El Niño usually means rainy weather, and more severe storms, for Florida

 https://www.wtsp.com/article/weather/el-nino-usually-means-rainy-weather-and-more-severe-storms-for-florida/67-622760256

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bay's recent bout of severe weather, including one EF-1 tornado in Pasco County, comes a little more than a month after the last event.
And another could happen Friday. They say two's a coincidence, could three times be a trend?
Look halfway around the world to help answer that question: It's becoming increasingly likely El Niño will form this upcoming 2018-19 winter season, according to the latest Climate Prediction Center outlook.
 
El Niño is associated with a band of warmer than average water largely along the equator in the Pacific Ocean. La Niña is its opposite, with colder than average water.
Both affect weather patterns worldwide, including in Florida. El Niño tends to bring the greatest impacts, with above average precipitation and increased storminess with a subtropical jet stream parked over the region. An El Niño scenario also typically features storm tracks that are farther south than those during a La Niña year.
"El Niño events shift global weather patterns," 10Weather's Bobby Deskins said. "Here in Florida, that shift means the southern jet stream moves over us. That stream not only brings storms to us, but the winds associated with it aloft help to make those storms stronger."
 

 

 

Severe weather possible as storms move through Central Florida

 http://www.fox35orlando.com/weather/severe-weather-possible-as-storms-move-through-central-florida

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - Central Florida may experience severe weather on Sunday as rain and storms pass through.
Rain started to come through Central Florida early on Sunday morning, meaning that sunshine and instability was limited throughout the day. The risk of severe weather is limited though thanks to early start.
There were however tornado warnings in the Gulf Coast early on Sunday. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued shortly after 11:10 a.m for southwestern Orange County and northwestern Osceola County until 11:30 a.m. by the National Weather Service.

Most of the rain should be out of Central Florida by 2 or 3 p.m., with there just being a few showers after 4 or 5 p.m.

Colder air will come in overnight and northwesterly winds will stick around for days. Frost and freeze warnings are likely on Wednesday a.m.

Trump bets there's no downside to campaigning as hurricane rages

  https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/politics/donald-trump-hurricane-michael-midterms-politics/index.html

 

(CNN)President Donald Trump tempted fate and nature by declining to cancel an optically risky campaign rally and fundraiser even as the most powerful hurricane in a quarter century thrashed across the Florida Panhandle.

The President flew north to Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, while the 150 mph winds of Hurricane Michael raged 1,000 miles to the south, as part of his blitz of key battlegrounds ahead of the midterm elections.

He did take care to create some political cover for his trip, holding an Oval Office briefing with federal officials and calling state leaders before he left.

At the top of his rally, Trump sent "thoughts and prayers of our entire nation to everyone in the path of Hurricane Michael, especially in the Florida Panhandle, where it's hitting and hitting hard." He said the government would follow "right behind" the storm with food, water and an operation to re-establish electrical power.

But on arriving in Erie, he seemed as fixated by a more than 800-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as by the storm, slamming central bankers for their monetary tightening policies, which he said had precipitated the correction.

"The Fed's gone crazy," Trump said.

Operationally, there's not much more the President can do to deal with a storm at home in the White House than aboard Air Force One or on the road. The vast infrastructure set up when he travels means he can operate just as easily while he's away as he can at the White House.

But ever since George W. Bush peered from the windows of the presidential jet at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, commanders in chief have understood that getting the politics of storm season right is crucial.

Behaving in an overtly political way when Americans are in peril or appearing to not focus exclusively on coordinating federal, state and government agencies is often seen as a pointless risk that offers an opening to critics.

That's one reason why the Republican Party canceled the first day of its nominating convention in 2008 after Bush nixed an opening night appearance to oversee the handling of Hurricane Gustav.

And President Barack Obama's purported move to put politics on hold during Hurricane Sandy -- while of course seizing the chance to show leadership -- late in his duel with Mitt Romney helped cap the 2012 election.

Trump the rule breaker

Trump has broken most presidential conventions and political rules, so it's not all that surprising he chose to go out on the campaign trail at a time when any other president would probably have made a show of staying home.

