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New research from an international team of scientists is suggesting that instantly recognizable earthy smell after rain is released by bacteria trying to attract a particular arthropod as a way to spread its spores. The smell is a 500-million-year-old example of chemical communication, evolved to help a particular type of bacteria spread. Scientists have long been fascinated by the unique odor that appears when it rains. The scent is particularly prominent when the first rains of a season hit dry soil. Two Australian researchers named the odor petrichor, after an influential study in the 1960s suggested a particular oil is...

A hailstorm that hit Mexico City Saturday caused the collapse of two sections of roof over a market warehouse that left five injured and six trapped. Myriam Úrzua, secretary of Gestión Integral de Riesgos and Protección Civil said the collapse happened in Iztapalapa around 6:17 p.m. in the vegetable area of Central de Abasto. He explained that during a heavy hail storm, two sections of roof collapsed due to the weight of the accumulation of hail. He reported that five people suffered injuries, of which three were minor and two, with back injuries due to falling debris. The six trapped...

Will the COVID-19 outbreak burn out in the summer as happened with the SARS epidemic in 2003? That is what many hope, including U.S. President Donald Trump. Some scientists are also speculating that the coronavirus will not survive long in warmer environments. But whether this is true is still up in the air. The number of new confirmed cases has shown signs of slowing over the past several days, and more patients are being released from hospitals every day. But the point when the number of infected people declines is still not in sight. Zhong Nanshan, a leading Chinese respiratory...

This Saturday Summary includes a discussion about the causes of atmospheric warming.

Tornadoes struck central Tennessee early Tuesday morning leaving at least nine people dead, multiple injured and thousands without power as high winds wreaked a trail of destruction. One of the massive 'supercells' swept through downtown Nashville, knocking out power and tearing through buildings. Nearly 44,000 were without power, according to Nashville Electric Service. At least nine people have been killed and that death toll is expected to climb as authorities survey the dangers of a landscape littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees.

Blizzard conditions and the biggest lake effect snow of the season are slamming Western New York. The National Weather Service calls this lake effect snow band a "monster," stretching for more than 500 miles from northern Michigan to Canada and into Western New York. The highest snowfall total so far is in Copenhagen, New York, north of Syracuse, where 28.5 inches fell -- and it's still snowing. A blizzard warning is ongoing there. Meanwhile, brutal wind gusts have climbed to over 60 mph between Buffalo, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania. Snow alerts are in effect for nine states Friday morning,...

General weather for South Carolina on Saturday.

Airline company Widerøe has in its almost 90 year history never experienced this kind of weather. The past months have seen extraordinarily rough weather along the north Norwegian coast. Early this week came another extreme. The air pressure dropped to a level not seen in several decades. According to the Norwegian meteorological institute, the air pressure across major parts of the region was below 940 hectopascal, a level that makes flying unsafe. The Widerøe company that serves most of the regional routes put almost its whole aircraft fleet on the ground. "Our smallest aircraft type Dash 100, 200 and 300...

Sunspot activity on the surface of the Sun follows a well-known but little understood 11 year cycle. Activity rises and falls creating the so-called solar maximum and then solar minimum. During a solar maximum, the Sun is more powerful and is littered with sunspots. Conversely when the Sun enters a solar minimum – which it did about two years ago - energy from our host star begins to lessen. However, one expert has warned that the Sun will enter a period of “hibernation” this year, in what as known as a Grand Solar Minimum (GSM). **SNIP** “The reduction in temperature...

Meteor Explosion Near Puerto Rico Captured by a Satellite Meteorologist Danielle Banks says a NOAA satellite captured what appears to be a meteor exploding near Puerto Rico. At a Glance The bright ball of fire was captured in satellite images. Residents posted photos and video to social media. One astronomer guessed it was several feet in length. A bright ball of fire shot across the sky in Puerto Rico Friday afternoon, prompting local residents to speculate on what it was, and to wonder if it was a bad omen for the disaster-stricken island. Images of the fireball were captured by...

Low tides have left canals in Venice almost dry, just two months after severe flooding left much of the Italian city under water. Boats have been seen almost beached as water levels dip drastically. The canals look more like mud trenches and getting around has become a problem for many in the city. In November, Venice experienced its highest water levels in more than 50 years in what some said was a direct result of climate change. Climate change behind highest tide in 50 years, says mayor More than two thirds of the city was underwater then, with the mayor...

