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Showing posts from August, 2013

31st August - Today's News: UK's Best Summer Since 2006

UK summer warmest, driest, sunniest since 2006 Video of huge waterspout spotted off Croatian coast Russian ecologists link far east floods to global warming Global warming slowdown linked to cooler Pacific waters - although this is nothing new and in fact the PDO switching to a negative mode, at the same time as reduced solar activity, was one of the reasons some have been harping on about imminient catastrophic global cooling in recent years.   And there are reports of a new fumarole near Fiumicinio airport in Rome - though it's yet to be confirmed that the 'vent' is geological in nature

30th August - Today's News: Warmest Winter Ever For Australian Cities

Brisbane winter 2013 the warmest on record ,  in Melbourne it's been wet and windy but maybe our warmest winter yet and Sydney enjoys its warmest cold season in 150 years as well. But it's not all warm in the south hemisphere with snow blanketing South America kills 250,000 alpacas, at least 5 people dead whilst there's desert snow in the Atacama and in Peru's southern district of Puno: 12,000 families stranded by snowfall in Carabaya And in SA, Cape Town shivers in the snow whilst community stranded by rain Yosemite wildfire blankets region with choking smoke And in Portugal, dozens detained as fires rage Hampshire 'votex of hay' captured on camera At least 24 killed as Mali capital Bamoko hit by deadly floods (and I admit I'd never even heard of Bamoko before!)  Vladimir Putin admits the Russian Far East is 'taking a beating' from the worst-ever floods Tropical storm Juliette kills one near Mexican tourist hub

28th August - Today's News: Questions Over UK Wind Farms

Wildfire to shut down another road into Yosemite National Park Heavy rain causes flash floods in Toronto Darfur peacekeepers missing in Sudan floods NE China floods threaten more people as peak reaches Harbin Monster cloud triggers heavy rain, leaves Kolkata flooded whilst flood again plays havoc in Pakistan And in Viet Nam, torrential rain sparks more northern region flood fears Arctic sea ice: unlikely to break records but downward trend continues Climate change may make Greenland greener by 2100 - though of course, one of the reasons for the lack of trees around the southern Greenland coast is that the Vikings chopped them all down ( as they also did in Iceland ) and a combination of subsequent soil erosion, livestock grazing and the short growing season prevented re-establishment. Scientists gather at the WMO to discuss whether weather could be controlled using lasers And UN ruling puts future if UK wind farms in jeopardy - whilst the Telegrap

27th August - Today's News: California 'Rim' Wildfire Spreads, Threatens Water & Power Supply

Several videos from CNN as Yosemite wildfire grow, threatens reservoir, power station and firefighters rush to defend town from Californian's raging Rim fire .  As usual, lots of pictures in the Daily Mail as California wildfire now tainting 85 percent of San Francisco's drinking water. Coastal resorts hit with flooding as bank holiday weekend gets a month's rain in just a few hours - fortunately, after Saturday's rain across the east of the country, the rest of the weekend was dry.  Some impressive scenes though in Southend, before the great clean-up starts whilst drama as Essex floods force family to be rescued from sinking car Midwest, Plains swelter in late-summer heat wave Calm before the storm?  What August hurricane lull means Tropical Storm Fernand kills 13 with landslides in eastern Mexico A rare snow falls in the Atacama desert of Chile - though of course, not all of the region is extremely arid and snow in winter is not actually al

25th August - Today's News: Snow Ploughs Clear Colorado Hail

Snow plows called out to clear vehicles in Colorado after freak summer storm dumped golf ball sized hail California wildfire reaches Yosemite Park And hundreds battle wildfires raging in central Portugal Heavy dumps of snow boost Victoria's stop-start ski season   whilst Hobart had it's coldest August morning in 41 years as skiers rejoice as chill hits Tasmania - but overall it's been a warm and relatively snowless winter down under. Torrential rain hits Shimane prefecture, west Japan Sea ice decline spurs the greening of the Arctic And is this how the rhino got his woolly coat ?

23rd August - Today's News: 10 Years Weather in 3 Minutes

Incredible time-lapse satellite video shows ten years of weather in just 3 minutes - well worth a watch Storm damage in York after evening thunderstorms yesterday - there's a risk of some more big storms tonight and tomorrow, though as usual I'm expecting these to miss Evesham! In Dundee, residents left in a spin by Lochee tornado - or, rather, funnel cloud Not seen any myself yet, but hot weather causes flying ants invasion across Britain Firefighters battle wild blazes across Spain In Russia's far east city of Khabarovsk faces evacuation of tens of thousands is Amur river keeps rising Wildfire near Yosemite Park sends tourists fleeing Haze blankets Hong Kong as pollution hits very high level Tropical Storm Trami batters southern China Sudan deadly floods affect 300,000 people Tokyo tries cloud seeding to induce rain and end water shortage .  Bet it doesn't work. Colder climate holds key to fluctuations in penguin num