He reasoned that he didn't want to disappoint supporters who he said had been lining up hours before the start of the rally.

"We have thousands of people lined up, so we wanted to make this stop," Trump told reporters at Erie's airport.

"So we're going to do that and we have a lot of happy people," he said.

A GOP source involved in the fundraising event for Pennsylvania Senate candidate Lou Barletta told CNN's Jeff Zeleny that Trump had been urged not to cancel, as -- with the midterm elections less than four weeks away -- time is running short to reschedule an appearance by the President.

Trump did not say it, but it's obvious -- especially since he's been on a political roll in recent weeks with a booming economy and the confirmation of his second Supreme Court pick -- that he loves the trail.

Another night onstage may have been too much to give up.

Still, sometimes Presidents have to disappoint supporters and themselves in the service of wider national interests. Should it later emerge that Americans in Florida were losing their lives or in great danger while he was onstage slamming "radical" Democrats and mocking the #MeToo movement, his behavior might later seem distasteful.

But even then, he might not pay a political price -- given his legendary capacity to steer away from gaffes and disasters that would have destroyed any other politician's career years ago.

Trump also knows that many of those at most risk from Michael come from some of the most fertile areas of Trump country -- where a massive turnout helped him overturn expectations in the Sunshine State in 2016.

So among the people most affected by the storm, he's unlikely to face a backlash.

And given the power of the conservative media machine, it's unlikely that if Trump did deserve blame for a Katrina-style debacle, he would face the kind of bipartisan disdain for the government's performance that was visited on Bush.

It might be argued that Trump has already faced his Katrina moment, and with his skill at shaping alternative realities has managed to escape serious political damage.

The President, after all, spent much of the time when Hurricane Florence was bearing down on South Carolina last month blasting academic studies that found the death toll from Hurricane Maria's sweep across Puerto Rico last year was far higher than had been previously reported -- at nearly 3,000.

And while his behavior outraged critics on the island and the mainland, and seemed in poor taste, his political base appeared to insulate him, as usual. Trump's approval rating in the latest CNN poll this week is 41% -- in the same range where it always is.

Still, Trump and fellow Republicans are in trouble running into the midterms, and a days-long controversy over the President's handling of the hurricane would be unwelcome for GOP bosses. It could especially hurt Republican House members in tough districts already sinking under the President's unpopularity.

That's why most presidents would have stayed at home.

But Trump is different, lives more in the moment than most commanders in chief and appears to have deep confidence in his capacity to weather and tame controversies, especially those of his own making.

2018 has been full of weird weather so far

 https://www.popsci.com/weird-weather-2018

 

Ice and snow in Florida

Early January brought snowflakes to the Florida panhandle for the first time since 1989 (since 1885 if you’re just talking about January). That was courtesy of Winter Storm Grayson. Lest we forget the other southern states, Georgia got six inches of snow in some places and Charleston, South Carolina, got just over five. Predictably, everything came to a standstill as Bostonians laughed about pathetic Southerners. But as we reported earlier this year, there’s no reason for states where the low rarely gets below freezing to have the infrastructure to handle more than a flurry—and Bostonians wouldn’t be so cool in the face of the hurricanes that Floridians weather every year.

And snow in the Sahara

Not just a dusting—15 full inches in part of Algeria. The Sahara regularly gets cold enough to snow (nighttime temperatures generally fall below freezing in winter), but the humidity is typically far too low to produce precipitation (it being a desert and all). But experts pointed out that because the Sahara is so massive and there are so few weather stations in it, it may be downright common to see snow in some parts. We just have no way of knowing.

The coldest April followed by the hottest May

Sure, it was only the coldest April in the last 21 measly years, but it was the hottest May since we started keeping records. The National Weather Service has data tracking back 124 years in the continental U.S., and 2018 even beat out the Dust Bowl era. This increasing heat really shouldn’t be that shocking at this point—global warming has kept us on track to continually beat our previous records. The shift from the coldest April was what was so strange; two states even reported their coldest Aprils of all time.

