NASA scientists have developed a new climate model that indicates that the most violent severe storms and tornadoes may become more common as Earth's climate warms.

Previous climate model studies have shown that heavy rainstorms will be more common in a warmer climate, but few global models have attempted to simulate the strength of updrafts in these storms. The model developed at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies by researchers Tony Del Genio, Mao-Sung Yao, and Jeff Jonas is the first to successfully simulate the observed difference in strength between land and ocean storms and is the first to estimate how the strength will change in a warming climate, including "severe thunderstorms" that also occur with significant wind shear and produce damaging winds at the ground.

This information can be derived from the temperatures and humidities predicted by a climate computer model, according to the new study published on August 17 in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters. It predicts that in a warmer climate, stronger and more severe storms can be expected, but with fewer storms overall.

May usually marks the end of the fire season in Mexico. Sometime during the month, the first wet-season rains begin to fall, followed by a soggy five months. Yet, on May 20, 2011, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite took this image, the fire season was still going strong. Fires, marked in red, were burning throughout the country, casting a smoky haze from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

The widespread fires shown here are evidence of the extreme fire season 2011 turned out to be in Mexico. By May 19, more than 530,000 hectares (1,300,000 acres or 2,000 square miles) of land had burned in the country since the beginning of the year, said the Mexican government. In terms of area burned, 2011 surpassed every year since (and including) 1998, making it one of the most challenging fire seasons in 30 years.

What made the 2011 fire season so extreme? In part, the answer lies in the 2010 rainy season, one of the wettest on record. Rains from Hurricane Alex flooded northern Mexico in July, and then torrential rains caused widespread flooding in southern Mexico in September. All of this excess water allowed thick grass to grow. During the dry season, which begins in October and lasts through May, the grass dried, providing ample fuel for fires.

Dubai - Emirates has been forced to cancel two flights to Germany today due to the ash cloud caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Flights EK059 and EK060 between Dubai and Hamburg were grounded after the airspace in northern Germany was closed by authorities.

Passengers for these flights can rebook on to today's EK055 to Dusseldorf and the return flight, EK058, or travel tomorrow (May26).

According to the Emirates website, ground transportation will be provided between Hamburg and Dusseldorf.

The cancellations were announced as ash continues to be spewed out by the Grimsvotn volcano, which erupted on May 22.

"All other flights to and from the UK and Europe continue to operate as per the schedule," said the statement on the Dubai-based carrier's website.

"Emirates continues to monitor the situation closely, in addition to liaising with the relevant authorities regarding the movement of the volcanic ash cloud."

Flights operated by Etihad to and from the UK and mainland Europe are currently operating as scheduled but the airline said it was monitoring the situation.

"The airline is in close liaison with aviation experts, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Rolls-Royce and General Electric, and has been assured that the airspace in areas where it operates is open and safe to fly," the company said in a statement on its website.

Passengers for both airlines are urged to check the status of their flights on the respective airlines' websites.

The Colombo City is facing the worst dengue epidemic ever Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said yesterday revealing that there had been 195 cases reported this month. CMC which dropped a bomb shell, said in and round the National Hospital Colombo, Military Hospital and vicinity of the Colombo Port had been identified as the major mosquito breeding grounds in the city.

There had been 885 reported dengue cases in the city this year out of which 50 percent is reported to be school children.

Chief Medical Officer CMC Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam told a news conference yesterday that few doctors attached to the National Hospital Colombo had fell victim to Dengue while the nurses quarters is also found to be a breeding ground. In addition, several Chinese nationals who were working at development projects in Colombo were also infected.

He also warned that new complication of dengue DEN 3 had also raised its head in the city.

Dr. Kariyawasam claimed that the school principals have turned a deaf ear to the repeated requests made by the CMC to keep the schools clean while lack of public support as a whole had been one of the reasons for the epidemic.

