Snowstorms and Blizzards across Europe - BBC News

Dec 12, 2022 | Freezing temperatures have lead to travel disruption to parts of Europe. Dozens of flights have been cancelled in the UK due to snow and ice – with travel warnings in place in parts of the country. Some countries such as Poland are also dealing with snowstorms and blizzards.

The Coming California Megastorm

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A different ‘Big One’ is approaching. Climate change is hastening its arrival.

California, where earthquakes, droughts and wildfires have shaped life for generations, also faces the growing threat of another kind of calamity, one whose fury would be felt across the entire state.

This one will come from the sky.

According to new research, it will very likely take shape one winter in the Pacific, near Hawaii. No one knows exactly when, but from the vast expanse of tropical air around the Equator, atmospheric currents will pluck out a long tendril of water vapor and funnel it toward the West Coast.

This vapor plume will be enormous, hundreds of miles wide and more than 1,200 miles long, and seething with ferocious winds. It will be carrying so much water that if you converted it all to liquid, its flow would be about 26 times what the Mississippi River discharges into the Gulf of Mexico at any given moment.

When this torpedo of moisture reaches California, it will crash into the mountains and be forced upward. This will cool its payload of vapor and kick off weeks and waves of rain and snow. » | Raymond Zhong | Graphics by Mira Rojanasakul | Photographs by Erin Schaff | Friday, August 12, 2022

Storm Franklin: Flooding and Evacuations as Storm Nears UK

BBC: Flooding driven by heavy rain has prompted evacuations in parts of the UK as Storm Franklin approaches.

There is severe flooding in parts of Northern Ireland, while people in Yorkshire and Manchester have been forced to leave their homes for safety.

The brunt of the new storm is forecast to hit overnight.

Franklin comes days after Storm Eunice killed three people and left 1.4 million homes without power, with nearly 56,000 still to be reconnected.

The Met Office has issued two weather warnings for Sunday evening and Monday: » | Adam Durbin, BBC News | Sunday, February 20, 2022

Continental Europe Braced for 'Potentially Dangerous' Heatwave

THE GUARDIAN: High pressure pulling hot air northward from Africa will send temperatures soaring

A potentially record-breaking heatwave is forecast to grip much of continental Europe next week, with temperatures in cities from Spain to Germany set to exceed 32C and climb to more than 38C or even 40C in the hottest areas.

The combination of a storm stalled over the Atlantic and high pressure over central Europe would pull very hot air from Africa northward, leading to a “potentially dangerous heatwave over a large portion of western and central Europe”, forecaster AccuWeather said.

In France, temperatures of between 35C and 40C are expected across most of the country except Brittany from Monday, Météo-France said, and are unlikely to fall below 20C overnight.

“Even though it will be shortlived, this heatwave could be remarkable for its momentum and intensity,” the forecaster said in a bulletin. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Friday, June 21, 2019

Why Is It So Hot? | Inside Story

Temperatures in Europe are soaring close to their highest ever. 48 degrees Celsius is the current record, set in the Greek capital Athens back in 1977. This weekend's continental heatwave is expected to smash the all-time high.

Hot air from Africa's baking Spain and Portugal in the Iberian peninsula. Record-breaking temperatures have been recorded in eight Portuguese towns - and there's a widespread red alert for wildfires.

In Spain, heatstroke killed at least three men. Heatwave warnings have been issued in 41 of the 50 Spanish provinces where temperatures are expected to soar to 44 degrees.

The scorching temperatures show no sign of falling. So, apart from climate change, what's the cause?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests Rob McElwee - Al Jazeera weather forecaster; Rowan Sutton - Director of Climate Research at the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading; Bjorn Lomborg - President, Copenhagen Consensus