World Ice Sheets

The Northern Hemisphere cooled as volcanic particles reflected the sun's heat, forcing warmer weather fronts south which led to warming in Antarctica, the researchers said. Conversely, their research suggests that Southern Hemisphere eruptions could also have triggered abrupt warming in Greenland during the last Ice Age.

The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The Durham team said their findings showed that the potential effects of eruptions should be considered when predicting future climate change.

Previous research shows that there were several episodes of rapid and substantial Greenland warming of around 10C during the last Ice Age.

Such a rise could potentially have catastrophic consequences for the Greenland ice sheet and sea level rise if this were to happen today.

"Although this might not be an immediate threat, we should consider this new perspective regarding the effects that very large volcanic eruptions might have on future climate change," said James Baldini, lead author from Durham University's Department of Earth Sciences. "Current climatic background conditions are different now than they were during the last Ice Age as there are no large Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to amplify the effects of the original eruption.

http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2015/11/worlds-largest-ice-sheets-threatened-volcanic-eruptions

Oklahoma divided between freezing, flooding areas

No matter where you’re coming from in the state, traveling to Bedlam on Saturday is going to be tough.

A sharp dividing line of freezing conditions to the northwest and heavy rain and flooding to the southeast that cuts right through the heart of Oklahoma will make for a dicey commute to Stillwater.

The temperature at the 7 p.m. kickoff time between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is expected to be about 33 degrees, but it’ll feel more like 25, according to AccuWeather.com’s forecast.

Potentially freezing rain will make matters worse, AccuWeather meteorologist Andy Mussolini said.

On Saturday, the National Weather Service extended an ice storm warning for central and western Oklahoma until 6 p.m.

The weather service says up to .15 of an inch of additional ice could accumulate as temperatures remain at or below freezing.

Temperatures sitting right at 32 degrees throughout the day Friday in the Norman and Oklahoma City areas created freezing rain and sleet that  lingered into the day Saturday.

Driving from the Tulsa area shouldn’t be quite as treacherous — but once you hit Stillwater, that will be a different story, said meteorologist Joe Sellers with the National Weather Service in Tulsa.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/weather/oklahoma-divided-between-freezing-flooding-areas/article_09f06946-16ed-5233-81a2-ea5e5c82f1e5.html

U.S. hardest-hit nation for weather-related disasters

If there has ever been a finding that exemplifies the need for additional investments in weather resiliency and adaptation measures, the United Nations put it forth this week.

Over the past 20 years, 90% of major disasters have been caused by weather, and the United States was the hardest-hit country, according to a new U.N. report.

Worldwide, there have been 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heat waves, droughts and other weather-related events since 1995. More than 600,000 lives have been lost and 4.1 billion people have been injured, left homeless or in need of emergency assistance as a result of those disasters, according to the report compiled by the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/11/28/us-hardest-hit-nation-weather-related-disasters/76375988/

How El Niño Affects the Weather

This year’s hurricane season is winding down. And as meteorologists predicted, there was above average activity in the eastern and central Pacific and less than usual in the Atlantic. The reason, also as predicted: a strong El Niño.

El Niño may have also contributed to October 2015 being the warmest on record, at 0.98°C (1.76°F) above the 20th century average for the month.

Now we’ll begin to see the weather phenomenon’s influence on winter storms and rainfall. But that doesn’t mean drought-stricken California can celebrate just yet.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151125-el-nino-hurricanes-drought-climate-science/

Extreme weather kills 10

It's not even winter yet, but the deadly weather in parts of the United States suggests otherwise. 

Following a weekend where at least 10 weather-related deaths were reported in Texas and Kansas, more than 3 million people find themselves in a winter storm warning for heavy snow. 

And about 9 million -- in an area extending from Oklahoma to Wisconsin and Minnesota -- are under a winter weather advisory for snow and ice. 

By Monday afternoon, snow was falling across Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. Anywhere between 6 and 10 inches of snow -- and up to a foot -- were expected, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said.

Over the weekend, black ice and treacherous road conditions led to the deaths of five people in Kansas. 

And Texas is grappling with a different kind of extreme weather: mammoth flooding that has already killed five people.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/30/us/wintry-weather/

Third Winter Storm in a Row

The third heavy snowfall in less than two weeks was taking aim Tuesday at Minnesota and South Dakota, where some cities declared snow emergencies with several inches already on the ground and as much as foot more expected overnight.
The storm system that slammed much of the middle of the country over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was winding down Monday, but a new system gathered over the northern Plains, centered over South Dakota and southern Minnesota — including the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/winter-storm-targets-midwest-plains-again-some-brace-foot-snow-n471316

Dry Weather Aids South Dakota Harvest, Increases Fire Danger

Dry weather over the past week in South Dakota helped farmers with harvest but also increased the risk for wildfires in the state.

