Storm soaks California, but far from a drought-breaker – ‘The chances of getting back to average are vanishingly small because we’re simply too deep in the hole’

By Colin Atagi and Ian James 1 March 2014 (The Desert Sun) – A storm swirling in from the Pacific Ocean unleashed heavy rains across much of California on Friday, bringing the state a needed soaking but not nearly enough to significantly ease the drought. Snow blanketed peaks in the Sierra Nevada, while in parts […]

Climate change, winter storms, and the future of European wine

By Peter Coy     13 February 2014 (Business Week) – You may have trouble believing that today’s mammoth snow-and-ice storm on the East Coast has anything to do with climate change, even though there’s strong scientific evidence that global warming makes erratic weather in the U.S. more likely by disrupting the jet stream. But while you […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of extratropical cyclone over the United Kingdom, 12 February 2014

By Adam Voiland12 February 2014 (NASA) – Soggy winters are not unusual in the United Kingdom, but this winter has been in a category of its own. UK Met Office meteorologists had just declared January 2014 the wettest month on record for parts of southern Britain when another series of storms swept across the area […]

Global warming, winter weather, and the Olympics – Five leading climate scientists weigh in

By ANDREW C. REVKIN14 February 2014 (The New York Times) – There’s a noteworthy letter in today’s edition of the journal Science, titled “Global Warming and This Winter’s Cold Weather,” that aims to cut through the flood of overwrought assertions about recent Northern Hemisphere winter weather in the context of global warming. It’s written by […]

UK floods: Homes without power as new storm approaches – ‘This is an exceptional event. It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776 and we think it is likely December, January and February will be the highest for 250 years.’

13 February 2014 (BBC News) – Engineers are working to restore power to thousands of UK homes as forecasters warn a storm on Friday could be worse than Wednesday’s destructive weather. BBC Weather’s John Hammond said the storm, approaching from the Atlantic, would be “every bit as intense, if not more” compared with Wednesday’s. About […]

UK floods could last months, scientist warns – 1.6 million properties across Britain at risk of groundwater flooding

By Thomas Moore, Science Correspondent 11 February 2014 (Sky News ) – Scientists have told Sky News that groundwater levels are now so high that parts of Britain face a serious risk of flooding for weeks or even months to come. Andy McKenzie, a groundwater scientist at the British Geological Survey, told Sky News that […]

Homes evacuated as swollen Thames keeps rising – UK Environment Agency has never issued so many severe flood warnings – Many areas have seen more than double their average rainfall

10 February 2014 (BBC News) – Flooded homes along the River Thames are being evacuated and thousands more are at risk, with water levels expected to keep rising for the next 24 hours. Residents in one Berkshire village say the scenes are from a “horror movie”. Fourteen severe flood warnings are in place in Berkshire […]

UK faces another week of storms after wettest January since 1766

9 February 2014 (theguardian.com) – Forecasters have warned of another week of storms as the prime minister prepares to lead the latest emergency meeting about the flooding crisis. Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph are predicted to die down throughout Sunday but the brief respite will be broken by another storm arriving Monday […]

Waves lash South Coast of Britain as storm hits – Coastguard warns of ‘phenomenal’ 14-metre waves as 80 mph winds hit the coastline

8 February 2014 (Sky News) – Southern Britain is on alert as hurricane-force winds and heavy rain combine with high tides to threaten more flooding misery. South Wales and the South West were the first areas to be hit by the storm which is set to move over the rest of southern England throughout the […]

Graph of the Day: Temperature anomaly for Africa, 2001-2010

Contact: Karolin Eichler (WMO/OBS/WIS/DMA) Features of the decade – temperature The decade 2001-2010 was characterized by a record in global temperature increase since sufficiently comprehensive global surface temperature measurement began in 1850 For global land-surface air temperatures as well as for ocean-surface temperatures this decade was the warmest on record This trend is confirmed at […]

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