Weather & Earth Science News

Lane second only to Harvey for amount of storm rainfall Meanwhile, the tropical Atlantic is waking up as the peak of hurricane season approaches   Last weekend was a typically cool, wet bank holiday weekend here, but in the US the summer hangs on: 70 million endure late-August heat wave A warning that UK food prices 'to rise 5%' because of extreme weather Summer meets winter in central Europe In Australia, dry times to continue as BOM releases grim spring outlook after Western Australia has its wettest, and driest, winter in years Severe weather causes widespread blackouts across Adelaide as wind whips up after the city's warmest August night on record: 19.6c.   And it's still winter ... 'Meteor' lights up sky over Perth, causing sonic booms that rattled houses 'Archived' heat has reached deep into the Arctic interior, researchers say How cold climates contributed to the extinction of

Hawaii storm: Hurricane Lane downgraded to tropical storm as a tree falls on journalist reporting on Hawaii hurricane A wind turbine is blown over: 196 foot structure is toppled in a park as powerful typhoon hits Japan World War II arms explode in Germany as huge wildfire burns south-west of Berlin Heatwave and 'Beast from the East' combine to produce ‘incredible bounty’ of summer fruit Mount Etna volcano spews plumes of ash and lava as it roars back into action And I missed them myself, but some fine pictures here of unusual 'cloud streets' spotted over Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire

Soulik: Typhoon makes landfall, veers away from Seoul whilst Typhoon Cimaron leaves behind trail of damage in western Japan as it heads for Hokkaido Hurricane Lane: Hawaii hit with floods and landslides as storm nears coast Fires overwhelming British Columbia; smoke choking the skies There's record grain harvest potential for Western Australian farmers as prices spike on east coast drought And climate change is melting the French Alps, say mountaineers

Whilst the Atlantic remains quiet (so far), out in the Pacific there's Hurricane Lane: Hawaii braces for category four storm Italy floods: Girl, 8, rescued after deadly flash flood In Brazil, a state of emergency declared in Alagoas after drought The Arctic’s strongest sea ice breaks up for first time on record South Australia runs out of hay as drought bites VW weather-altering tech causes storm in Mexico - hail supression cannons accused of causing a drought (but is there any evidence?) Air pollution reduces global life expectancy by more than one year Aeolus: Wind mapping satellite lifts off Venezuela hit by 7.3-magnitude earthquake whilst another earthquake and aftershock rattle Oregon coast And how a volcanic eruption in Indonesia 'caused Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo' by bringing two months of rain to Europe and stalling his troops and cavalry

At least eleven hikers killed in flash flooding in southern Italy Hurricane Lane could come dangerously close to the Hawaiian Islands late this week There's currently nearly two million acres on fire in the United States How nice sunny days can grow into heat waves -- and wildfires: summer weather is stalling Water-worlds are common: Exoplanets may contain vast amounts of water And we have the first direct evidence of water ice on the surface of the moon

Kerala floods: Relief teams rescue 22,000 as rains ease but over 350 people have died.  So, what caused the Kerala floods? Could we have done anything to prevent it? 2 tropical storms near Japan strengthen Colombians warned not to have sex as intense heatwave continues California wildfires: Ferguson Fire near Yosemite contained In Australia, Mt Buller receives most snow at the resort in 14 years with 30cm recorded overnight as icy cold snap hits Melbourne and Canberra but further north Qld bushfires continue to burn as conditions worsen Lombok earthquake: Strong tremors shake Indonesian island   'Abrupt thaw' of permafrost beneath lakes could significantly affect climate change models and perhaps even more worrying, s ome Arctic ground no longer freezing - even in winter   14 Backstreet Boys fans hurt in Oklahoma storm   But there were only tears and sair heids in Stirling this weekend at The Last Dance: thousands say f