The Agriculture Department says in its weekly crop report that the planting of winter wheat in South Dakota is wrapping up, and the harvest of soybeans has reached 90 percent.

About one-third of the corn, sorghum and sunflower crops are in the bin.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay is at 95 percent complete.

Pasture and range conditions statewide are rated 50 percent good to excellent. Stock water supplies are 71 percent adequate to surplus.

http://www.agweb.com/article/dry-weather-aids-south-dakota-harvest-increases-fire-danger-NAA-associated-press/

November brings chance of severe weather

It’s widely known by longtime residents that late spring is not the only time of year tornadoes threaten Limestone County.

With Nov. 1 drawing closer, officials are encouraging homeowners to take stock of their disaster preparedness plans because “fall tornado season” is almost here.

October’s weather has been calm enough, with heavy rains and scattered storms bringing lower temperatures. Forecasters are calling for a chance of rain during the weekend and on into the week of Halloween, but no severe weather is expected.

It’s not all been quiet, though, as a lightning strike from a late-night storm caused a house fire in Athens last week, authorities said. This time of year is typically when temperatures warm back up before strong cold fronts bring sustained cold temperatures to the area, according to meteorologists. That meeting of warm and cold air means the chance for severe storms to develop.

http://www.enewscourier.com/news/november-brings-chance-of-severe-weather/article_f20618e2-7848-11e5-8613-d736864a4901.html

Arizona prepares for forecast of unusually wet weather

FLAGSTAFF, AZ - Pima County bought a new sandbag machine. Coconino County added severe weather events to its list of emergency notifications. Yavapai County ramped up social media messages so residents are better prepared for what's expected to be an unusually wet winter.

Around Arizona, emergency management officials are getting ready for the weather phenomenon known as El Nino that historically has dumped heavy rain and snow across the state. The persistent warming of the Pacific Ocean doesn't necessarily mean winter storms will be more intense, but they will be more frequent, said Tony Merriman of the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.

"We could even see more liquid precipitation than snow, or vice versa," he said. "We'll find out."

Strong El Nino seasons have brought nearly 3 feet more snow on average to Flagstaff than in typical years. Prescott has had 20 inches of snow, while Tucson has seen double the rainfall of normal years in those winters. In Phoenix, the number of rainy days in strong El Nino seasons averaged 34, compared with a typical 23 days.

http://www.abc15.com/news/state/arizona-prepares-for-forecast-of-unusually-wet-weather

weather pattern to dump deluge on Austin area

The National Weather Service is calling the rainy weather conditions over the next three days the “Squeeze Play,” but, the meteorologists warn that it should be taken far more seriously than any Texas Major League Baseball team’s World Series hopes.

It’s a combination of of three factors that all appear to converge upon Central Texas, with the potential of delivering up to 7 inches of rain across the region, with pockets of precipitation totals as high as 10 inches.

Rainfall chances will increase dramatically Thursday, and the greatest chances of heavy rains will be from Friday morning through Saturday evening, the weather service said.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/squeeze-play-weather-pattern-to-dump-deluge-on-aus/nn7NC/

Snowy weather, crashes close stretch of EB I-70

Multiple crashes and inclement weather Thursday morning have closed a stretch of Interstate 70, officials said.

Eastbound I-70 is closed at Silverthorne through the Eisenhower Tunnel with no reopening time, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. 

Several property-damage crashes and snowy road conditions contributed to the road closure, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis. 

Lewis could not confirm whether any of the crashes resulted in injuries.

One crash involved a vehicle and a CDOT snow plow on Colorado 91 at mile marker 11, Lewis said. No injuries have been reported in that crash.

Summit County is on accident alert, Lewis said, along with Clear Creek County.

http://www.denverpost.com/weathernews/ci_29007736/snowy-weather-crashes-close-stretch-eb-i-70

Patricia Strengthens Into Hurricane

Patricia strengthened into a hurricane early Thursday morning and is forecast to make landfall along Mexico's Pacific coast on Friday as a dangerous hurricane. Damaging winds, storm surge flooding and rainfall flooding are all threats to the Mexican coast.

As of 10 a.m. CDT, Patricia was located about 240 miles south-southwest of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico and 285 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. The storm is rapidly strengthening and is likely to become a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or higher, later Thursday.