A wildfire that caused a thunderstorm in Texas

The Mallard Fire in the Texas Panhandle burned so hot during the month of May that it formed a kind of cloud usually associated with volcanic eruptions. Pyrocumulus clouds form when air gets heated intensely, then cools and condenses as it rises. When this happens fast enough, it can sometimes cause storms (plus the rushing winds help fuel the fire). This one caused one-inch hail and lightning near Wheeler, Texas.

The Beast from the East

In late February, much of Europe (but especially the U.K. and Ireland) got blasted with arctic winds sweeping across central Europe to the west. The cold snap killed dozens as temperatures dropped dangerously, record-setting-ly low and snow slammed into many cities. Even Rome got some snow, where it is so rare to see flakes that they sent in the Italian Army to clean up the streets.

Yet more snow, this time in June

Newfoundland got a dousing of snow at the end of June accompanied by wind chills of 20°F. The average high that time of year is usually in the 60s. People are used to late-season snow that far north, but it’s been more than 20 years since any fell quite so late. Canadians can thank a big block of cold air sucked into a low-pressure system off the coast of Newfoundland for the snowfall during the last week of school.

And finally, those four nor’easters in a row

The Northeastern U.S. saw four winter storms in one month, and though snow in March isn’t terribly uncommon, it was a strangely stormy period. The jet stream happened to direct air down toward the coast while a block of air over the ocean prevented a shift in the wind, meaning that the area got pummeled again and again.
If it seems like there’s been a lot of snow-related weird weather, it’s not just because we’re only halfway through the year. Climate change may be making winter storms worse, or possibly more frequent, though it’s difficult to say for certain. Researchers think warming seas could contribute to more severe weather, and a few worry that rising temperatures in the Arctic could be destabilizing wind patterns and contributing to intense winter storms in the Northeast. Regardless, climate change will certainly mean more record-smashing temperatures and generally weird weather—so expect the unexpected.

Severe weather causes Salvation Army to be behind on donations

 https://www.kcbd.com/2018/12/10/severe-weather-causes-salvation-army-be-behind-donations/

 

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - The winter weather and snow are causing donations to the Salvation Army to come to a halt. For the safety of its volunteers, the organization didn’t deploy their red kettles over the weekend, so now their donations are behind.

“The Red Kettle campaign is the foundation of our finances,” said Salvation Army of Lubbock Captain Nathaniel Doria.

With canceling Saturdays bell ringing the Salvation Army is falling behind of reaching their $250,000 goal. "By suspending that campaign for the whole day, we are now about nine percent below last year.”

And now the Salvation Army needs your help, “We are calling for our friends in Lubbock to help us reach our goal. Lubbock has 250,000 people. If $1 is given by everybody, we’ll be done in one day,” said Doria, who says Lubbock is known for its generosity. "Those who have the experience here in Lubbock know that always, Lubbock comes up and helps the salvation army to help others.”

They are also looking for more volunteers to be bell ringers. "We need people who can smile and ring the bell and who can wish ‘Merry Christmas’ to people. Sometimes parents come with minors. That’s okay too. Complete families come, babies come. It’s a family-oriented activity.”

For more information on how to become a bell ringer, Click here.

Monetary donations can be dropped off at any kettle location or at the Salvation Army Lubbock Corps. at 1111 16th Street.

Severe weather knocks down trees and wires in New Port Richey

 https://www.wfla.com/news/pasco-county/severe-weather-knocks-down-trees-and-wires-in-new-port-richey/1648724693

 

 

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) - Severe weather moved through the Tampa Bay area Sunday morning, leaving damage behind in some communities.
Pasco was one of several counties placed under a tornado warning. The warning has since been lifted, but the weather that swept through did damage in parts of the county - specifically New Port Richey.
Pasco firefighters responded to Atis Street shortly after the tornado warning was lifted.
Pictures from the scene show several trees knocked over and live wires on the ground.
One photo shows a tree down on top of an SUV.
Firefighters also had to put out at least two small fires. One of the fires was caused by an outside meter box catching fire.
A spokesman for Pasco Fire Rescue says no injuries have been reported. Firefighters are now waiting for power companies to respond and address the live wires that were knocked down in the area.

