Weather & Earth Science News

Yet more floods in south of France leave four dead Israel's rain-logged capital lashed by winter storm It never rains but it pours as floods hit drought stricken Brazil A rare, accurate newspaper story about the prospects of snow this winter: an Arctic freeze? Snowstorms?  The worst winter on record?  Probably not says Met Office after cold weather warnings .   But the less said about the Daily Mail's misleading headline the better (there may be a little snow over some hills in Scotland on Monday, but that is all and it's notable only in that there has been so little so far!).  To be fair, several other media outlets are running the same headlines, which will no doubt lead to cries of "where is the snow they forecast?" and "the Met Office got it wrong again!" as well as triumphant calls from certain quarters that "see, we said there would be snow!".   You just can't win. And I beg to disagree with the suggestion that ...

Flood leaves Gaza in ruins, UN declares state of emergency Brisbane storm: huge clean-up in Queenslands with more pictures as Brisbane hail storm captured on social media whilst one Herston family trapped inside house after super hailstorm hits Brisbane   Torremolinos tornado: Devastation as freak storm rips through popular Costa del Sol holiday resort   The dangers of snow clearing: two New York children, buried under snow for hours, rescued by local police   Met Office expects autumn to be UK's third warmest for more than 100 years (ie, since records began) - and still no sign of any cold or snowy weather on the horizon.

Brisbane storms catches city by surprise with widspread damage from winds and golf ball sized hailstones.  And in the west, wild storm brings havoc to Perth Thanksgiving Day disruption as nor'easter storm blasts eastern US with heavy rain and snow What happens in Siberia if it's so cold the brakes on the plane freeze? "If you want to fly, give the plane a push" A report from the Royal Society reports that risk from extreme weather is set to rise (which to be fair, would be the case whatever was going on with the climate, simply by virtue of more and more people living in places already prone to extreme weather events, or even, as in Britain, just living on existing floodplains). And other studies likewise tells us only what we already knew (and I've mentioned here numerous times over the past few years) that geo-engineering: climate fixes 'could harm billions' Renewables 'biggest power source' in Scotland.  Except when it is...

Fierce winds 'no joke' as damage mounts in Toronto Flood fears ease in snowy Buffalo Antarctic ice thicker than previously thought, study finds And global warming skeptics unmoved by extreme weather

Morroco flash flood leaves dozens dead In South Africa, tornado sweeps through KZN Strong earthquake hits central Japan, destroying buildinsg in ski town and there have been four dead in China earthquake this weekend. Buffalo braces for flooding as seven feet of snow starts melting But in the SW, as snow fades, California residents are left high and very dry More than 100 glaciers have vanished from Glacier National Park - and soon there will be none Spectacular sea fog blankets Sydney during heatwave as NSW records its hottest ever November day, whilst today in Sydney, 15,000 properties lose power as bureau warns of damaging hail in regional NSW And  extreme weather 'could become normal' warms World Bank report

Sadly, regional newspapers have been conned into publishing more utter crap as, for example, it is claimed snow and record low temperatures could hit south west within days .  The story is just a repeat of the lies Nathan Rao spread earlier in the week and shows that regional media are no better than anyone else at checking basic facts!  Mind the Telegraph isn't much better warning winter to arrive with below-freezing icy blast - with overnight temperatures predicted to fall to -4c in the Scottish Highlands on Sunday!  Oh my!  There is no unusually cold weather on the horizon and certainly no snow apart from some transient falls over higher hills, mainly in Scotland - and we're set to see November end as yet another warmer than normal month. Meanwhile, the heat goes on: Earth headed for warmest year on record as NOAA data confirms October the warmest ever recorded.  The 4th such this year.  So it's not just us. Buildings collapse and thirtee...

Flood fears as snowfall in north-eastern USA subsides whilst dramatic aerial photos show force of Buffalo storm Australia sizzles: more than 25 bushfires burning as heatwave hits eastern states Reindeer threatened after heavy rains in Norway freeze their food solid Denmark to have second warmest autumn ever Giant sinkhole swallows up old min in Russia's Urals And some great mammatus pictures by Mike Hollingshead