Weather & Earth Science News

Winter storm blasts Texas panhandle, southern Plains Fog breaks 7 year record - engulfs Delhi airport for 172 hours Perhaps the most bizarre global warming I've ever seen: 'Bin Laden' blames US for global warming - a story maybe more suited to conspiracy forums though, since really it just raises questions about who exactly is issuing messages in Bin Laden's name, and what their motive and aims are. Still, Al Gore now has at least on ally! Back to glaciergate, and climate chief was told of false glacier claims before Copenhagen Upper atmosphere influences weather near Earth's surface - but unfortunately for HAARP conspiracists , upper atmosphere here means the stratosphere, not the much more distant Ionosphere - a slight warming of which may aid long distance communications but doesn't directly affect the weather in any specific place or manner (whether over time it may have climatological influences is possibly a different matter, albeit one for which there ...

Confidence is growing that February is going to see a return to very cold weather across the UK, with further disruptive snowfall likely. That said, snow for Scotland even to low levels already today - as weather hits northeast roads and schools - as we have a nice little northerly set in for the weekend. Here in the Midlands should be cold and clear under fresh Arctic air - a good weekend for star gazing. And this continuing cold and snowy winter is further good news for the Scottish ski industry as already snow brings 100,000 to the slopes with all 5 resorts reporting an excellent start to a season which usually doesn't get fully underway until at least mid February. Canada launches special weather website for the Olympics - all they need now is some snow. Maybe Scotland could sell them some? More winter storms in the US as heavy snow, ice bury southern Plains, cut power Not really weather news, but it's a nice story as dog adrift on ice saved from Baltic Sea Down in M...

Cold weather claims more lives in Europe - and yes, there are sign it could get over to Britain next month, winter looks far from over. Peru begins airlift of stranded Machu Picchu tourists - who've been trapped there for days following heavy rain and landslides. However, the Aussie press reports Australians 'forgotten' in Peru mudslides - and one assumes that applies to many other tourists as well. The weather being a direct consequent of El Nino (as indeed is the warm weather affecting NW USA/SW Canada, and the recent cold spell in Florida) Mount Washington loses wind speed record to Australia - the fastest gust recorded outside of a tornado is now officially 253mph (408kmh) - recorded on Barrow Island, Australia during Cyclone Olivia on 10th April 1996. The mystery of the cause of the crash deepens as it's revealed that the crashed Ethiopian plane 'flew into Beirut storm' - despite being requested by air traffic to fly in a completely different direct...

Was doomed Beirut flight 'blown to pieces by lightning' - aircraft do very frequently get struck by lightning, almost always without any problem. It would be extremely unusual for a lightning strike to result in the sort of fireball that witnesses describe - but it's a possibility that cannot at present be ruled out. One suggestion is that it may have ignited fuel vapour - which is thought to have been what caused Pan-Am Flight 214 to crash at Elkton in 1963. In Romania, Sunday was the coldest night so far: -34 degrees in Covasna whilst the same arctic weather over Bulgaria sets new lows with deaths as freezing weather hits Central and Eastern Europe . China has 'open mind' on cause of climate change (though it should be noted a good many Chinese scientists believe in a significant human influence - though necessarily just CO2) Glaciergate rumbles on: UN's rogue glacier claim 'was just one page in report' says IPCC deputy . Which is, of course, ...

Bulgaria suffers extreme weather A surprising study from Israel suggests that desertification may have retarded global warming by 20% - as an aside, deserts grow during ice ages and thus may need to be considered as an additional feedback. Queensland a state of weather extremes this weekend, but fortunately main danger passes as Olga crosses coast Haiti capital earthquake death toll "tops 150,000" - and that's just for Port-au-Prince ..... Storms trash Calif. beaches, bring snow to AZ, NM Ice is 'rotten' in the Beaufort Sea Up in Aviemore, snow adds special touch to sled-dog rally United Nations warns extreme cold, heavy snow in Mongolia threatens lives In what is now being dubbed 'glaciergate' glacier scientists says he knew data had not been verified - and I know that had I bothered to read that particular section when the AR4 was first released, I'd have raised questions staright away. The question remains: why has it taken so long for anyone t...

17.8mm of rain in Evesham through yesterday making it the wettest day here since last July. River's high - but no serious flooding. Arizona slammed by winter storm, emergency declared Storm departs L.A. with a bang - and following days of Californian storms, residents go home after one last blast of weather Meanwhile in Australia it's baking at the big day out as the nation faces a roasting - even those places which had some very transient snow recently are experiencing a very warm month.

This doesn't happen everyday: Virginia doctor's office hit by meteorite - fortunately no-one injured. But I wonder if they're insured against cosmic impact?! And this sounds pretty unusual too, even for a tornado: fierce wind tosses car into tree in California . Earlier, on wednesday, LA's latest storm brings heavy flooding and it'snot just humans suffering as pelicans treated for hypothermia from Calif. storm and yesterday, the California storm train roars on as snow heads east with a declaration of a state of emergency in Calif. storm areas . Although already suggested by other sources, past decade warmest ever, NASA data shows - but more interestingly, NASA are also claiming in their news report issued yesterday that 2009 was the second warmest year on record . This is contrary to other sources who place it as the joint 5th warmest (with 2006). And the mystery deepens when I read that: The past year was only a fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the ...