From deadly plants to severe weather, winter can be dangerous for pets – here are some safety tips

 https://www.wkbw.com/lifestyle/from-deadly-plants-to-severe-weather-winter-can-be-dangerous-for-pets-here-are-some-tips

 

BOISE, Idaho — As temperatures continue to drop and snow begins to fall, it's important to remember that even our furry friends are affected by harsh weather conditions. That walk around the block, forgetting to take that sweater off your pup and even having festive plants around the house could harm or even kill your pet.
The Idaho Humane Society spoke with KIVI to share these helpful tips.

1. Wipe your dog's paws and underbelly after a walk in the snow. With the roads getting icy and slick, it is common for the ground to be treated with de-icer. De-icer can, and will, chemically burn your pet's paws and underbelly if left in contact with their skin for an extended time. The best way to avoid chemical burns is to wipe your pet's paws immediately after being outside or bundle them up with protective gear.
2. Remove winter apparel as soon as your pet is indoors. So you've taken preventive measures to ensure your pet won't sustain chemical burns from de-icer. But throwing a sweater and booties on your furry friend presents news risks. If their winter apparel accumulates any moisture, leaving damp clothing on your pet can potentially lead to hypothermia. While bundling your dog up outdoors is wise, take it all off once indoors.
3. Festive plants are poisonous to your pets.  Poinsettias, holly, mistletoe and lilies are beautiful plants to display around the home, but if your pet consumes these plants they run the risk of getting sick or even dying. If you choose to keep these plants around the house, make sure they are out of reach from your cat or dog.

The Idaho Humane Society also adds that with the upcoming holidays, money may get a little tight. They want you to know you have options when it comes to caring for your pet properly.
If you need help providing basic shelter for your dog or if feeding your pet has become an expense you can no longer afford, reach out to your local pet shelters. They may be able to help you.
If the overall cost of caring for your dog has become too overwhelming and relinquishing your pet is the only option, it is OK to be honest with your local pet shelter, says  Kristine Schellhaas, the communications manager for the Idaho Humane Society.
"There should be no shame when surrendering your pet," Schellhaas said. "We want people to be honest with us about the situation, what's going on with their animal so we can re-home that pet and give it the best chance as possible."

 

 

 

Reports: Over 500 accidents reported in North Carolina as snowstorm produces hazardous travel conditions

 https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/live-updates-over-1-000-flights-canceled-hundreds-of-accidents-reported-as-snowstorm-buries-carolinas-southern-virginia/70006840

 

A major snowstorm, which has already buried parts of North Carolina with over a foot of snow, will continue to cause travel disruptions and power outages into Sunday evening.
AccuWeather meteorologists say the heaviest snowfall with this storm is expected from the southern Appalachians into the western piedmont of North Carolina and southwest Virginia. Snowfall amounts of 12-18 inches are expected, especially in the mountains of North Carolina, with an AccuWeather Local storm™ of 24 inches. Travel will likely be completely halted in these regions until roads have been cleared.
 Strong winds will remain a concern in coastal areas. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph are expected across coastal North Carolina through Monday morning. Winds will be strong enough to blow down tree limbs and even power lines which could lead to localized power outages.
Download the free AccuWeather app to know when the rain and snow will start in your area.
Several school districts in North Carolina have already announced that they will be closed on Monday, including Durham Public Schools and Guilford County Schools.

 

Northern California Dog Waits Nearly a Month For Owners' Return to Home Destroyed by Camp Fire

 https://weather.com/news/news/2018-12-08-northern-california-dog-waits-home-camp-fire

 

• Madison was there waiting when his owner was allowed back to check on her burned property in Paradise this week.
• An animal rescuer first spotted the male Anatolian shepherd several days after the fire broke out on Nov. 8.
• The rescuer left food and water for the skittish dog until the owners could return home.

