Kat West "Why the Snow in Parts of Europe Was Orange"

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/world/europe/orange-snow.html

But why did some people in Eastern Europe last week see the world in sepia tones? The answer lies hundreds of miles away.

The orange-brown filter applied briefly to that part of the world was caused by dense Saharan dust kicked into the air and swept north, experts said.

The process began when a polar jet stream made its way farther south than usual last week, bringing the strong winds and thunderstorms needed to whip up the dust, according to Tyler Roys, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.

“A trail of storms have been going through Italy, the Balkans, Ukraine and into western Russia, and finally this last storm that finally moved through, an area of lower pressure closer to the northern coast of Libya, helped pull the dust up,” he said in a phone interview.

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Kat West "The Weirdest Weather Events of 2018 So Far"

https://weather.com/news/news/2018-06-27-weirdest-weather-2018-first-half/

A State Record Hailstone

Alabama's notorious history of severe weather, particularly tornadoes, is well documented.  On March 19, however, it was a hailstone that captured meteorologists' attention. One softball-size hailstone near Cullman, Alabama, was found to set a new state record, more than 5 inches in diameter. 

(RECAP: Alabama's Record-Setting Hailstone)

Orange Snow

Just after spring officially arrived in late March, a plume of dust tapped by southerly winds from north Africa, lead to the sight of orange snow over parts of eastern Europe. While not unheard of, this particular orange snow event observed in parts of Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova featured higher concentrations of dust than usual, according to the BBC. 

Kat West "2018 US fall forecast: Unseasonable warmth to grip Northeast; Extreme fire season predicted in West"

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/2018-us-fall-forecast-unseasonable-warmth-to-grip-northeast-extreme-fire-season-predicted-in-west/70005621

A warm fall is predicted overall for the Northeast and mid-Atlantic as chilly air takes its time to arrive.

Warmth is set to linger across upstate New York, New England and the northern mid-Atlantic states, with nights cooling off before daytime highs start to drop.

“You can expect it to cool down the farther south and west you go due to precipitation,” AccuWeather Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said.

The mid-Atlantic, in particular, may be faced with tropical rainfall early in the season.

“There’s been a lot of rainfall for the spring and summer, so if we do get any tropical impact, the risk of flash flooding will exist,” Pastelok said.

While autumn may take longer than usual to arrive, it will be a picturesque season if forecasters are correct. Dry weather in the Northeast paired will cool nights will pave the way for vibrant leaves to emerge across the region.

Kat West "Election Day weather forecast: Potent storm to blast eastern US, could affect voter turnout"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/05/election-day-weather-forecast-big-storm-blast-eastern-us/1891149002/

“Our study suggests that weather conditions may affect people’s decisions on not only whether to vote, but also who they vote for,” said study co-author Yusaku Horiuchi, a professor of government at Dartmouth College.

"Contrary to the widely shared belief that weather conditions do not change voters’ electoral decisions," the study said, "our analysis suggests that it is likely that a certain proportion of American voters would change their party preference depending on weather."

Apparently on Election Day, rain heightens pessimism and increases fears of risk: "Those who feel in an upbeat mood may lean toward the riskier candidate, while those who feel depressed and anxious lean toward the safer candidate," the study said.

Thus, "the choice for risk-averse people is to vote Republican," Horiuchi said. 

The study appeared in December 2017 in the journal American Politics Research

Ashley Amezcua

Flood warnings issued for parts of Scotland

Image copyrightMET OFFICE

Image captionThe Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain in central and western parts of Scotland

Flood warnings have been sent out for parts of Scotland as the remnants of Hurricane Oscar led to a wet and windy start to the weekend.

Flood alerts were in place as far afield as the Scottish Borders, Tayside, Skye and Lochaber and West Central Scotland.

There were also several flood warnings, including for Glen Lyon and Innerpeffray to Bridge of Earn.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain in central and western parts.

Areas covered by the warning were expected to see heavy and persistent rain, although drier weather was due to extend from the west later.

Northeastern US to face more downpours, local damaging winds, interior snow

A few thunderstorms can rumble during this time, and it is not out of the question for isolated damaging winds to be produced across central parts of Pennsylvania and New York State during the early-morning hours of Friday.

Winds can also increase near the coast with the strongest winds whipping the south-facing beaches.The next round of soaking rain will spread through the mid-Atlantic and into New England Friday afternoon into Saturday morning.

"This fast-strengthening storm will bring a range of impacts and likely lead to travel delays across the Northeast," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Bill Deger.Totals between the two bouts of rain will generally total 1-2 inches with locally higher amounts. That may also lead to street flooding where fallen leaves are clogging storm drains.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/northeastern-us-to-face-more-downpours-local-damaging-winds-interior-snow/70006514

Severe storms, tornadoes rattle Deep South, leaving 2 dead and 100,000 powerless

Eight tornadoes were reported across the region late Wednesday and early Thursday, AccuWeather said. 

Overall, there were more than 100 reports of severe weather in the South, the Storm Prediction Center said. Most were in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Trees and utility lines were down across a wide area from eastern Louisiana to northwest Alabama. Another round of severe weather – including high winds, large hail and a few tornadoes – is forecast for portions of Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle on Thursday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/severe-storms-tornadoes-rattle-deep-south-leaving-2-dead-and-100000-powerless/ar-BBPdxcN?ocid=spartandhp