• A hurricane warning is in effect along the Pacific coast of Mexico from Cabo Corrientes to Punta San Telmo. 
• Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings are in effect east of Punta San Telmo to Lazaro Cardenas as well as north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas, including the Puerta Vallarta area.
• A tropical storm watch is posted from east of Lazaro Cardenas to Tecpan De Galeana.

http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-depression-twenty-e-tropical-storm-hurricane-patricia-mexico

State of Emergency Declared on Greek Island

A state of emergency was declared by Greek officials Thursday after torrential rain fell on the island of Skopelos, the filming location of the movie “Mamma Mia!”

The Valley Morning Star reports the declaration was issued after hours of rain caused power outages, extensive road damage and flooding that swept cars away. 

"A series of low pressure systems have moved through southern Europe this week, resulting in locally heavy rainfall," said weather.com digital meteorologist Quincy Vagell. "A disturbance in the upper levels of the atmosphere spun over the Greece vicinity for a few days, prolonging a feed of moisture into the area."

The Greek armed forces have joined efforts to repair the widespread damage, transferring earth moving machines to the island, says Ekathimerini.com. 

Schools on the island remained closed Friday and dozens of homes suffered flooding damage. Fortunately no serious injuries were reported.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/greece-skopelos-island-mamma-mia-state-of-emergency-flood

Full Moon or Sky Full of Clouds?

Weather conditions will also play a significant role in who is able to catch a glimpse of the historic sight.

"The current forecasts show that a stubborn low off the East Coast may lead to cloud cover blocking the eclipse from view over the Middle Atlantic region and Southeast," weather.com meteorologist Quincy Vagell said. "A storm system in the north-central states may also bring disrupting clouds from the northern Plains back into the central Rockies. Elsewhere, high pressure is expected to bring good viewing condition to parts of New England, the Midwest, Southwest and the West Coast."

Most all of North America, South America and Africa will have a chance to see something truly amazing on Sunday when three celestial events – a full moon, a supermoon, and a lunar eclipse – will coincide for a few hours.

The majority of the viewing area will see the full eclipse for about an hour, but where you are in the world will determine just how late you need stay awake (or how early you need to get up) to take it all in.

According to USA Today, the West Coast of the United States and Canada have the best timeframe. Folks in Vancouver and Los Angeles can enjoy the sight over dinner with the full eclipse happening around 7:11 p.m. It will last one hour and 12 minutes.

Eastern U.S. cities, including New York and Atlanta, will have to wait until 10:11 p.m., and South American cities such as Rio will have to wait a further hour.

Viewers in Europe and Africa will have to get up early on the morning of the 28th, with the full eclipse peaking at around 3:11 a.m. in London and Tangier and about 4:11 a.m. for Madrid and Cape Town.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/who-has-best-views-of-supermoon-eclipse

Cold Blob?

When NOAA released its report on the first seven months of 2015, the map of the globe was almost completely covered in red to signify that most of the planet was experiencing above-average temperatures for the year.

But there was one big chunk of the North Atlantic Ocean that was a deep, dark blue. Some saw the below-average temperatures of that region as the lone silver lining on the entire map while others questioned why that area was having its coldest year on record.

As the Washington Post points out, those readings are almost assuredly accurate; NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information confirmed it. The message that came next from some climate scientists was a quick reminder that this cold "blob" is probably not good news.

Some experts theorize that the cold water south of Iceland shows the Atlantic Ocean's circulation is slowing, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. In short, warm and cold water should work together to balance out the temperature of the oceans, Inhabitat said. Cold, salty water should be pushed down below the surface, and warm water should rise up to replace it. Likewise, the warm salt water should move north with the current, and cold water should go south.

But the massive ice melt occurring in the Arctic has introduced a lot of cold, fresh water into the mix, and it's not behaving the same as cold salt water. It's preventing the sinking that usually happens with cold water, as fresh water is less dense than salt water, and that could be weakening the circulation.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/north-atlantic-cold-blob

Typhoon Dujuan

Just one month after the island nation was battered by the massive Typhoon Soudelor, Taiwan's residents, fearing another disaster, have sheltered from another tropical system bearing down on their country.

Taiwan's National Fire Agency, part of the Ministry of the Interior, has already reported 50 injuries. There were no deaths and nobody missing at the time of the report.

So far 7,125 people have been evacuated, more than 2,000 people were spread amongst 72 shelters, and 168,500 households are without running water, the report continued. According to the Taiwan Power Company, 1.8 million households lost power at some point during the storm, with 700,000 people remaining in the dark.

"To be honest, we all feel very depressed. Any damage may further prolong the time needed for reconstruction," Chou Chih-kang, a Wulai neighborhood chief, told the French Press Agency (AFP).

Dujuan's approach is just one month after Typhoon Soudelor dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of Taiwan. The storm killed at least eight people in Taiwan and 26 in China. At its peak intensity, Soudelor became the strongest storm on the planet in 2015.