A dog that survived the catastrophic Camp Fire in Northern California reportedly waited at the ruins of its property for nearly a month until its owner returned.

Madison was there waiting when Andrea Gaylord was allowed back to check on her burned property in Paradise this week.

Gaylord fled when the Nov. 8 fire broke out and decimated the town of 27,000. An animal rescuer who responded to Gaylord's request to check on Madison first spotted the male Anatolian shepherd several days later.

 

Destructive Tornado Strikes Taylorville, Illinois; 26 People Hurt, Over 500 Buildings Damaged

 https://www.wunderground.com/news/storms/tornado/news/2018-12-02-illinois-tornadoes-taylorville-1dec18

 

A large tornado tore through Taylorville, Illinois, Saturday, damaging hundreds of buildings and injuring at least 26 people, two of them critically.
The tornado struck the town of about 11,200 residents just after 5 p.m. Saturday. Taylorville is about 25 miles southeast of the state's capital, Springfield.
On Monday, the Christian County Emergency Management Agency said 506 structures were damaged by the tornado, 34 were destroyed and 66 had major damage.
The National Weather Service also confirmed it was an EF3 tornado with winds over 155 mph. It was a half-mile wide and traveled more than 11 miles.
(MORE: Over Two Dozen Tornadoes Strike From Plains to Southeast; Four Injured at Naval Base in Georgia)

"There are multiple, I would guess, over a hundred (homes), easily, that are damaged severely from the storm because it took a path almost right through town," Taylorville Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall said at a news conference Saturday night.
Goodall said most of the homes' roofs were gone, including his own, with the north and west sides of town hardest hit.
"I know we had probably 12 or 15 houses, at least, where people were trapped," Goodall told the Breeze-Courier Saturday night.

Above: Damage at a convenience store in Taylorville, Illinois, on Dec. 1, 2018.  Downed power lines and trees littered the city, which was preparing for its Twilight Christmas Parade, the Breeze-Courier reported.
No deaths were reported.

Over Two Dozen Tornadoes Strike From Plains to Southeast; Four Injured at Naval Base in Georgia

 https://www.wunderground.com/news/news/news/2018-12-02-storms-tornadoes-kings-bay-georgia-plains-oklahoma-missouri-arkansas

 

A storm system that tore from the Plains into the Southeast this weekend produced more than two dozen tornadoes and left behind a trail of destruction in several states.
Five people were injured in southeastern Georgia, including four at a nearby Naval base, when a tornado struck Camden County Sunday around 4 p.m., Action News Jax reported.
A pair of sailors at Kings Bay Naval Base were injured when they were thrown from a patrol boat and two fishermen on a close by pier suffered minor injuries, base officials reported.
(MORE: The Next Wintry Mess Is on Its Way)
Scott Bassett, a public information officer at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, told weather.com that no submarines were damaged in the storm. He said there was wind damage to a pier facility in the southeast part of the base where smaller Coast Guard vessels dock. He also said the storm knocked down utility poles and flipped vehicles.
The same system spawned an EF3 tornado Saturday that left more than 500 buildings damaged or destroyed and 26 people injured in Taylorville, Illinois. The tornado struck the town of about 11,200 residents just after 5 p.m. Saturday.
 

How Winter Storms Can Be Destructive: The 10 Most Expensive Storms Since 1980

 https://www.wunderground.com/news/storms/winter/news/2018-12-06-destructive-billion-dollar-winter-storms

 

1. Blizzard of 1993: $9.8 Billion 

2. Southeast Ice Storm of 1994: $5.2 Billion 

 3. Blizzard of 1996 and Its Flooding Aftermath: $4.9 Billion

 4. 1992 Northeast Winter Storm: $4.5 Billion
 5. Mid-February 2015 Winter Storm: $3.2 Billion
 6. Jan. 5-8, 2014 Midwest, Northeast and Southeast: $2.3 billion
7. March 1-3, 2018 Winter Storm Riley: $2.2 billion
8. Jan. 5-9, 1998 Northeast Ice Storm: $2.2 billion
9. Feb. 1-3, 2011 Central (Blizzard) and Eastern United States Winter Storm: $2 billion
10. Jan. 19-22, 1985 Winter Storm and Cold Wave in Central and Eastern States: $2 billion

