwhile, Glanaman hit with 'mini tornado' causing damage on Tuesday. But as Siberia hits its coldest temperatures of the winter, here’s how to enjoy life below -50C Driven by Earth's orbit, climate changes in Africa may have aided human migration And Antarctica melting: Climate change and the journey to the 'doomsday glacier' whilst the patterns of thinning of Antarctica's biggest glacier are opposite to previously observed...

Brazil floods: Dozens dead in severe Minas Gerais rainstorms that triggered flash floods and landslides whilst torrential rains, floods kill dozens in Madagascar as well. Turkey earthquake: Rescue efforts near end as death toll rises Queensland rain cuts roads and prompts warnings of flash flooding , but for much of the country there's another heatwave on the way And why the dinosaurs had shorter days than us, thanks to the Moon's gravity

Turkey earthquake: At least 21 dead as buildings collapse Avalanche debris spotted from Inverness-Edinburgh train - nothing remarkable about that, except it looks more like April than late January! And in the US, the 2018's Four Corners drought directly linked to human-caused climate change

Storm Gloria: Spain death toll rises to 13 with four missing Around the world, the frequency of intense floods and storms could double in 13 years, says study Emissions of potent greenhouse gas have grown, contradicting reports of huge reductions - most of the gas, HFC-13, is believed to have been being produced by India and China who claim to have stopped doing so, but amounts have risen further ....  So, what does Trump actually believe on climate change?   Probably whatever he is told because he's too dumb to understand it himself .... And a study concludes that Mars' water was mineral-rich and salty , increasing the possibility that simple life could have evolved there

Satellite photos show the extent to which Storm Gloria floods major river delta in eastern Spain whilst Mallorca is smashed by huge waves and another town is filled with foam as storm lashes Spain leaving at least eight dead Stockton earthquake: Tremor shakes homes on Teesside It's been rather grim and grey the past couple of days as anticyclonic gloom set in, but earlier in the week, above the clouds the Prince of Wales Bridge looks 'spectacular' in foggy weather And how sea level rise could reshape the United States, trigger migration inland

Ice…snow… and iguanas falling from trees are forecast for Miami as temperatures plunge to record cold Another dust storm engulfs parts of SA, Victoria and NSW as weather bureau warns of damaging winds Storm Gloria brings high winds and snow to France Ice…snow… and iguanas falling from trees are forecast for Miami as temperatures plunge to record cold Arctic sea ice can't 'bounce back' quickly Earth's oldest asteroid impact 'may have ended ice age' (2.2 billion years ago) And a new UK-led satellite space mission to reveal 'Truths' about climate change

Snow blankets Spain’s east coast and waves smash stores along Costa Blanca beaches as storm shuts Alicante airport In Finland, a lack of snow puts a damper on winter hobbies whilst the mild winter means pollen season kicks off early in Denmark Japan’s ski resorts are enduring their worst winter for decades due to lack of snow Rain has helped slow Australia's fires, but it's far from a knockout blow Barometric pressure in London 'highest in 300 years' at least How the clouds create perfect conditions for stunning sunset in Scotland on Sunday evening And is a gravitational wave detection near Betelgeuse a sign the star is ready to explode?   Probably not.

Eastern Newfoundland digs out from record-breaking snowstorm with a great timelapse video showing the accumulation build as blizzard buries Newfoundland in 30 inches of snow as the province asks Canadian military for help digging out the island Golf ball-sized hail, a town engulfed by a giant dust storm, two people struck by lightning — and that's just 24 hours in Australia with blackouts after ’supercell’ storm hits Sydney and drone footage shows massive dust storm sweeping across central New South Wales Storm Gloria triggers a terrifying and rare red weather alert in Spain Here it's just a bit frosty under the highest pressure for decades as the weather pressure record tumbles in the Mumbles, Wales Trimingham landslide: Warning of risk of further 'slips ' Nepal avalanche: Snow hampers search for missing South Korean trekkers And the dinosaur extinction: 'Asteroid strike was real culprit' - according to the latest research...

