Climatology, there are several indices or indicators that quantify the climate anomalies of pressure, wind and temperatures in some regions (for the atmosphere but also to the ocean). These anomalies are associated with natural oscillations whose frequency can vary from several months to several decades, and sometimes almost a century. These are the natural variability (including solar activity is also included) who are responsible for "change" climate as it is wrongly described in most media. The climate has indeed never been stable in the past. It went through phases of warming (as the Medieval Warm Period between the tenth and the fourteenth century) and then by cooling phases (such as the Little Ice Age from the late sixteenth century and the nineteenth century).

Since the beginning of this fall, the temperatures of the atmosphere in the stratosphere (20 to 50 km altitude) began to fall over the North Pole. This decrease is quite usual in this season as well as the polar vortex weakening in summer, then re-forms in winter as the sun's influence is diminishing. However, the current temperatures have gone below the average climate, indicating a strong enhancement of the vortex. It is customary to quantify the intensity of the strengthening of the polar vortex by a climatic index called Arctic Oscillation (AO), which measures the pressure difference between Greenland and the middle latitudes (about 45 ° North).

The higher the value of AO is high (positive values ​​so) over the vortex is strong and vice versa. Yet the intensity of the polar vortex partly determines the position of the jet stream. There is a persistent anomaly in the equatorial stratosphere winds since last winter. This anomaly is associated with the quasi-biennial oscillation mentioned above which, as its name suggests, at a frequency of about 24 to 30 months. During this period, winds in the middle stratosphere are now accelerating towards the west (called a westerly QBO phase), and sometimes accelerating to the east (from east QBO phase).

The highest atmospheric pressure ever recorded at Sea-Tac Airport was recorded Wednesday night, KIRO 7 Chief Meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson reports. At midnight, the barometer hit 1043.4 millibars, breaking the previous record of 1043.0 millibars, set on January 28, 1949. The all-time highest atmospheric pressure recorded in Seattle, with records dating back to the late 19th century, was 1043.9 millibars, or 30.83 inches of Mercury. It was recorded in downtown Seattle on December 3, 1921. - KIRO TV

Some 270,000 homes and businesses remained without power for a second day on Friday after powerful winds toppled trees and power lines and left debris across a wide swath of Southern California.

The fierce gusts that tore across Western states Thursday created a path destruction that closed schools and prompted some communities to declare emergencies.

The storms, described as a once-in-a-decade event, were the result of a dramatic difference in pressure between a strong, high-pressure system and a cold, low-pressure system, meteorologists said. This funnels strong winds down mountain canyons and slopes.

The system brought high wind warnings and advisories for California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico. The blustery weather was expected to next hit Oklahoma, Missouri and Indiana.

In all, the Utah Department of Transportation reported 11 semis overturned by the wind on the state's highways Thursday morning. Utah Highway Patrol Corporal Todd Johnson said that between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., at least six semis were blown onto their sides on I-15 in Davis County in the area of the Lund Lane and Parrish Lane exits in Centerville as violent gusts - hitting 102 mph around 9 a.m. - thrashed the region.

Johnson said none of the drivers suffered more than minor injuries.


All traffic through the affected area was diverted for about two hours, Johnson said. By 7:30 a.m., traffic through the area had resumed, but was periodically suspended as new semi-related accidents occurred throughout the morning. Motorists still were advised to avoid the area, if possible. High-profile vehicles were ordered off the gusty stretch of freeway until at least 6 p.m. Thursday.

Tokyo - Molten nuclear fuel at Japan's Fukushima plant might have eaten two thirds of the way through a concrete containment base, its operator said, citing a new simulation of the extent of the March disaster.

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said their latest calculations showed the fuel inside the No. 1 reactor at the tsunami-hit plant could have melted entirely, dropping through its inner casing and eroding a concrete base.

In the worst-case scenario, the molten fuel could have reached as far as 65 centimetres (2 feet) through the concrete, leaving it only 37 centimetres short of the outer steel casing, the report, released Wednesday, said.

Until now, TEPCO had said some fuel melted through the inner pressure vessel and dropped to the containment vessel, without saying how much and what it did to the concrete, citing a lack of data.

Severe gale force winds caused damage and disruption to national and local ferry services and flights today - and destroyed a caravan in the Skerries.

Shetland experienced the highest winds in the UK, with 81mph gusts recorded in Foula, 73mph in Lerwick and 69mph in Fair Isle.
NorthLink's sailings were delayed or cancelled and there were no inter-island ferries on some routes. There were no ferries on Bressay or Bluemull Sounds or to Whalsay in the morning, and the Yell Sound service was down to a single ferry. Normal service resumed on these routes in the afternoon, although the Skerries service was off all day.

The reduction followed the strike yesterday when there were no ferries at all.

Flights to and from Sumburgh were also disrupted, with the early morning flight from Aberdeen and the 12.15pm departure to the city both cancelled.

Los Angeles - Powerful Santa Ana winds sweeping through Southern California caused widespread damage overnight.

Trees and power lines were knocked down, and thousands of people were without power.

Southern California Edison said nearly 200,000 of its customers were without power Thursday morning. The company said the hardest hit area was in the San Gabriel Valley along the 210 Freeway.

Communities most affected were Altadena, Alhambra, Arcadia, La Canada, Monrovia, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Sierra Madre and Temple City. It's unknown when power was going to be restored.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that at least 88,700 of its customers did not have power.

Pasadena declared a local emergency due to the severe conditions. Officials urged residents to stay home, if possible, in order to avoid downed trees and power lines.

Pasadena Unified School District and Arcadia Unified School District canceled classes for the day.

A quake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale occurred today in southeast Finland. It was the strongest quake of the year in Finland according to seismologists.

A loud bang was also heard by eyewitnesses and buildings shook.Quakes of this intensity are more common in the North of the country with the South being relatively calm.

Power outages and downed trees were reported in several regions of Los Angeles County Wednesday night due to strong winds, NBC LA reported.

A major change in the weather pattern is expected to bring powerful gusts of up to 85 miles per hour and possible hurricane force winds into the Los Angeles region for two days.
The National Weather Service issued warnings that the high winds and low humidy could cause wildfires.

On Wednesday night, a wind gust of 97 mph was recorded at Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County, according to the weather service.

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted Nicobar Islands early on Thursday.

The quake hit the islands at 1.12 a.m., Xinhua quoted the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as saying.

The quake's epicentre, with a depth of 1.00 km, was initially determined to be at 7.8365 degrees north latitude and 94.0158 degrees east longitude.