Volcanic eruptions are more likely to cause world weather changes than possible impacts from comets, a team of scientists announced to the American Geophysical Union last week. Massive eruptions of magma, ash and gas, which are spewing out of Popocatepetl near Mexico City right now, can have a severe and lasting impact on the world?s climate.
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The stage is being set for powerful storms in Europe, due to the appearance of unseasonably warm weather there, similar to the unseasonable weather that triggered powerful storms across the eastern United States on December 16.
Europe is experiencing one of the warmest winters on record. Normal German temperatures would be around 37 degrees Fahrenheit at this time of year. Last week they reached 55 F in Berlin, the highest temperature since records started being kept there in 1908. Grenoble, France, reported a temperature of 70 F.
In Britain, flowers have opened and roses are blooming. Baby birds are being born out of season. The Royal Society for Protection of Birds said, “It is very strange for any birds to breed at the height of winter.”
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At least twelve people have lost their lives as a devastating series of storms swept across the United States from the Southeast to the Northeast. Eighty mile per hour wind gusts were recorded in the New York City area, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama recorded an extremely rare midwinter tornado that reached an F4 intensity level.
The Northeast has experienced a strange combination of record-breaking high temperatures, high winds and rain producing flooding, downed trees and power failures. Planes have been unable to land at New York airports during the year?s busiest season. A 15 year old Boy Scout, on a group hike in New York state, was swept away and drowned in a river.
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San Antonio Express-News – For the past week, Popocatepetl, the volcano 35 miles from Mexico City, has been emitting dark clouds of steam and ash. On Thursday, Popo threw ash over a 50 mile radius and sent out incandescent fragments that rolled down its slopes. Some international airlines cancelled flights to Mexico City for the second straight day because of ash falling over the area. On Friday, 14,000 people who live within 20 miles of the volcano were ordered to evacuate after the fiery crater spit out gas, vapor and ash for the fourth straight day. Buses were sent to take them to shelters a safe distance away. Many of them had been wearing medical masks on their faces when they went outside to avoid inhaling the ash.
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