A prediction that, globally , the next few years 'may be exceptionally warm' - but that doesn't mean England will get a summer heatwave each year, or any year, whatever the gutter press may say! In the US: Torrential rain, flooding to continue across northeast NSW bushfires: Emergency warnings for Bega blaze but Ulladulla and Nowra fires downgraded  - conditions much worse because of the on-going drought There have been t en times more wildfires in the Arctic than a decade ago Photos show aftermath of 'tornado' that struck Chelmsford in Essex last Friday How the heatwave reveals England's lost prehistoric sites Trees and climate change: Faster growth, lighter wood How historic space weather could clarify what's next whilst satellite measurements of the Earth's magnetosphere promise better space weather forecasts And why the Atlantic hurricane season is so different right now compared to a year ago

It's f lood-hit Kerala's worst monsoon in almost a century: Chief Minister Las Vegas dust storm: Thousands without power as flights diverted, fires sparked New Jersey dealership's cars swept away like bumper boats in flash flood Farmers in war-torn Afghanistan hit by worst drought in decades Manila floods: Massive city clean-up under way And, home to 10 million people, Jakarta, the fastest-sinking city in the world

California wildfires: Thousands evacuated as Lake Elsinore threatened whilst in B.C., concern growing over massive wildfires burning near Burns Lake Pictured: Twisted remains of caravans, overturned cars and tents swept away in a 'raging river' caused by flash floods that ripped through a campsite in southern France In India's Kerala rains: Navy evacuates 55 people from flood-hit areas; diving teams deployed in Wayanad and Aluva It used to be a "third world problem", but drought in Western Canada is becoming an agricultural nightmare for farmers , there is despair as crippling drought hammers Australian farmers and even Scandinavian farmers hit by drought .  Meanwhile, frites could be off the menu in Belgium as heatwave threatens potato supply .  Although much of Britain is again seeing some much needed rain, expect soaring food prices this autumn and winter ..... And does rain follow the plow?   It seems that maybe it does

Hundreds of tourists are airlifted to safety by helicopter after flash floods sweep through campsites in southern France Meanwhile, after the drought, the storm: German weather chaos continues And from earlier in the week, video shows what happened when a powerful mudslide crashes through village in Switzerland, damaging cars and properties California wildfires: Eight images that reveal scale of devastation Perth weather: City braves coldest morning in a year, wettest start to August since 1945 And pictures show how s now turns Lesotho into winter wonderland

Four bridges collapse, hundreds stranded as floods sweep northern Turkish city Heatwave taking lives in Denmark California swelters under all-time record heat in July Typhoon Shanshan clips Japan coast, sparing Tokyo South Korean heatwave causes record deaths Lao authorities speed up search, relief, recovery efforts in flood-hit south with reports of around 100 people still missing after heavy rain casued the collapse of a dam last month Lombok earthquake: Strong aftershock amid Indonesia rescue efforts whilst in Australia earthquakes shake Norseman, Adelaide days after Indonesia quake devastates Lombok And forget the idea of spraying stratospheric aerosols to combat global warming, because reflecting sun's rays would cause crops to fail, scientists warn

Europe heatwave: Thousands of fish die in Swiss Rhine and some good new as the s ummer heat kills off Finland's mosquitoes - but just like in the UK, their have been replaced by clegs .... In Australia, an avalanche warning remains after bumper snowfall in Victorian alps  but over in NZ, one popular South Canterbury skifield yet to open due to lack of snowfall  Meanwhile the New South Wales drought now affects entire state California wildfire will burn for the rest of August, say officials Emergency crews battle 'firenado' at UK plastics factory  Tornado touched down in Warsaw As the next strong typhoon churns toward Japan; airlines cancel scores of flights And a RAIB report shows how rapid snowmelt played part in Loch Eilt train derailment