India's capital Delhi has recorded its chilliest day in more than a century amid a severe cold wave across the northern part of the country...

For two days in a row, Antero Reservoir in Park County has had the lowest temperature recorded in the United States at — brrr — 48 degrees below zero. That's not all. On Monday, Crested Butte recorded a temperature of -31 degrees Fahrenheit. Alamosa, Gunnison and Kremmling all recorded lows of -26 degrees. Jim Kalina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Antero Reservoir — which is about 75 miles west of Colorado Springs — typically gets that cold every year at least a couple times. It sits at nearly 9,000 feet of elevation, after all. The coldest temperature...

Bitter cold air settled into Colorado’s high country after a weekend snowstorm hit the state. By Monday morning most locations above 8,000 were at or below zero. ... The National Weather Service in Boulder says the temperature fell to -48°F at Antero Reservoir in Park County. A trooper with the Colorado State Patrol in Alamosa tweeted a picture of his car thermometer reading -28°F. Other low temperatures include… -26°F (6 miles NW of Kremmling)

Orlando is closing out 2019 at about a tenth of a degree behind the hottest year on record for the city, which was 2015, according to the National Weather Service. Overall, Central Florida temperatures this year are tracking along with much of the Florida peninsula, where cities from Jacksonville to Gainesville to St. Petersburg to Miami are likely to record their hottest or second-hottest years on record. “Since 2015, we have been warmer than normal consistently,” said Derrick Weitlich, climate-program leader at the National Weather Service office in Melbourne. “The majority of sites in our area have been in the...

Professor Valentina Zharkova’s recent paper ‘Oscillations of the Baseline of Solar Magnetic Field and Solar Irradiance on a Millennial Timescale’ has been accepted for publishing in Nature. It confirms a Grand Solar Minimum (GSM) from 2020 to 2055, as all four magnetic fields of the sun go out of phase, while also suggesting centuries of natural warming post-Minima. Zharkova’s team’s expanded ‘double dynamo’ calculations match-up almost perfectly with the timelines of past Grand Minimas: the Maunder Minimum (1645–1715), Wolf minimum (1300–1350), Oort minimum (1000–1050), Homer minimum (800–900 BC); as well as with the past Grand Maximas: the Medieval Warm Period...

Daily observations of the number of sunspots since 1 January 1900 according to Solar Influences Data Analysis Center (SIDC). The thin blue line indicates the daily sunspot number, while the dark blue line indicates the running annual average. The recent low sunspot activity is clearly reflected in the recent low values for the total solar irradiance. Data source: WDC-SILSO, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels. Last day shown: 31 October 2019. Last diagram update: 1 November 2019. [Courtesy climate4you.com] *Deep solar minimum on the verge of an historic milestone* Overview The sun is currently in the midst of a deep solar...

Below are some NOAA long-range forecasts, and which typically predict mostly warmer to much warmer than average weather (to the almost complete exclusion of colder than average). How do you think they did and will do? " Below is the 3-month forecast for Nov. thru Jan. made Oct. 17. Joe Bastardi reported that November was the 2nd coldest since 2001 for the US. These "records" go back just 140 years (1880). ." Next is the NOAA forecast for Dec. 10-16 that was made Dec. 2: " Below was the NOAA 3 month (Dec. Jan. Feb.) prediction made Oct. 17, which...

The [San Francisco] Bay Area awoke to sunny skies on Tuesday morning — and hardly a hint that the first winter storm of the season is bearing down on the region. By the time the sun sets, widespread rainfall will overtake the region, and it will be the precursor for a week of wet weather. Cold weather will also accompany the front with snow levels falling to around 3,000 feet by Wednesday morning. It is possible the highest peaks in the region, including Mt. Hamilton in San Jose and Mt. Diablo in the East Bay, may receive a dusting. A...

A warmer than usual winter is forecast for much of the southern and western United States, but the northern and eastern U.S. will be shivering, according to an updated winter outlook released Thursday by The Weather Company, an IBM Business.Additionally, NOAA's winter outlook indicates that parts of the flood-weary Northern Plains and Midwest might see a wetter than average December through February. Based on The Weather Company's outlook, temperatures are expected to be near or above average for much of the South and West, but parts of the North and East won't be so lucky. Temperatures there are projected to...