RSS Feed
Archive for January 3rd, 2014
Water Bonds Shrivel California Sees Driest Year
Posted by Bloomberg: James Nash on January 3rd, 2014
Bloomberg: The driest year on record for Los Angeles and San Francisco is threatening water supplies to the world’s most productive agricultural region and almost doubling borrowing costs on some bonds issued by California water agencies.
Los Angeles, which normally gets almost 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain a year, got less than 4 inches in 2013, according to the National Weather Service. San Francisco, where 22 inches is typical, got 6. Severe or extreme drought grips 85 percent of California, a federal...
Posted in 
United Kingdom: Severe weather warnings as high tides put coastline at high risk of flooding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2014
Independent: Britain is bracing itself for another series of devastating storms, as high tides, heavy rains and strong winds combine to cause yet more severe flooding to parts of the country.
The whole of the UK is facing “exceptional” bad weather in the coming days, with a high risk of flooding expected, particularly in coastal towns and villages.
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 21 of the most serious severe flood warnings, indicating that there is a threat to life or property, to areas in the South...
United Kingdom: Yet more severe flooding expected, with heavy rain and 60mph winds on way
Posted by Guardian: Jonathan Haynes on January 3rd, 2014
Guardian: Britain is braced for the worst weather of the new year so far as a combination of high tides, heavy rains and strong winds is expected to bring yet more severe flooding to parts of the country.
Cobra, the government's emergencies committee, will meet for the second time in two days as the Environment Agency issued 187 flood warnings. Of the warnings, 21 are categorised as severe flood warnings, issued when there is a threat to life or property.
The south-west, Gloucestershire and Wales are...
Australia: Bushfire fears as soaring temperatures make North Stradbroke battle tougher
Posted by Guardian: Helen Davidson and Daniel Hurst on January 3rd, 2014
Guardian: Temperatures in Queensland are expected to continue soar over the weekend and firefighters fear a wind change forecast for Saturday will worsen a fire burning on North Stradbroke Island which has already jumped containment lines.
Parts of central Queensland will see temperatures reach up to 46C on Friday and Saturday. Brisbane is forecasted to reach 41C on Saturday. Four weather stations recorded the highest ever January temperatures on Thursday afternoon, reaching 48.1C in Birdsville.
About...
Many concerns, little response Azle town-hall meeting on earthquakes
Posted by Dallas Morning news: None Given on January 3rd, 2014
Dallas Morning News: Hundreds of upset residents packed the auditorium at Azle High School on Thursday evening to voice concerns to a member of the Texas Railroad Commission about earthquakes that have rattled the area in recent months.
Since Nov. 1, more than 30 earthquakes have hit near Azle, about 20 miles northwest of Fort Worth. They have measured up to 3.7 magnitude, and no injuries or major damage have been reported.
Many residents believe the earthquakes are caused by injection wells used to dispose of...
Australia: Hottest year sparks climate change fight
Posted by SBS: None Given on January 3rd, 2014
SBS: A sweltering 2013, Australia's hottest year on record, is the product of climate change and the warming trend is set to continue, experts say.
Labor and the Greens have also seized on the record-setting weather to accuse Prime Minister Tony Abbott of ignoring the science and listening to the "tinfoil hat brigade" about climate change.
The Bureau of Meteorology's annual climate statement shows that 2013 was Australia's hottest year since records began in 1910, with the hottest spring and summer,...
Australia saw hottest year in 2013
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 3rd, 2014
BBC: Australia experienced its hottest year on record in 2013, officials have said. Temperatures were 1.2C above the long term average, the warmest since records began in 1910, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its annual report. The year also saw a record-warm winter that led into the most devastating fires in Sydney since 1968, it said. The warming in Australia was consistent with global climate trends, where rising temperatures were influenced by greenhouse gases, it added. According to the bureau,...
Heavy snow, dangerous cold snarl travel in northeastern U.S
Posted by Reuters: Elizabeth Dilts and Scott Malone on January 3rd, 2014
Reuters: A major snowstorm producing blizzard-like conditions hammered the northeastern United States on Friday, causing more than 1,000 U.S. flight delays and cancellations, paralyzing road travel, and closing schools and government offices.
The first major winter storm of 2014 brought bone-chilling temperatures and high winds from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast, with nearly 2 feet of snow falling in some areas of Massachusetts.
Much of the U.S. northeast saw heavy snowfall and...