Flash flooding on Gold Coast and Brisbane sparks calls for help as storms sweep Queensland with delight for some as rain offers drought and bushfire relief to the delight of many across New South Wales and Queensland On the English south coast, Barton-on-Sea 'tornado' causes damage to homes In eastern Canada, a state of emergency declared in St. John's region; raging blizzard brings eastern Newfoundland to a standstill whilst there have been nearly 1,600 flights canceled and over 100 crashes reported as snow and ice start hitting the US NOAA data confirms that Earth had its second warmest year in recorded history in 2019 And it's estimated that 'the blob', a huge marine heatwave, killed nearly a million seabirds in the biggest known die-off of its kind

BOM says more rain on way for Sydney as country creek flows for first time in five years but in neighbouring Victoria, an emergency warning issued as Mount Buffalo fire flares up, threatening Alpine communities Cyclone Tino to make landfall on Fiji's Vanua Levu by midnight Down in Devon, a passenger hurt when wave smashes Great Western Railway train windows near Dawlish (where the line runs right along the seafront) Smog in southern Europe sparks car bans and street protests Taal volcano's inner lake all but gone in eruption And is there a shortage of tinfoil hats in Russia?  Apparently, it's not global warming, it's not climate change, instead an imaginary U.S. ‘climate weapon’ caused Russia’s warm winter, lawmaker says

Saudi Arabia's north-west desert covered in snow after unusual winter storm - whereas there is so far no sign we'll even get a single flake here this winter ..... Instead, we saw brutal 80mph winds leave trail of destruction across UK with school and tower block roofs torn off, 10-storey scaffolding brought down and rail chaos - after bedlam of Storm Brendan Kashmir avalanches and landslides leave 62 people dead Australia fires: Family blames teenager’s death on bushfire smoke And a follow up to the brief mention yesterday of a call-out to Ben Alder Cottage, seems all was not as it first seemed and as a result, Cairngorm rescuers in rare 'rant' after storm-hit call-out

Storm Brendan batters the British Isles with today snow and heavy rain to hamper clean-up operation after Storm Brendan in Eire, with snow, ice and more gales to follow Storm Brendan in the UK too - and it sounds like Ben Alder Cottage helped save an injured hillwalker. Drought threatens wildlife industry in South Africa Climate change: Australia fires will be 'normal' in warmer world Climate change has pushed the world's oceans to record temperatures And is this another case of blame it all on global warming?  Climate crisis likely to increase violent deaths of young people – report

A warning of 'several hours of very dangerous weather' as Storm Brendan hits Ireland today whilst all Western Isles schools closed after severe gale warning .   England likely to be worse affected by a secondary low tomorrow.  From too much to too little water: Venice canals almost run dry just two months after flooding Some US East Coast cities enjoy record high temperatures for January as Boston hits 72 degrees over the weekend - while the south and Midwest are hit with snow and ice after a severe storm sweeps south-east US, killing at least 11 But over in the west of Canada, B.C. shivering under harsh winter conditions Bushfire smoke plume destined to reach Australia again after circling the globe, NASA predicts Meanwhile fires wreak destruction on Kosciuszko National Park that could take centuries to recover from, rangers say (Kosciuszko is Australia's highest hill, and the area has a number of bothy-like shelters, it...

NSW bushfires lead to deaths of over a billion animals and 'hundreds of billions' of insects, experts say The truth about Australia's fires — arsonists aren't responsible for many this season A warning (as if it's needed) not to trust what you see on social media about the Australia fires: Misleading maps and pictures go viral NT drenched with potentially record-breaking rain as cyclone threat sweeps towards Kimberley Flood water 'drags' taxi carrying passengers away after torrential rain hits Gloucestershire on Thursday evening Making waves: Israelis surf the streets after torrential rain 2019 sets record for Europe's hottest December whilst globally 2019 was provisionally the 2nd warmest on record Scientists use ancient marine fossils to unravel long-standing climate puzzle , a period of global warming during the Miocene, 14mya And thanks to the new wind measuring satellite Aeolus: Weather forecasts start using space...