21st August - Today's News: 21 Workers Killed in China Flash Flood

China flash flood kills 21 workers in Qinghai province Russia flood victims in far east pay for past mistakes China braces for Typhoon Trami Low number of tornadoes in 2013 linked to absence of strong storm systems in the US Tassie rain records smashed How lightning victims were saved by the bright sparks

20th August - Today's News: Record Rainfall in Philippines

Record Rainfall hits the Philippines - 326mm fell on Tuesday Meanwhile, over 200 now dead or missing in China floods and as Russia battles huge far east flood - 20,000 evacuated , including two brown bears In Germany, tornado rips up church campsite, injures 27 Taiwan evacuates more than 1,000 after tropical storm warning At least 27 die as Yemen wedding party swept away by floods Climate leaks 'are misleading' says IPCC ahead of major report Global sea level rise dampened by Australian floods - unlike elsewhere, much of the water remains inland instead of flowing to the sea, thus decreasing the amount of fresh rain water reaching the oceans. How shale fracking led to an Ohio town's first 100 earthquakes - coming soon to a town in England, too .... (although frankly, I feel we really have no choice given our inability to wean ourselves off primitive Victorian technology and a wastral attitude towards energy) And can powdered rain make dr

19th August - Today's News: Severe Floods in Eastern Russia & China

Russia's far east hit by biggest floods in 120 years whilst 40 killed as floods ravage NE China and also another 20 killed, 7 missing in south China floods Manila hit by torrential rain and waist-deep floodwaters Here in Britain 'perfect' weather brings bumper apple harvest Impressive pictures as there's a record eruption at Japanese volcano, city covered in ash with more video on the BBC Idaho firefighters optimistic as they battle against wildfire European forests near 'carbon saturation point' New insights into creating ball lightning in the lab

17th August - Today's News: Earthquakes Hits Central NZ

Earthquakes rock central New Zealand - the largest a shallow mag 6.5.  However there doesn't appear to have been any major damage with Wellington back in business after shakes Floods kill 25 in NE China whilst Russia's far east prepares for flood peak Monsoon  rain, floods continue to play havoc in Pakistan Japanese cities 'compete' for title of hottest in the country Extreme weather events fuel climate change and heat waves to become much more frequent and severe - according to a Potsdam Institute study.

14th August - Today's News: Typhoon Utor Batters Hong Kong

Typhoon lashes Hong Kong with wind, rain - with more pictures here .   Utor is the strongest tropical storm seen so far this year. Darkest day as Harry, king of the weather forecasters die - of course, like all us amateurs, folk forget all the times his forecast was wrong and/or he failed to predict severe weather (conversely, folk always forget when professionals get it right and remember instead only the occasions they were wrong.  C'est la vie). From Sweden, film of 'magnificent' liquid tornado rainbow (first time I've heard a waterspout called a liquid tornado!) Record heat wave bakes Canada's north Lightning strikes moving train in Japan - there were suggestions that a lightning strike may have been involved in a deadly train crash in China in 2011.   Meanwhile, heat wave continues to bake nation and dozens die in north Asia heat wave as power supply strained Uganda town submerged by floodwater Seasonal carbon dioxide range expa

13th August - Today's News: Record High Temps in Japan, S Korea

Japan, South Korea soar to hottest recorded levels as north Asia sweats heat wave However, it turns out that Greenland may not have reached highest recorded summer temperature in late July  - the sensor's position does not quite fit WMO criteria and therefore may not be accepted as an official record.  Though of course this does not preclude the possibility that the highest temps did occur - but were not recorded as we don't have a sensor in every square meter of the planet. And in WA, hot August night smashes century old record - in this case, I think, according to properly situated BoM sensors. Typhoon Utor dispalces thousands in the Philippines More rain in Colorado town hit by deadly mudslide And in Washington, flood, landslides strandf 65 hikers in Cascades, close Highway 20

12th August - Today's News: Typhoon Utor Batters Philippines

Typhoon Utor batters Philippines Here in Britain, late autumn 'to bring bumper fruit crop' for wildlife - though I've already had some delicious 'wild' blackberries from my back garden. Rain brings relief in Beijing as scorching heat wave persists for 18th day whilst Japan heatwave sees temperature hit record 41c Floods in Sudan leave scores homeless

10th August - Today's News: Heatwave & Deadly Flash Floods Hit Japan

Torrential rain in northern Japan leaves two dead and five missing whilst temperature tops 40 degrees in Kochi as heat wave intensifies In Siberia, state of emergency as serious flooding hits the Amur Region amid concerns over dam Temperatures close to 38 degrees as heat wave roasts Poland - 0.3c off the all time record Calif. faces longer, tough wildfire season Wind storm hits Bolivia China tries £20m hi-tech raindance as country roasts in heat wave - in other words, more cloud seeding Here in Britain dry weather means it's a bumper year for lavender US sees neutral ENSO conditions lingering into next spring Why an ice age occurs every 100,000 years: climate and feedback effects explained