He said all school principals in the city had been called for a meeting by the Special Commissioner, CMC, Omar Kamil on Thursday to brief them on the situation.
However, he said the Colombo City only accounts to 7 percent of the country's total number of cases though there is a school of thought that most reported cases are from the capital city. He said the disease had come from elsewhere though there is an idea that the germs had existed within the city itself.

He said the CMC had conducted dengue prevention campaigns but lack of public support, legal impediments have not brought much results.

Manila, Philippines - A fierce storm approaching the Philippines intensified into a typhoon on Wednesday, the government said, warning it would unleash heavy rains across the main island of Luzon.

Typhoon Songda was expected to slam into the remote and mountainous northeast of Luzon on Friday, although it could change course and head towards more populated areas near the capital of Manila, forecasters said.

"We are asking the public (in storm-affected areas) to postpone travelling and stay indoors," chief state weather forecaster Graciano Yumul said.

"The public must follow instructions by their officials to prevent a possible tragedy brought by Chedeng (Songda)."

Forecasters said the typhoon, with sustained winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) an hour and gusts of 160 kilometres an hour, was powerful enough to blow away roofs, uproot trees, damage crops and cause landslides.

Reports of large hail, damaging winds and minor to moderate structural damage were trickling into the National Weather Service Fort Worth office early this morning after three rounds of storms swept through North Texas on Tuesday night.

At least one tornado was spotted in Denton, and 70 mph wind gusts were recorded in the Loop 820 and U.S. 377 area, while Arlington spotters reported wind gusts of up to 75 mph.

Penny- to softball-size hailstones rained down on Tarrant County from east of Eagle Mountain Lake to the Bedford area, the weather service reported.

No injuries have been reported in Tarrant County, but The Dallas Morning News reported this morning that a man had been found dead next to a pile of debris at an Oak Cliff apartment complex.

There was extensive damage to residences in Saginaw, and roof shingles and trees were reported blown down at an apartment complex five miles north of Lake Worth, according to a weather service employee.

Icelandic volcano ash is affecting flights in European airspace, but authorities say it is unlikely to cause the same levels of disruption triggered by a similar eruption last year.

So what are the main differences between the two volcanic ash clouds and to what extent will travel plans be hit?

Who has been affected so far? Icelandic airspace was closed over the weekend. By early Tuesday, several hundreds flights from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland had been canceled with British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Loganair, Flybe and KLM among operators grounding jets.

Meteorologist have warned prevailing winds are blowing the ash cloud towards London's Heathrow airport, potentially closing airspace above Europe's busiest air hub. Officials say there is a strong possibility some Scandinavian airports may also be affected.

The Joplin, Mo., tornado now ranks among the ten deadliest tornadoes of all time.

At least 17 people have been pulled from the rubble safely and there's no telling how many more are still buried.

On Tuesday evening, the area was again threatened with severe weather. A tornado warning was issued for a time in Joplin and surrounding areas. The storm-ravaged town avoided another direct hit, as the supercell moved north of Joplin.

However, powerful thunderstorms roared through the city through the night.

As of early Wednesday morning, the death toll stood at 124, although search and rescue teams are holding out hope that they can find more survivors.

In the following, the newspersons says "1/3 of the city is gone". ...

At least 6 people dead in two states, numerous injuries; extensive damage reported

Oklahoma City - A system of violent thunderstorms roared across the nation's midsection on Tuesday, killing six people in two states, with several tornadoes touching down in Oklahoma and high winds pounding Kansas and Texas.

The high-powered storms arrived as forecast, just two days after a massive tornado tore through the southwest Missouri town of Joplin and killed 122 people.

Powerful tornadoes obliterated houses, splintered trees and tossed cars off highways in Oklahoma. At least four people were killed and numerous others injured.

Television footage in the aftermath of the storms showed remnants of homes and buildings strewn across roads and fields. One car wound up wrapped around a tree.

Rescue crews were frantically searching for a 3-year-old child reported missing in the rubble of a home in Piedmont, a suburban area northwest of Oklahoma City. The child's mother and two other children were injured and taken to the hospital after trying to ride the storm out in a bathtub, NBC station KFOR TV reported.