UK's new warmest December confirmed in Highlands with 18.7c at Achfary.  Though whether it was on the 28th or 29th December remains uncertain - the Met Office count all temperatures until 9am as belonging to the previous day and, whilst therefore officially the temperature is down as being on the 28th, it's very likely this high temperature was actually recorded around 2am on the 29th In Australia, fires threat rises in East Gippsland and Alpine communities with emergency evacuations  whilst NSW fire threat to worsen as hot temperatures, erratic winds bear down on several areas What are hazard reduction burns, are we doing enough of them, and could they have stopped Australia's catastrophic bushfires? In Canada, heavy snow and wind cancel classes, disrupt travel in Maritimes  And perhaps wishing they were back home?  A group of Australian tourists on a snowmobile tour of Icelandic glacier get stuck in a blizzard for nine hours - someone didn't che...

Strong winds forecast close A1 road in East Lothian - and more gales expected later this week for England.   No sign of winter though. Australia fires: Almost 2,000 homes destroyed in marathon crisis Meanwhile, in WA, Nullarbor remains cut off by bushfires as travellers wait for Eyre Highway to reopen   Passengers describe flying through fire-generated cloud on Melbourne-to-Canberra flight The places in New Zealand for which 2019 was the warmest year on record India suffers hottest decade on record And Japan's average temperature in 2019 hits record high Storm hits Istanbul, plane skids off airport runway as storms cause flooding in southeast Europe, Levant Puerto Rico earthquake: Punta Ventana collapses as powerful tremor hits - an iconic rock arch no more.  Frumpy won't be happy about this:  How the shutdown of coal-fired plants in US saves lives and improves crop yields And an ...

Australia fires: Rain brings relief but huge blazes expected later in the week.  And there's a useful visual guide to the bushfire crisis And Tropical Cyclone Blake forms off coast of WA, but fire relief in the east unlikely 66 people now killed by flooding in Jakarta, and more rain appears to be on the way And there's a state of emergency after a surge wave smashes windows, floods houses in Khabarovsk region

Heat records around Australia continue to tumble, with Canberra reaching 43.6 degrees and Penrith 48.9 Fires rage towards East Gippsland and Alpine communities as wind change sweeps Victoria whilst the NSW fires hit emergency level as soaring temperatures stoke multiple danger zones as the smoke turns New Zealand skies 'eerie' yellow Indonesia tries cloud seeding as flood death toll rises to 46 And drought in southern Africa (and the long terms consequences of the Mugabe's evil regime) mean millions face starvation in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Mallacoota evacuations begin as thousands trapped by bushfires are transported to Navy ships In SA, fire crews battle emergency blazes on Kangaroo Island and in the Adelaide Hills WA's alert for fire threatening Balladonia motel downgraded but Eyre Highway still closed How Australia bushfires spew two-thirds of national carbon emissions in one season And rainfall figures lowest in 113 years for some Queensland farmers Met Office: Last decade UK's 'second hottest in 100 years' - coming slightly behind the previous decade.   So it's getting colder ...... !  Norway records warmest ever January day at 19C - as with last week's record UK temperature it was down to foehn winds, which have, of course, always occurred in the past too. Passengers turn into snowmen in icy video filmed after a road accident in Norilsk , northern Siberia - although reading the accounts this doesn't sound like a particularly unusual occurrence! ...

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declares state of emergency, as thousands flee South Coast ahead of horror fire weekend whilst  bushfire SMS alerts urge Corryong, north-east Victorian residents to evacuate And probably no surprise to learn that 2019 was Australia's hottest and driest year on record Jakarta floods: 'Not ordinary rain', say officials Delhi records coldest December day in over a century And last Sunday morning saw a new maximum temperature for December recorded in Highlands .  The 18.7c recorded at Achfary compares with an unofficial 18.4c at Inchnadamph some miles to the south