A spike in water temperature of up to 6C above average across a massive patch of ocean east of New Zealand is likely to have been caused by an “anti-cyclone” weather system, a leading scientist says. Appearing on heat maps as a deep red blob, the patch spans at least a million square kilometres – an area nearly 1.5 times the size of Texas, or four times larger than New Zealand – in the Pacific Ocean. James Renwick, the head of geography, environment and earth sciences at Victoria University in Wellington, said the scale of the temperature spike near the sparsely populated Chatham Islands archipelago was remarkable, and had been building for weeks. “It’s the biggest patch of above average warming on the planet right now. Normally the temperatures there are about 15C, at the moment they are about 20C,” he said. Renwick said the blob could be linked to rising atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, as a result of climate change, but he expected it was overwhelmingly due to natural variability – a strong high pressure system and a lack of wind. “It’s not uncommon to see patches of warmer water off New Zealand but this magnitude of four, five, up to six degrees is pretty unusual,” Renwick said
The violent snowstorm is also responsible for the deaths of up to 80 horses, according to Sigridur Bjornsdottir, a veterinarian for MAST, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority. “There is a tradition in Iceland for horses to stay outside year-round, and that has been the case since the country was settled,” said Bjornsdottir. “Farmers do not have stables for these horses, which require considerable space. It is, therefore, hard to imagine what more could have been done.” The Icelandic Met Office has warned of further disruptive snow, and has issued a yellow weather warning.source
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock declared an emergency Sunday for areas hit by an early-season snowstorm. The storm was bringing heavy, wet snow and high winds that closed roads, downed trees and caused scattered power outages. Bullock's declaration allows the state to mobilize resources to help affected areas. Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of western Montana, northern Idaho and northeast Washington. Snow also was forecast for areas in Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, Nevada and California.source
The precipitation forecast for September - in particular from this weekend - "will not significantly add to the water table" according to the BRGM, which points out that this rain will either be captured by vegetation, or will end as run-off from torrential downpours and not infiltrate as far as the water table.
snowstreams wrote: » I wonder how much rain water would you need to collect in order to be self sufficient in future?
CelticRambler wrote: » Not exactly "severe weather" in the dramatic sense, but here in Central France, we're suffering a prolonged and intense drought. About one fifth of the country is currently subject to "crisis" regulations - no (fresh) water to be used for anything other than firefighting, drinking and healthcare purposes. The ban extends to agricultural use - i.e. even farmers are not allowed water their crops. I have the capacity to store 1000l of rain-water - it's all gone.