 

Winter Storm Diego Leaves More than 350,000 Without Power Across Southeast Ron Brackett

Winter Storm Diego Leaves More than 350,000 Without Power Across Southeast

 https://www.wunderground.com/news/news/news/2018-12-09-diego-snow-impacts-carolinas-georgia-texas

 

Wide swaths of the Carolinas and parts of Georgia woke up to power outages Sunday morning as Winter Storm Diego continued to dump snow and ice across the Southeast.
As of 11:45 a.m., nearly 205,000 customers had no electricity in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us. Almost 90,000 were cut off in South Carolina, 23,000 in northeast Georgia, and more than 30,000 in Tennessee. About 10,000 customers lost power in Virginia as the storm continued to move to the northeast.
Hundreds of Sunday morning church services were canceled because of the ice and snow, and many districts announced schools would be closed on Monday.
More than 1,400 flights were canceled on Sunday, according to flightaware.com. Most of those were at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Gov. Roy Cooper earlier had warned residents that now is "the time to hunker down" and prepare for the worst of Winter Storm Diego, which dumped more than 10 inches of snow on Texas Saturday.
“This is a snowstorm, not a snow fall. It’s serious,” Gov. Cooper said Saturday during a press conference. “In the Piedmont to western parts of our state, we’re preparing for days of impact, not hours.”
Cooper's warning comes a day after he declared a state of emergency for all of North Carolina's 100 counties. States of emergency have also been declared in Virginia and Oklahoma.

North Carolina

Interstate 26 was closed overnight in both directions at the steep Saluda Grade after several semitractor trailers got stuck in the roadway, North Carolina's Department of Transportation said. The interstate reopened about 5:30 a.m.
At a news conference Sunday, Gov. Cooper said part of U.S. 70 was closed after a semitrailer truck ran off the road and into the Neuse River near Kinston.
Many other state and county roads were iced or snowed over in much of North Carolina.
Cooper said 11 shelters had been opened, most of them in the western part of the state.
Col. Glenn M. McNeill, commander of the State Highway Patrol, said troopers had responded to 509 collisions and 1,100 service calls since midnight Saturday.
Department of Transportation worked to keep roadways plowed and salted or sanded while other crews focused on removing fallen trees.

Tennessee

Freezing rain led to ice accumulating on bridges and overpasses near Clarksville, Tennessee, overnight.

South Carolina

Ice was the problem in the Upstate of South Carolina on Sunday morning.
Crews in Spartanburg County were on the road before the sun rose to begin repairing hundreds of downed power lines, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported.
Doug Bryson, the county emergency management coordinator, “It’s been nonstop for several hours now.”
Dozens of cars were stranded along roadways, the Highway Patrol said.

Virginia

Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency Saturday and urged residents to prepare for the possibility of a wintry mix of snow, sleet, ice and rain over parts of western, central and northern Virginia.
“Virginians should take all necessary precautions to ensure they are prepared for winter weather storm impacts,” said Northam. “I am declaring a state of emergency to ensure localities and communities have appropriate assistance and to coordinate state response to possible snow and ice accumulations, transportation issues, and potential power outages.”
Northam noted that he has placed state agencies, including the Virginia Departments of Transportation and Emergency Management, and State

Winter storm hits Texas 

 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/video/winter-storm-hits-texas-with-over-8-inches-of-snow-1392578627629

 Winter weather hit the southern states hard with over 8 inches of snow in Lubbock, Texas. A state of emergency was declared in North Carolina and Virginia as the winter storm, which was over parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee as of Saturday afternoon, continued to head east.

