12th June - Today's News: At Least 16 Killed in Arkansas Flash Floods

I've finally got myself one of those new fangled mobile phone thingies which, as well as sending and receiving phone call, provides internet access. And am pleased to find I can now access W&ESN on the move - along with many of the news stories I link to here. But don't expect me to be posting anything on the move! Not yet anyway.

Terrible news from the USA as Arkansas floodwaters hit campsites and leave 16 dead. earlier reports suggested 20 dead, and the number may well increase as the search for survivors continues with the latest news saying that US emergency centre gets reports of 73 people possible missing at flooded camp site. As the Arkansas flood survivors describe 'tsunami' that killed at least 16 I can only reflect on the times I've seen small Highland streams turn into raging torrents overnight - and remember the occasion I fled a camp spot by the Etive river on Rannoch Moor in pitch darkness as the waters threatened to overspill the banks. It was years before I felt comfortable camping by a stream after that.

Wind protesters head for the Lammermuir hills - hopefully in time our new government will push for new nuclear power stations and end the subsidaries given for desecrating remote hillsides .....

Jupiter impact: mystery of the missing debris - was it a comet or meteorite? Or something else .... Meanwhile, somewhat further afield, exoplanet spotted in motion around its sun

And the forecast is .... severe storm 93 million miles away followed by death and destruction - well we have to have something to scare us .... Personally all I'm worried about is whether it'll affect my digital camera. Can't have the end of the world happening and not be able to take pictures!

Rather amazingly, belief in climate change 'drops' in UK - though belief it's all down to carbon emissions I can quite understand.

Himalayan climate impacts 'cannot be generalised'

Scientists unmask 'ghost mountains' of Antarctica at last

A cooler Pacific may have severely affected medieval Europe, North America

In southern Europe there are hotspots where heatwaves could pose greater health risk

But some rather better news, that's if like me you like cold winters: more cold and snowy winters to come in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America - and it's all down to the Arctic getting warmer! But it's not all down to AGW:
"While the emerging impact of greenhouse gases is an important factor in the changing Arctic, what was not fully recognised until now is that a combination of an unusual warm period due to natural variability, loss of sea ice reflectivity, ocean heat storage and changing wind patterns working together has disrupted the memory and stability of the Arctic climate system, resulting in greater ice loss than earlier climate models predicted," says Dr Overland.

"The exceptional cold and snowy winter of 2009-2010 in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America is connected to unique physical processes in the Arctic," he says.

Nice to see mention of a combination of factors rather than the more usual modern foible of blaming everything on one factor whilst dismissing everything else - as those on both sides of the AGW debate are so wont to do. However, I see no mention of changes in insolation that have occurred over the past few thousand years being taken into account. Based on current Milankovitich Cycles, Arctic summers should be cooler, winters a little warmer and snow and ice extent growing - though that's over a multi-centenial time span of course.

And finally, a little bit of weather fashion news: stockings sales soar as weather changes - and I ain't complaning!


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