El Niño May Soak Parched California This Winter

Strongest warm-water phenomenon in a decade drenches coasts

(NEWSER) - The strongest El Niño in more than a decade is the culprit behind the wretched weather bombarding much of the country this winter, from the snowstorms that buried the mid-Atlantic states in December to the rains that drenched California last month. “Ocean temperatures are somewhere upwards of two degrees above average,” a meteorologist tells NPR . “So we have had what we would characterize as a strong El Niño.” More»

In parts of New England, it may feel like 50 below

(NEWSER) - New England has been hit with a blast of winter cold from Canada so severe that at least two people have died, including one woman whose frozen body was found in a driveway in Connecticut, the AP reports. She apparently fell Saturday night and froze while temperatures were near zero; her body was found yesterday morning when neighbors called the police. Things are expected to get even worse today, with the wind chill in some areas of New England was expected to make it feel as cold as 50 degrees below zero. More»

Lajamanu is 326 miles from nearest river

(NEWSER) - Forget about cats and dogs—it literally rained fish for two days in one tiny, landlocked Australian town. Meteorologists say the spangled perch likely got sucked up by a thunderstorm, frozen, then dropped above the town, the Telegraph reports. Local records say it is the third time the town, Lajamanu, has been hit in 30 years. Many of the small white fish were still alive. "What if anything bigger falls out of the sky next?" one man asks. "It could be crocodiles." More»

Ana is the season's first named system; Bill could morph into a hurricane

(NEWSER) - Ana and Bill are on the move, but meteorologists aren't worried just yet, the Miami Herald reports. Both tropical storms formed in the Atlantic today and are moving westward, but a possible US landing is 5 or more days away. The National Hurricane Center says they could strike anywhere from South Carolina to Cuba. “We want people to watch the tropics, but we don't want them to push the panic button,” said one official. More»

(AP) - A new El Nino could be approaching. Sea-surface temperatures have been warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean, suggesting the potential for the development of the El Niño climate phenomenon in the next three months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More»