Series of Pacific storms raises hopes for a wet El Niño season

 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/series-pacific-storms-raises-hopes-wet-el-ni-o-season-n943911

 

Dec. 6, 2018 / 4:27 AM CST

By Dennis Romero

LOS ANGELES — Southern California was in the midst of its fourth rain event of the season this week and with another expected next week, some experts believe the arrival of the weather phenomenon known as El Niño could be imminent.

While it may be too early to link the Pacific storms to El Niño, the federal Climate Prediction Center's El Niño "diagnostics discussion" could make the call next week on Dec. 13.

If a full-on El Niño weather pattern is forming, it would mean an increased chance of more rain in California and a possible end to a moderate drought that has fueled wildfires throughout the state.

The linchpin of El Niño, consistently above-average warmth in the waters of the equatorial Pacific, is already present, scientists say. Federal forecasters are waiting for those waters to interact with the atmosphere and create storms before they declare El Niño's presence.

"The temps are quite warm on the surface, but we’re just waiting for the atmospheric component to give us some storminess," said Andrea Bair, climate services program manager for the Western region of the National Weather Service.

California state climatologist Mike Anderson says the storms that have struck California since late November resemble classic El Niño systems, which often soak up tropical moisture from the central Pacific before blasting the Golden State coast like a fire hose.

"Some of that includes the way the jet stream behaves," he said. "It tends to zip across the Pacific in an east-west pattern. It’s also accelerated, and we see storms hit fairly quickly. We’re starting to see some of that take shape."

Other experts say it's too early in the season to attribute the storms to the weather pattern named for baby Jesus because its telltale warm waters often peak around Christmas.

The system's rising air motion has been known to lead to above-average rainfall in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

It can also impact global weather patterns. In Australia, the phenomenon can mean less rain.

"El Niño has not formed yet," said Jan Null, a former National Weather Service lead forecaster who is an expert on the phenomenon and believes it's too early to make the call. "It's still in the formative stages. [Determining] whether it's having an effect on our weather now is problematic."

 

Dust storm envelops huge swathes of China as air quality worsens

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-dust-storm-air-quality-decline-gobi-desert-mongolia-beijing-visibility-pollution-children-a7717241.html

 

A dust storm has enveloped a swathe of northern China, dragging down air quality and visibility and prompting warnings for children and old people to stay indoors.
Spring is China's dust-storm season, when winds whip across the Gobi Desert picking up fine sand and dust particles and dumping them along a belt of heavily populated land further south.

The official People's Daily said the worst of the storm would be concentrated on a remote area along the Mongolian border, but that Beijing and locations as far away as the remote northeast of China would be affected for at least 24 hours.

Official data from the Beijing government showed average readings of small breathable particles known as PM 2.5, a major component of China's air quality index, had risen to 630 micrograms per cubic metre in parts of the city by Thursday morning, though it dropped slightly later in the day.

The World Health Organisation recommends concentrations of just 10 micrograms.
The city government said the storm would affect the capital until Friday afternoon when air quality would improve as a high pressure system moved in.

State television said old people and children should stay inside to avoid the worst effects.
The dust storm underlines the environmental problems China faces, added to concern about choking smog from coal powered power plants and factories that also periodically covers much of north China.
 

Freezing weather and snow kills more than 60 people across Europe as icy conditions continue

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/europe-weather-big-freeze-snow-ice-hypothermia-road-accidents-travel-disruption-power-outages-deaths-a7520876.html

 

More than 60 people have been killed by freezing temperatures gripping much of Europe as the UK braces for snow.
Homeless people, the vulnerable and elderly have been among those dying in the extreme conditions, of hypothermia, illness or in accidents.

Romanian authorities had to stop shipping along a 565 mile stretch of the Danube River on Tuesday because of the ice, which also prevented traffic along the River Sava in Serbia.

In Poland at least 20 people have died since the start of the cold snap last week, with conditions worsened by alarming smog levels causing the closure of schools and nurseries in Rybnik, while free public transport has been offered in Warsaw in an attempt to reduce pollution.

