Weather & Earth Science News

One of the warmest days of the year in much of Britain yesterday - indeed I suspect some places may have recorded their highest temperature of 2011. In my garden it reached 28.4c making it my 3rd warmest day. The official maximum of 28.8c at Kew Gardens was the highest ever recorded on this date in Britain. RAF Finningley (now the Robin Hood airport) near Doncaster reported 29c but this was a rounded up figure. News reports telling of records smashed in weather heatwave are therefore not entirely accurate. It's also been unusually cloud free. But despite the heat, winter is on its way. So Plymouth city council gritters on standby whilst Heathrow airport triples snow clearance fleet . And in London, rail commuters warmed of major cold weather travel disruption *. Somehow, you just know that it's going to be a largely snow-free winter ...... * Bob the anti-Crow's comments at the end of that piece are, of course, as useless as everything else he utters. He'd b...

Typhoon Nesat leaves 18 dead in Philippines Down under, what happened to Spring? Brace yourself for wild weather whilst parts have seen the most rain since summer floods last year and storms force Melbourne flight suspensions . Put autumn on hold - summer's finally set to arrive says the Independent in a surprisingly accurate write-up. They even manage to point out that this is not an Indian Summer! Norwegian envoy tells sorry tale of flood-hit Sindh Musical weather shows climate influence A good piece here from Ed Douglas on how climbers have a key role to play in highlighting global warming - or, at least, the extent to which glaciers are retreating in some parts of the world. Did Iceland's Katla volcano erupt under the ice this summer? Scientist have discovered that Venus weather not boring after all - though no indication on how accurate the Venusian Met Office are with their forecasts. Wind farm noise respite call in Welsh assembly petition - no worries, it it gets...

Powerful Typhoon Nesat hits Philippines Utterly failing to see the irony, after last week's snow headlines, the Express tell us it's glorious ... hottest autumn in 25 years (and what they mean by that is that we could see the highest October temperatures in 25 years at the weekend - Britain's warmest autumn on record was 2006 , which was also Europe's warmest in 500 years ) Rain hits relief operations in quake-affected Sikkim In S Carolina at the weekend a near-record deluge floods basements, damage cars Ice age blankets Raglan , NSW Radical measures mooted as climate insurance A MODRIS image of contrails and smoke over central Canada In the Canaries, the island of El Hierro prepares for volcanic eruption Salty water and gas tucked into Earth's interior helps unravel planetary evolution And I think we already knew this? Climatic fluctuations drove key events in human evolution . If it wasn't for climate change, we might never have left the trees! And more...

India floods situation worsens in Orissa and Bihar whilst a downpour wreaks havoc in eastern UP Flood concerns ease after heavy rains hit B.C. coast Tropical depression worsens flooding in Vietnam Evacuations as typhoon nears Philippines Everest's ice is retreating as climate change grips the Himalaya (I've dropped the 's' from the headline as to my knowledge there is only one Himalaya) Nitrate levels rising in northwestern Pacific

Well, well. Having told us a few days ago to expect snow in October, the same media outlets are now headlining the fact that we're actually in for a spell of warm, sunny weather .... Though they can't even get this right, trumpeting on about the highest autumn temperatures for 25 years. I'm sure 2006 (when 28.8c was recorded on the 21st September) wasn't THAT long ago? Of course, they're also insisting that its an indian summer on its way - which obviously it can't be since even the Scottish Highlands have barely seen a frost yet this autumn. But that's the media for you. Makes you wonder just how reliable their stories on other subjects are, doesn't it?

A slightly off topic headline today as speed-of-light experiments give baffling result at Cern 16 feared dead from typhoon in Japan , but fortunately it appears the only damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant was a broken security camera In the east Pacific, Hilary strengthens into category 4 hurricane off Mexico's coast Scientists probe Indian Ocean for clues to worldwide weather patterns whilst new research shows that El Nino and the tropical Eastern Pacific annual cycle run to the same beat . And after recent Arctic ice melt has been much greater than models were predicting, a new model provides successful seasonal forecast for fate of Arctic sea ice Melting ice ends species solitude for Canadian whales There's been a steep increase in global CO2 emissions despite reductions by industrialised nations with binding Kyot0 targets - which surprises me as much as hearing that the sun rose in the east this morning. Whisper it quietly, lest the global coolers hear, but extreme ...

Four dead as Typhoon Roke makes landfall in Japan - they're having a bad time of it this year. In China, floods claim 57 lives as rain wreaks havoc with more rain forecast for flood-hit SW Switzerland sees record September snowfall In the US, deadly spate of tornadoes sends sales of storm shelters through the roof And in Indonesia, farmers flee as world's deadliest volcano rumbles Guatemala hit by four earthquakes Lloyds of London hit by record claims for natural disasters Traffic fumes can trigger heart attacks say researchers NASA's WISE raises doubt about asteroid family beleived responsible for dinosaur extinction Controversy as Times Atlas publishers apologise for 'incorrect' Greenland ice statement And even bigger controversy after yesterday's headlines warning that Britain faces an early big freeze - Piers Corbyn hits back saying " it's baseless hype from a gaggle of wannabees " . Meanwhile, as the 'wanabees' warn of snow and ...