9th August 2013 - Today's News: Record High Temperatures in Europe, Taiwan, China

As the European heat wave continues this week there have been more record high temperatures in Austria whilst in Slovakia a new temperature record for Bratislava on Thursday .  And in the Mediterranean, sea temperatures hit record levels as well. In China, Shanghai sets new all-time record (again) as heat wave bakes eastern China whilst across the water in Taiwan, Taipei bakes on hottest day in 117 years With facts and figures from Christopher Burt as more national heat records fall, China heat intensifies  And Siberian wildfires intensified by heatwave across Arctic Russia in July In central USA, heavy rains kill at least two and leave path of destruction after a summer's worth of rain falls in one week in Missouri Human activity muddies causes of Texas floods though And hundreds flee uncontained Banning California wildfire Atlantic hurricane season on track to be above-normal - it doesn't normally get properly underway until around mid August

7th August - Today's News: Severe Thunderstorms Hit Germany, France

Although it's cooler in Britain now, hot and stormy weather continues across much of Europe.   Three die in Italy's 40c heatwave whilst  pigs burn in huge lightning storm in Germany.  Violent storms hit France, with more on the way  Here in Britain, tens of thousands of fish die in the heatwave last month Shanghai among the most affected as temperatures reach record high again in China Not surprisingly (unless you still believe we're plummeting into a new ice age - and yes, there are those who think so!) 2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record globally .   And I suspect 2013 may well supplant another year from the last decade to move onto that list, in due course. Cheylabinsk meterorite may have gang of siblings according to Spanish astronomers And the Sun's magnetic field is about to flip - as it does every 11 years.  A cataclysmic end of the world as we know it, is not expected.

6th August - Today's News: Flash Floods Hit England & Wales

A bit of a wet day in places yesterday - we had over 15mm in Evesham, most of it in the afternoon (before which it was actually quite warm and sunny, with the temp up to 24c).   Not good for holidaymakers as West Country and Tyneside resorts left under water after torrential rain batters Britain and flash flooding hits homes after rain across Wales whilst mother and child rescued from Cunbria floods .   Should be better the rest of the week though. 'Tornado' injures 10 workers after damaging scaffolding at North Coogee, south of Fremantle Hot weather foils Chinese man's bid to fake his own death

5th August - Today's News: Dozen Injured in European Thunderstorms

Central Europe remains in grip of heat wave as Austria breaks heat record on Saturday, whilst in Germany, violent storms injure dozens over weekend .   And thunderstorms set off floods, fires , in southern Norway Snapper captures rare picture of lightning and rainbow in Telford - using a mobile phone! Ulster's scorching July was hottest on record And controversy looms: Michael Fish never liked me, claims Bill Giles in expose of weathermen's rivalries Floods prompt disaster declaration in central Kansas In Pakistan, torrential rains play havoc across country, 25 more killed in rain related incidents whilst reports suggest nearly 60 die as flash floods hit eastern Afghanistan And in Saudi Arabia, flash flood fury leaves 7 dead in south There's also been another deluge for flood-hit North Korea Tropical Storm Jebi claims six lives in Viet Nam Another heat wave expected to hit Shanghai later this week And finally, Happy Birthday Ka

3rd August - Today's News: Hot Weather Brings Out Topless Sunbathers

On Thursday, topless sunbathers flock to London's parks as temperature soar - and why not?  Friday saw clouds interrupt heatwave but sunshine predicted for weekend . More than 1,000 fish killed by Alaska summer heatwave In South Australia, SES volunteers called to clean up damage as violent tornado sweeps through Kingston Heavy rains and flood in Pakistan kill 19 people Arctic se-ice loss has widespread effects on wildlife Alpine glaciers 'protect mountain peaks from erosion'

2nd August - Today's News: Britain, Europe, Greenland, Alaska, China all Feel the Heat

With 34.1c (or 34.2c according to MetO - unconfirmed) recorded at Heathrow, yesterday was not only the hottest day of the year but the hottest day since 19th July 2006.   Oddly, whilst Pershore recorded 31.6c I only managed 31.5c in my garden - so officially the hottest day of the year in the Vale, but unofficially only the 2nd hottest after 31.6c in my garden on 13th July this year.    Cue pictures of girls in bikinis after Britain sizzled on the hottest day of the year as temperatures hits 34.1c Meanwhile, Europe's hot spell to persist in August after July heatwave - but in Britain it looks like more normal temperatures most of the time: warm but not hot.   Oh, and although killer heatwave hits Spain it won't be twice as hot as Britain! July was warmest on record at many stations across Ireland In Alaska, Anchorage sets record for most consecutive 70-degree plus days Southern China wilts under heat wave And Greenland soars to its highest temperature ever recorded, a