It has been caused in part by the burning of substandard fuels, such as coal mud, waste and plastic, used in poor quality heaters in private homes by people desperate to keep warm.
Three people have been found dead in recent days in Macedonia as temperatures plunged to -20C. A 68-year old homeless man was found frozen to death in the capital, Skopje, while a 60-year-old man died in front of his home in the southern town in Strumica. An 80-year-old woman was discovered in her home in eastern Macedonia.

 

Australia hit by 'catastrophic weather' so hot the roads are melting

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-heatwave-weather-hot-road-melting-highway-emergency-services-warning-latest-a8145366.html

 

Emergency services in southeast Australia are warning people to stay indoors as a dangerous heatwave batters the country, with temperatures so high that the asphalt on some roads has been melting.
The "catastrophic" hot weather caused a 10km stretch of the Hume Highway, near the Victoria state capital Melbourne, to become soft and sticky, causing havoc for motorists trying to enter the city.

Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have now declared a total fire ban after blazes on the outskirts of Melbourne raged out of control, destroying buildings and threatening lives.

It took a team of 300 firefighters, 50 trucks and three helicopters to tackle one fire in Victoria's Carrum Downs on Saturday, which threatened dozens of homes.

And another 49 bushfires are said to have been reported across the state - although many were small and easily extinguished - with 400 residencies losing power.
The state's emergency management commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said hot temperatures had combined with dry weather, strong winds and a wind change to create dangerous conditions.

"It's exactly what the forecast indicated and when we have fires running that's obviously a problem for us," he said.

Natural disasters increasingly linked to climate change, new report warns

 https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-natural-disasters-link-increase-global-warming-report-warning-a8103556.html

 

Climate change is increasing the risk of extreme weather events, including droughts, flooding and heatwaves, according to a new report.
Researchers from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non profit organisation that supports debate on climate change and energy issues, analysed 59 studies which looked at climate change and extreme weather.

All had been published since the Paris climate summit two years ago.

The harm inflicted by these events was estimated at around $8bn (£5.9bn) in economic damage and resulted in at least 4,000 deaths.

“Just a few years ago it was hard to say more about any storm, drought or heatwave than it was ‘consistent with what science predicts’,” said the report’s author, Richard Black, a director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
As climate science has advanced, scientists have become increasingly able to not just make future predictions of climate change’s impact, but also look for its effects in current weather events, he added.

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“This is a real world analysis of what is actually happening, rather than a projection of what might happen in the future,” he said. "This report shows that increasingly, [scientists are] finding that specific events are made more likely or more damaging by climate change."
The effects were most obvious for heatwaves, as the connection between increased general temperatures and increased temperatures during a hot spell are relatively straightforward.
Storms and hurricanes are more complicated. Although such events are strongly linked to climate change, they are complex phenomena with many contributing factors, making the links more ambiguous.
 

UK growers warn of shortages of onions, potatoes and other vegetables after extreme weather decimates crops

  

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/vegetable-food-shortage-uk-crops-farming-extreme-weather-climate-change-a8578846.html

Vegetable yields have fallen by as much as 50 per cent in some parts of the UK, following a year of extreme weather events.

Farmers have warned of the likelihood of shortages of major crops including potatoes, onions, carrots, leeks, parsnips, cabbages and Brussels sprouts, with consumers and retailers expected to see biggest impacts in the new year.

The year began with the “Beast from the East”, which brought freezing weather to the UK in February, followed by an unusually wet spring that delayed planting. Then a record-breaking summer heatwave took its toll on growing crops.

British Growers Association chief executive Jack Ward said the conditions were “absolutely the antithesis of what a plant needs to grow properly”, and said the industry was looking at an overall drop in yields of about 20 per cent.

But among certain producers the crop shortfall is much worse.

James Pearson, of Suffolk Produce, which grows about 10 per cent of the UK’s onions, and is also a major supplier of potatoes, carrots and parsnips, told The Independent their farms have seen yields fall by 50 per cent for onions, and by 20-30 per cent for potatoes.

He said: “The weather being so hot this summer has also caused a number of quality issues. So there are increased levels of bacteria.