Latest news with #weatherexperts
Top Gear
a day ago
- Climate
- Top Gear
Report: 98 per cent of Britain's road melted
Report: 98 per cent of Britain's road melted Experts find recent heatwave liquefied majority of British highways Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. Here's roving correspondent, Cory Spondent, with his mostly incorrect exclusives from the world of motoring The vast majority of Britain's roads have melted following two successive heatwaves, according to experts. Advertisement - Page continues below Britain's penchant for endless rain, perpetual grey skies and general year-round weather misery meant a few days of uninterrupted sunshine had obliterated 98 per cent of its uniquely ruinous road network. Now experts are calling for a government task force to create a nationwide fleet of floating tanks able to navigate miles of liquefied tarmac. 'Nobody saw this coming,' a weather expert told 'More than two consecutive days of sunshine was a story we told our children at bedtimes. Or went abroad to discover and then complain about. 'But back-to-back days of 30-degree heat is categorically not something Britain is accustomed to, and something this country's road network and infrastructure is wholly unprepared for. Advertisement - Page continues below 'It's all gone. Melted. Every road dissolved beyond recognition and seeping its way back into the Earth's core. Right now, all our cars are basically Arnie in Terminator 2 sinking into the hot lava at the end. 'Only our cars aren't heroically putting their thumbs up,' the expert added. Meteorologists are predicting cooler temperatures into the next week, with some light and entirely predictable rain showers. 'Light rain? There goes the country's rail services. Bus replacement for you, friends,' a train operator noted. Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email*
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: France hit by severe thunderstorms
After several days of intense heat, large parts of France were hit by a major outbreak of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday night as powerful supercells swept north-east across the country. A low pressure system that originated near Portugal tracked over the unusually warm Bay of Biscay towards northern France late on Wednesday, bringing a strong upper-level disturbance over land that had been intensely heated through the day. As a result, several long-lived supercells formed, producing large hailstones, frequent lightning, damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Hailstones of up to 8cm in diameter caused significant damage to property, crops and vehicles, while rainfall totals up to 150mm in places brought flash flooding, including in Paris. Ferocious winds also brought down pylons and trees, killing two people and bringing power cuts to 110,000 homes. Just north-east of Paris, a gust of 140kph was recorded, the strongest of the outbreak, while supercells elsewhere produced winds up to 126kph. One especially long-lived storm sustained gusts of 90-135kph over several hundred miles as it travelled from the south-west corner of the country to its north-east. Over the course of the night, more than 70,000 lightning strikes were also recorded. A lightning strike recorded in Deux-Sévres in the commune of La Peyratte had an intensity of 517 kiloamperes, 20 times the average strike intensity. Although temperatures reduced a little after the storms, they are expected to rise again and reach the high 30s Celsius in the south of France over the weekend before this spreads northwards into much of the rest of the country next week. Meanwhile, Australia's south-east coast is continuing to experience chilly conditions as its first winter month concludes. An area of low pressure centred to the south of the country earlier this week allowed cold air to push in from the south. Temperatures fell up to 10C below average in parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, with widespread frosts and snow predicted. Across the Australian Alps, ski resorts have reported up to half a metre of snow in just a couple of days. This follows the country's first snow storm of the season, which occurred in the first week of June and gave about a metre of snow to some resorts in just four days. The low pressure system earlier in the week also brought strong, gusty winds to the south-east. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued several warnings earlier this week for damaging winds, with gusts of up to 120kph expected. These winds have contributed to large waves and high tides, which have led to coastal erosion and infrastructure damage. Although high pressure has built in places, cold conditions are expected to remain for much of eastern Australia in the coming days.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Severe geomagnetic storm could spark auroras, disrupt communications next week
(FOX 5/KUSI) — A powerful solar storm is on the way, and it could disrupt communications, GPS systems and even produce rare auroras across parts of the United States early next week, according to weather experts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Monday, June 2, after a coronal mass ejection (CME)—an enormous burst of solar plasma—erupted from the Sun on Friday, May 30. The CME is expected to reach Earth by Sunday evening (June 1) and could spark strong geomagnetic activity almost immediately. Initial storm levels may reach G3 (Strong), with conditions potentially intensifying to G4 by Monday. Although the forecast indicates strong potential for disruption, officials note that the exact timing and intensity of the storm are still uncertain. Much of the impact will depend on the CME's magnetic orientation—data that will only be known once it reaches solar wind observatories located about 1 million miles from Earth. 'Upon arrival at those spacecraft, we will know the magnetic strength and orientation that are very important to what levels and duration of geomagnetic storm conditions are expected to occur,' NOAA officials noted in the weather warning. While most aurora activity is typically seen closer to the poles, strong geomagnetic storms can push auroras farther south. Depending on how intense the storm becomes, parts of the northern U.S. may be treated to rare views of the Northern Lights. A G4-level storm could lead to GPS errors, radio signal disruptions, and even voltage irregularities in power grids, though these impacts are less likely at lower latitudes. High-frequency radio communications, used in some trans-oceanic flights, and navigation systems may be affected. Airlines and space agencies are monitoring the situation closely. The storm is expected to taper off by Tuesday, June 3, with lingering G1-G2 (Minor to Moderate) conditions possible. For the latest updates, NOAA recommends visiting its Space Weather Prediction Center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Atlantic hurricane season forecast: 2025 predicted to be 'above average'