California wildfire declared 'largest in state's history' - prompting some bizarre tweets by President Incompetent Frump 2 animals die at zoo as softball-sized hail falls in Colorado Europe heatwave: High temperatures but respite expected but despite a cool down over the next few days, here in Britain warmer weather could last until October, Met Office says (based on their contingency planners' report - which indicates a 55% chance of above ave temps) Heatwave causes spectacular fogbank as blast of hot air creates thick low-lying cloud over the sea off Cornwall In Portugal, over 1000 firemen and women still tackling massive Monchique fire Iceland's Route 1 partially closed due to Skaftá glacial flood Rain-on-snow flood risk to increase in many mountain regions of the western U.S., Canada Climate change: 'Hothouse Earth' risks even if CO2 emissions slashed And is there a possible connection between U.S. tornado activi

Whilst no national (or continental) records were broken in the end, many individual locations - incluing Lisbon - saw their highest ever temperature in Portugal and Spain at the weekend.   Unfortunately the heat wasn't all from the sun as wildfires sweep Portugal for the third day as officials send in more than 800 firefighters and nine airplanes to tackle huge blaze in wake of 115F heatwave Spain hits near-record temperatures of 108F as Iberian Plume kills three, fish drop dead in Germany and people sleep in supermarket refrigerator aisles In Scandinavia, t wo brothers killed by lightning as they heat sauna near summer cottage in Finland In Wales, the scale of Llantysilio mountain wildfire captured in these images as blaze enters 18th day  - another hot weekend here but cooler later this week for a time.  More heat looks possible towards the end of the month though. Meanwhile, in the US, massive California wildfire becomes 5th largest in state history , the

Another impact of the UK heatwave: Dry pitches could delay football season whilst UK heatwave sees golf courses ban smoking while playing and deaths rose 650 above average during UK heatwave – with older people most at risk .   And in the wider Europe heatwave: Side effects felt by zoo animals, sprout farmers and more as Europe faces its hottest day ever today with temperatures set to hit 118F Lynchburg floods: Flooding fears spark evacuations in US city Firenado! Shocking video shows the moment emergency crews pass dangerously close to a 143mph fire cyclone that ripped through Northern California Meanwhile, in Canada's B.C. Wildfires 2018: 'Intense' lightning storms ramp up wildfires across the province In Arizona, a mile-high haboob pictured swallowing up entire city A saucer-shaped cloud spotted passing over Moscow ‘sparks fears aliens are about to land’ Interestingly, aerosol pollution is slowing the melting of Arctic sea ice, for no

On Wednesday the mercury hits record 40.3 C in South Korea as country battles heat wave with those in North Korea also struggling with heatwave  Last month NI had normal rainfall - despite heatwave .  But most of that fell in one day.   So actually not normal at all!    But the weekend's rain and cooler weather does mean United Utilities calls off summer hosepipe ban in England .   Though temnperatures are now on the rise again ..... Flash flood in Corsica canyon kills four including girl aged 7 Arctic heat melts away Sweden's highest peak Snow and hail blanket southern Alberta highway — in July Half of Oregon in ‘severe drought’ following record-setting July heat as wildfires rage In Australia, snow falls at Bluff Knoll as cold front knocks out power to WA homes whilst dust storms stretching 250 kilometres hit SA's Eyre Peninsula after driest July in 19 years Japan's record heat, excessive rain in some areas made f

Portugal bracing for four days of record breaking heatwave with models suggesting temperatures across Iberia in the high 40s and potentially pushing 50c  and breaking the European record.  German heatwave causes beer bottle shortage as sales surge as Tuesday smashes year’s heat record as heatwave set to continue .    Animals, crops and people all suffer amid Europe's heatwave and even the Arctic Circle hits 32C as Europe heatwave nears record temperatures And in east Asia, extreme heatwave in South Korea to peak in coming days whilst a new rport warns that China region set to become deadliest heat wave zone More (unexpected) rain yesterfday morning means I ended up with 27mm for the month - that's over half the average for July - as the Daily Mail claims Britons moan as they slog to work in torrential rain... Meanwhile soggy 2017 was fifth warmest year in UK record - but it was a drier than average year in Evesham .... And if you want real heat,