Now, officials are preparing for the possibility of more disaster. At least 24,000 troops have been put on alert to respond to emergencies, and 100 shelters have been prepared in Taiwan, AFP also reported.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/typhoon-dujuan-impacts

Flood Near Utah Causes 20 Deaths

The flash flooding that hit along the Utah-Arizona border earlier this week is now blamed for 20 deaths. 

Twelve of those were in the small Utah border community of Hildale after a wall of water dragged swept through the town. A vehicle carrying three women and 13 children was swept away; three children survived. A 6-year-old boy remains missing.

Hildale Mayor Philip Barlow said the three women who died were sisters: Josephine Jessop, Naomi Jessop and Della Black. Josephine Jessop and Naomi Jessop were also sister wives, both married to Joseph N. Jessop. It's not uncommon in the polygamous sect for relatives to marry the same man.

The names of the children, ranging from 4 to 11 years old, were not disclosed.

People rushed to the scene when the cars finally came to a stop downstream. What they saw was gruesome; dead bodies were strewn everywhere and the vehicles that once held them were crumpled and mangled, almost beyond recognition. But somehow, they found one boy who survived the ordeal, standing nearby.

Authorities in Mohave County, Arizona, confirmed the death of 33-year-old Ryan Mertlich. His car was discovered heavily damaged in a flood plain about 15 miles west of Colorado City. Mertlich's family reported him missing Tuesday, saying he typically drives the back roads in the area. His body was found late Thursday.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/utah-flash-floods

Tornado in Will County

A trained weather service observer spotted a tornado Friday afternoon near Frankfort, while a tornado warning for south-central Cook County and central Will County expired and was followed by a flash flood warning in much of the Chicago area.

A severe thunderstorm that was capable of producing a tornado was spotted near Monee or Frankfort about 4:43 p.m., moving east at 20 mph and triggering the tornado warning. Just before 7 p.m., the weather service issued a flash flood warning for northwestern Cook County, Lake and Kane counties and parts of DuPage, McHenry and DeKalb counties until 6:15 a.m. Saturday. Lake County in Indiana also was under a flash flood warning.

Parts of Cook and Will counties are under a severe thunderstorm warning until 1 a.m., the National Weather Service said.

"Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area," the weather service said in the warning. "Rainfall amounts of up to 2 inches per hour are expected with this area of heavy rainfall."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-area-weather-warnings-20150918-story.html

Update on California Fires

A Northern California wildfire ranked as the most destructive to hit the drought-stricken U.S. West this year has claimed one life and burned at least 400 homes to the ground, fire officials reported on Monday, saying they expected the property toll to climb.

The so-called Valley Fire erupted on Saturday and spread quickly to a cluster of small communities in the hills and valleys north of Napa County's wine-producing region, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.

Some recounted chaotic ordeals of having to flee their homes through gauntlets of flame engulfing the neighborhoods around them.

"That whole place was ablaze. It was like Armageddon," said Steve Johnson, a 37-year-old construction worker from Southern California who was visiting his mother in the fire-ravaged community of Hidden Valley Lake. "We were literally driving through the flames."

http://www.voanews.com/content/california-wildfires-rage/2962816.html

European Weather Linked to Drought

A swath of central Europe has suffered the most severe drought since 2003 in what EU climate experts see as a harbinger of climate changes to come.

Rainless weeks and relentless heat desiccated a vast tract of central European land separating the continent’s drier south from its wetter north between April 1 and July 31, according to a report by the European drought observatory (EDO).

“This is where we expect to see more extreme weather such as floods and droughts in the future, and what we are gradually starting to see in the present,” said Frank Raes, the head of the climate change unit at the EU’s Joint Research Center which commissioned the report.

It found that monthly rainfall averages fell by as much as 80 percent in parts of France, and parts of northern Spain experienced daily temperatures over 30 degrees for more than 40 consecutive days.

Drought conditions did ease in August, but the European center for medium-range weather forecasting predicts above average temperatures across the continent in September, with drier than usual conditions for most of central and northern Europe.

While the UK and some parts of Europe have been relatively unaffected by the water shortages, the drought was even worse than 2003 in regions such Limousin in France, Rhine Hessen-Phalz in Germany and Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium.

However, Dim Coumou, a climate modeller at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research advised caution in drawing conclusions about individual weather events. “It is too early to say how severe the current drought in Europe is,” he said.

“The Mediterranean is generally considered a hotspot and the models project strong increases in drought conditions there. But where exactly the [central European] belt is, I don’t think can be quantified,” he said.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/european-extreme-weather-drought-19410