US weather experts are warning that the 2025 hurricane season could have an 'above average' number of the latest official forecast just released, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that the 2025 storm season could have between 13-19 named storms, of which six to ten could be hurricanes and three to five of those could be major hurricanes of Category 3 (111mph) or can be deadly and devastate communities so each year US forecasters try to predict what the season ahead will be like, helping those in hurricane-prone areas to prepare early, stay across warnings and hopefully prevent loss of life. The North Atlantic Hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 forecast will be updated as the season unfolds. What is a 'normal' hurricane season? Hurricanes are tropical storms that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific. In other bits of the world these powerful storms are known by different names - typhoons in the Far East close to places like China and Japan and cyclones in the Indian season activity usually peaks in September. Forecasters use weather observations, decades of historical data and run computer models to predict how the season might "average" one, based on a 30-year period from 1991-2020, produces 14 named the number of hurricanes forecast is higher than average these are referred to as active or hyperactive seasons - while other years bring fewer storms, and are known as less active annual forecast, released slightly earlier by Colorado State University, points to 2025 being an above-average season, with a total of 17 named storms predicted, including nine hurricanes and four of those becoming major hurricanes. How accurate was last year's forecast? The 2024 hurricane season, overall, was correctly predicted by NOAA to be more active than average. There were 18 named storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes; it was also the first in five years to feature multiple Category 5 hurricanes (the highest level). Yet it also defied expectations at times, with stretches of powerful storms interspersed with weeks of relative started as a record breaker. In June and July, Hurricane Beryl devastated parts of the Caribbean and broke records as the earliest storm ever to reach Category 5 - an intensity usually seen during peak season. It brought death and destruction to parts of the Caribbean, areas of Mexico and the Gulf coast of the concern grew about what might be to come, the season then became unusually quiet midway through with the the most prolonged lull in hurricane numbers for around 50 years. It wasn't until late September and into October that the big ones 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend, bringing powerful winds and later record-breaking rainfall across the Carolinas. Hurricane Milton, which reached Category 5 strength near the Yucatán Peninsula, struck Florida as a Category 3, driving hurricane-force winds far human cost across the season in terms of deaths was in the hundreds with most of the fatalities being water-related, from flooding, storm surges and rip currents. In terms of the physical damage, estimates varied widely depending on the scope of impacts considered, but according to NOAA direct physical damage from Helene cost $78.7bn and Milton $34.3bn, external. How is a hurricane season forecast? Each year the areas just north and south of the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn spawn storms that vary in the paths they take and the force with which they strike land in the Caribbean, Central America or the US. Hurricanes draw energy from the tropical Atlantic, so forecasters monitor the sea surface temperatures well ahead of the 2024, early signs of above-average warmth in that area suggested a higher risk of frequent and intense storms. This year, while many areas remain warmer than average, there are also large regions where the temperature is slightly cooler - or even below normal. It could be an early sign that there may be less energy available for hurricane forecasting an entire hurricane season is a complex challenge, as it involves many interconnected factors, one significant one is the West African rains that bring powerful thunderstorms to Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone can sometimes develop into hurricanes once they move across the the West African monsoon behaves differently to usual, it can significantly influence how and when hurricanes form. In addition, complex wind patterns that stretch from Africa to the Gulf of Mexico can either support or hinder ideal environment for a hurricane to develop is a moist atmosphere with steady sudden shifts in wind direction and speed - known as wind shear - can tear developing tropical storms apart before they can fully form into wind shear for an entire season is extremely difficult, but forecasters had expected optimal conditions for hurricanes in 2024. In reality there were periods when wind sheer hindered hurricane formations across parts of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and this may have contributed to the mid-season lull. Influence of El Niño and La Niña The infamous El Niño, and its opposite La Niña weather patterns, strongly influence wind patterns over the Atlantic despite occurring many thousands of miles rainstorms that develop over the warm waters of the eastern Pacific during El Niño often lead to increased wind shear over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and tropical Atlantic. The opposite tends to occur during La Niña, when wind shear is typically reduced. Since wind shear is one of the most effective forces for tearing hurricanes apart, understanding conditions in the eastern Pacific is crucial for forecasting. Projections for 2025 suggest a neutral pattern - neither El Niño nor La Niña - which makes predicting wind patterns more challenging and uncertain.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kansas City under enhanced severe weather risk Monday, multiple rounds of storms expected
Severe thunderstorms are possible from Monday afternoon into Monday night. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk, level 3 out of 5, for the Kansas City area. While many ingredients favorable for severe thunderstorms will come together on Monday, the setup remains messy across the Enhanced Risk area.
