Earth Changes
Swedish weather agency SMHI called Wednesday the "calm before the storm" as it issued class 2 warnings for rough seas off Sweden's west coast, as well as for strong winds and snow in Dalarna, Gästrikland, and Uppland across central Sweden.
A class 2 warning entails weather conditions that could put the public in danger, cause material damage, or disrupt vital public services.
On Thursday, the low pressure system is expected to reach southwestern Sweden, with "large amounts" of snow expected to cover the Götaland and Svealand regions in central Sweden overnight into Friday.
Wind gusts as high as 100 kilometres per hour are expected along with the heavy snowfall.
"In some areas, we may be talking about up to 20 or 30 centimetres," SMHI meteorologist Marcus Sjöstedt told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
"There are definitely going to be problems on the roads and for different types of transport. People should expect a number of delays when it comes to trains."

A massive North Sea storm is expected to strike large parts of Germany on Thursday.
People in Germany and other parts of Northern Europe began preparations on Wednesday for a major North Sea storm that is expected to bring hurricane-strength winds to the region. The low-pressure front "Xaver" is currently on a course from Newfoundland, Canada to Europe. The storm is expected to arrive in southern Norway on Thursday before continuing towards northern Germany with gale-force winds. The storm is expected to be strongest in the north and east of the country, although rain and winds are expected in the south, too.
With gale force winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour (111 miles per hour), public officials are already bracing for what could be one of the worst storms in decades. Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railway, is advising travelers in the states of Schleswig-Holstein, northern Lower-Saxony, Hamburg and Bremen to cancel their plans if possible. The company said it was preparing for possible disruptions to services or closures in those regions. Airports are also warning of possible delays or cancellations of flights because of the inclement weather.
Comment: The same storm system is called "Sven" in Sweden and "Bodil" in Denmark and both places are equally gearing up for a major storm.
Swedes warned: 'Expect up to 30 cm of snow'
The 200-page report by the National Academy of Sciences looked at warming problems that can occur in years instead of centuries. The report repeatedly warns of potential "tipping points" where the climate passes thresholds, beyond which "major and rapid changes occur." And some of these quick changes are happening now, said study chairman James White of the University of Colorado.
The report says abrupt changes like melting ice in the Arctic Ocean and mass species extinctions have already started and are worse than predicted. It says thousands of species are changing their ranges, seasonal patterns or in some cases are going extinct because of human-caused climate change. Species in danger include some coral; pika, a rabbitlike creature; the Hawaiian silversword plant and polar bears.
Comment: Although the authors harp on "human-caused climate change" when the causes may lie elsewhere, the conclusions that changes are non-linear and can reach a tipping point and happen quickly seem correct and show that projections of climate states decades in the future are probably nonsense.
But what's most ridiculous about their conclusions, which contradict the points made in their research, is that they discount the possibility of a radical swing towards cooling. See this for more information on the rapid cooling hypothesis.

This shows some of the world's 200 remaining wild addax in Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger.
The research team consisted of 40 scientists from 28 international organizations. They assessed 14 desert species, finding that half of those are regionally extinct or confined to one percent or less of their historical range.
It is difficult to be certain of the causes of these declines because of a chronic lack of studies across the region due to political instability. The team suggests, however, that over-hunting is likely to have played a major role.
The Bubal hartebeest is completely extinct; the scimitar horned oryx is only found in captivity; and the African wild dog and African lion have disappeared from the Sahara. The study, published in Diversity and Distributions, reveals that other species have fared only marginally better. The dama gazelle and addax are gone from 99 percent of their range; the leopard has lost 97 percent of its range; and the Saharan cheetah has disappeared from 90 percent.
The only species that still inhabits most of its historical range is the Nubian ibex, but even this species is classified as vulnerable due to numerous threats including widespread hunting.
Blair Mase of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 46 whales are swimming in about 3 feet of water. Volunteers were keeping an eye on the whales Wednesday.

Pilot whales stranded in Everglades National Park
Mase says the whales are short fin pilot whales that are known to inhabit deep water, "so they are very out of their home range."
On Tuesday, officials found the whales beached or stranded in a remote area of the park near Highland Beach in northern Monroe County.
Mase says pilot whales usually swim in large groups and are one of the most common mass strandings "because they are a cohesive species."
Source: The Associated Press
The mountain lion, named P22 by scientists, was discovered accidentally by a camera trap, which had been set up to monitor wildlife in Griffith Park in Hollywood.
Biologist Miguel Ordenana found a photo of the creature whilst checking one of the camera sites.
"I was kind of tired and had been in the sun a lot so I was like, ok let me just refreshed my eyesight - and yes it was still a mountain lion in front of my face".
Since the sighting, National Geographic wildlife photographer Steve Winter has spent a year waiting for the perfect shot of the animal. He finally captured the following breathtaking images of the cougar with the Hollywood sign and city of Los Angeles in the background.
His best images are due to be published in the December issue of the National Geographic magazine.
Areas of Montana and the Dakotas were forecast to reach lows in the minus-20s, while parts of California could see the thermometer drop to the 20s. The icy, 'Polar Express' blast was expected to be followed by another one later in the week, creating an extended period of cold weather that hasn't been seen since the late 1990s, meteorologists said.
Officials warned residents to protect themselves against frostbite if they are going to be outside for any length of time. 'When it gets this cold, you don't need 30, 40 mile-per-hour winds to get that wind chill down to dangerous levels. All it takes is a little breeze,' Kines said.
Additional images
In Piraeus, Rafina, and Lavrio in Attica, as well as in the Rio-Antirio crossing in Western Greece, ferry boats have been forbidden from leaving the port for several hours.
The routes to Aegina from Piraeus, to Andros, Tinos and Myconos from Rafina, and to Tzia from Lavrio, have been cancelled and port authorities believe there is a possibility that further sea routes will be cancelled due to the recent forecasts that the weather will worsen over the course of the day.
In Attica, the Fire Department received more than 230 telephone calls in the early hours of Tuesday to report fallen trees and branches, requesting their removal, while a tree fell on two parked cars near the train station in Menidi, Attica.
"The volcanic event occurred on Tuesday afternoon. The ash cloud stretched northwest, bypassing populated areas," the report said.
No ashfall has been reported from towns nearby, it added.
Nevertheless, rescuers advised tour operators to avoid paths around the volcano, for which a red alert has been issued.
Shiveluch is the northernmost active volcano of Kamchatka situated 45 kilometers away from the town of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky district with a population of approximately 5,000.
It is also one of the largest Kamchatkan volcanoes. Shiveluch became active in May 2009 and got a fissure that is almost 30 meters deep in its dome.













Comment: Germany is also preparing for this storm, which in Germany is named Xaver:
Gale-force winds: Germans brace for major winter storm