UK Warmest December on Record causes Spring to start Early.

Britain's topsy turvy weather means that spring has come four months early with this December being the warmest on record, according to latest figures from the Met Office.

As storms and floods continue to batter communities across northern parts of the UK, experts also revealed that it had been the second wettest December in more than 100 years.

Across the the country an average 211mm of rain fell during the month. Only December 1929 was wetter, with 213mm of rain.

Scotland and Wales both had their wettest December since 1910, the earliest year on record - 333.1mm and 321mm respectively.

December temperatures for the whole of the UK reached a spring-like 8C, which is 4.1C above the long-term average. The previous record was 6.9C, set in 1934.

The Met Office said: "This means the temperatures this December 2015 were closer to those normally experienced during April or May."

This year is on course for being one of the 10 wettest on record in the UK. The wettest year was 2000, when 1,337mm of rain fell across the country. Provisional figures for the year up to December 29 show 1,270mm of rain.

Storm Desmond was largely responsible for making December a record-breaking month, say the experts, with unprecedented amounts of rain falling on the Lake District.

The Christmas period was described as "unsettled, wet and mild". Hard on the heels of Storm Desmond, Storm Eva brought more gales and heavy rain to many northern areas on Christmas Eve, then Storm Frank moved in to cause more mayhem, with Scotland and Northern Ireland bearing the brunt.

December has also been the fourth wettest on record in Northern Ireland, said the Met Office. But rainfall levels have been much closer to average in central and southern England.

Experts lined up to make the connection between the extreme weather and global warming.

Climate scientist Professor Piers Forster, from the University of Leeds, said: "There is no doubt in my mind that climate change is partly responsible for the flooding across the north of England. These floods are in part due to greenhouse gas emissions."

He said the unusually high temperatures resulted from the combined effect of a strong El Nino ocean-warming system in the Pacific and a man-made global warming trend.

http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/national/14176358.Spring_arrives_early_after_warmest_December_on_record/

Colombia declares red alert for low water levels

Colombia has declared a red alert because of low water levels in two key rivers which supply hundreds of towns and cities in the South American country, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday.

A fifth of Colombia's municipalities are already under water rationing measures as the El Nino phenomenon cuts down rainfall dramatically.

The declaration makes it likely the government will soon extend rationing measures and impose a limit on water consumption in homes, though Santos offered no further details.

The country's weather agency recommended the measure, the president said.

"I'm declaring the red alert for low levels in the Magdalena and Cauca rivers in 23 provinces," Santos said at a government event.

Future energy rationing measures could be a possibility, the president added. Seventy percent of Colombia's energy is supplied hydro-electrically.

The El Nino weather pattern is linked to the warming of the Pacific Ocean and tends to leave Colombia and Central America drier.

The drought prompted the coffee federation to modify export standards in October as nearly half the country's growing regions are affected by drought.

Another Storm Headed for UK..

Another Storm Headed for UK..

Cyclone Ula heading for northern Tonga

Tropical Cyclone Ula is expected to pass through the kingdom of Tonga early in the weekend.

The category one system developed on Wednesday night and has caused stormy weather across much of the south west Pacific.

Ula, which is currently compact and producing winds of 85 kilometres an hour, is about 420 kilometres east-south-east of Pago Pago heading in a southwesterly direction at just over 30 kilometres an hour.

Eli Funaki from the Fiji Meteorological Service says Ula will cross through the northern part of Tonga late Friday night at the earliest.

"The current projection is that it will pass just due south of the Niuas and between the Niuas and Vava'u. We're looking at late tomorrow because in turning it slows down and the models show that it will be tomorrow or even in the early hours of Saturday."

Cyclone Ula heading for northern Tonga

Tropical Cyclone Ula is expected to pass through the kingdom of Tonga early in the weekend.

The category one system developed on Wednesday night and has caused stormy weather across much of the south west Pacific.

Ula, which is currently compact and producing winds of 85 kilometres an hour, is about 420 kilometres east-south-east of Pago Pago heading in a southwesterly direction at just over 30 kilometres an hour.

Eli Funaki from the Fiji Meteorological Service says Ula will cross through the northern part of Tonga late Friday night at the earliest.

"The current projection is that it will pass just due south of the Niuas and between the Niuas and Vava'u. We're looking at late tomorrow because in turning it slows down and the models show that it will be tomorrow or even in the early hours of Saturday."

Fuego volcano (Guatemala): increase of activity, strombolian explosions, pyroclastic flow

The activity at Fuego might be picking up towards a new paroxysm (eruptive phase with strongly increased effusion rate, resulting in lava fountaining and lava flows). 
We camped on the SW side of the volcano last night, and observed mild to strong strombolian explosions that occurred at intervals between 1 and 10 minutes. The strongest explosions sent incandescent material to heights of up to approx. 500 m and similar distances. One particularly intense explosion was accompanied by a very strong shock wave. 
Although not seen directly from our location, a pyroclastic flow occurred around 10:15 (local time): we observed the co-ignimbrite ash plume rising from what was likely a collapse of a new lava flow on the southern slope. According to staff at the Panimache volcano observatory, who confirmed our observation, the pyroclastic flow could have reached a length of 7 km and seems to herald the start of the 14th paroxysm of Fuego in 2015... Following the initial sighting of the brownish ash plume, it gradually spread around the whole southern slopes and caused fine ash fall in the area lasting about 2 hours, graying all vegetation...

Credit - http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/fuego/news/55910/Fuego-volcano-Guatemala-increase-of-activity-strombolian-explosions-pyroclastic-flow.html