Today, the Earth got a little hotter - and more crowded.
Daily Climate Change: Global Map of Unusual Temperatures, Feb 20 2014
How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide. Looking above at recent temperature anomalies the polar aneurism over the US has changed but persists. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats. (Add 0.3-0.4 C to have these anomaly values calibrate with those of NASA.) Daily updates of can be seen here for both the temperature anomalies map, and the jetstream map. For real time animated US surface wind patterns, click here, and here, for the planet. (Clicking on "earth" there reveals data and map options.)
Screen capture from the video.
"She Was Screaming in the Tub" as red welts started forming on the little girl's skin, recalls the grandmother who tried to bathe the 2 yr old in what she thought was now safe water, weeks after the toxic river spill by the coal processing Freedom Company, reports Suzanne Goldenberg at the Climate Desk (reprinted from the UK Guardian). It is just one of many horror stories told by the people who are still suffering from lack of safe water,and infuriated at local officials for misleading them about the safety of the water. Another reason to race towards a revolution in renewable energy...
The Gold Standard of Climate Research Needs Your Support!! In 1958, award-winning climatologist Charles Keeling started the now historic tracking of atmospheric CO2 concentrations at a Hawaiian mountain station. It shows how the rise of this greenhouse gas correlates with the burning of fossil fuels, encapsulated in the famous Keeling Curve (wiki it!). Tracking continues to show just how fast the gas is increasing AND the worldwide decrease of oxygen - crucial, basic information still needed. But the US govt, which has a poor record of funding longterm projects, has stopped funding this important one. It's time for Americans to step forward. Any amount is appreciated and helps! You can donate here, and please spread the word!
Trade winds push oceanic currents, which influence how fast heat is absorbed in the oceans. Credit Richard B. Mieremet, Senior Advisor, NOAA.
Trade Winds Sped Up, Sending Most Global Heat Into Oceans says a new study, reports Oliver Milman at the UK Guardian, explaining how the so-called "pause" is only seen in surface air temperatures, which currently absorb only 2% of all that heat. That heat continues to accumulate rapidly, about 4 Hiroshima bomb explosions' worth per second. (Yeah, we're packing in a lot of heat fast!)
OO Only 2% of the total accumulated heat from global warming has been absorbed by the surface air in recent decades, masking the "iceberg" of heat that the oceans have been absorbing. Credit Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2013 Report.
As the trade winds sped up, so did the global ocean current conveyer belts they drive - so the belts pull the heat down faster into the ocean and exposed displaced, deep cold water faster, speeding up oceanic heat absorption. Judging from past cyclic behavior, the trade winds will slow down, likely within the next decade or so, and when they do, watch the surface temperatures zoom up!
Comparing the Arctic (north Alaska, left) with temperate zone (mid California, right) warming at the Your Warming World app at New Scientist. Screen capture, Mary Ellen Harte.
@@ Fantastic New Warming World App! "Your Warming World" at New Scientist reports Emily Atkin at Climate Progress: click on home or wherever you want, and up pops a graph showing how the temperature has changed there over the past century or so. Click into the polar area, then somewhere in the lower US 48 states to see just how much faster the Arctic is warming; conversely, explore how little the equator is changing... then compare them all to the global average!
90% Of States Added Solar Jobs In 2013 reports Katie Valentine at Climate Progress. California leads the way in solar jobs, but 18 other states more than doubled their solar jobs in 2013, according to a new map. Many of those states were in the South. You can add to these clean US jobs, today - go solar!
Photo: Gary Nichols US Navy at Wikimedia Commons
Coastal Flooding 'May Cost $100,000 Billion Yearly By 2100′ says a new study, reports Tim Radford at Climate News Network. Up to 600 million people could be hit by coastal flooding by then under business as usual. Researchers have compiled, for the first time, global simulation results on future flood damage to buildings and infrastructure on the world's coastal flood plains.They expect drastic increases in economic damage because as sea levels rise, so will population and investment: there will be more people with more to lose. Investing tens of billions yearly is needed to prevent truly astronomical costs.
Greenland meltwater pours deep into its interior. Photo: CIRES
Holy Hotcakes! Arctic Autumns To Warm A Staggering 23°F, NOAA Warns by 2100 under business as usual, reports Joe Romm at Climate Progress. Arctic springs will get about 9°F warmer, and this heating will certainly accelerate the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which, when fully melted, will raise sea levels 20 feet. The study notes that the process could be slowed IF humanity undertook drastic cuts in carbon emissions... what better time to switch to clean renewable energy?
The rapid pace of climate change is threatening the future of some of the fish which live near the Equator. Credit D. Dixson.
Losing Nemo: Tropical Fish Especially Threatened By Climate Change says a new study, reports Alex Kirby at Climate News Network. Australian researchers conclude that "low-latitude reef fish populations are living close to their thermal optima and may be more sensitive to ocean warming than higher-latitude populations." "One species of fish could not even survive in water just 3°C warmer than it lives in now", said lead auther Dr. Jodie Rummer.
Bye bye, Panda! Pandas could dramatically decline as vegetation patterns shift in the future due to climate change. Credit Jeff Kubina at Wikipedia Commons.
Half of Earth's Vegetation Coverage Could Change by 2100 says a new study, reports Tim Radford at Climate News Network. International researchers have looked at what the projected patterns of warming are likely to do to the planet's mosaic of climate types. They predict dramatic changes. For example, 80-100% of the bamboo forests on which giant pandas depend could disappear, because the rising temperature would be "no longer feasible for bamboo growth." And that's just a tiny part of the story... imagine the rest! As it is, a giant extinction of plants and animals is already underway as humanity destroys habitats to sustain our exploding populations, as Elizabeth Kolbert describes in her new book, The Sixth Extinction.
"Powerful" ... "arresting..." "a page turner" are what critics from the NT times, the NY Book Review, and NY Magazine are saying about this book, detailing how burgeoning humanity is the current "death meteor" to much of life on Earth. Available at amazon. Henry Holt and Company.
Global Water Shortages Pose Threat Of Terror And War reports Suzanne Goldenberg at the UK Guardian. From California to the Middle East, huge areas of the world are drying up and a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. US intelligence is warning of the dangers of shrinking resources and experts say the world is 'standing on a precipice'. Gulp.
From the folks at Forecasting the Facts. (Photo: AP)
US Keystone Pipeline Report Gets It Wrong: It's Not Moving Oil, But Whether To Invest In It notes Richard Matthews at Global Warming Is Real. The report wrongly focuses on what is the safest mode for oil transport. Tar sands are far dirter than conventional crude oil, and moving oil by any means in unsafe, as an increasing number of US oil spills attests. Obama has already rebuffed the economic and job benefits of the pipeline. The real focus should be whether the investment will further encourage our deadly addiction to fossil fuels.
Photo: 350.org
Congressman Raul Grijalva: Help Me Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline and Expose Conflicts of Interest. Co-sign the letter to President Obama, urging him to reject the pipeline.. Another way to raise your voice and join the 80,000+ who have already added theirs here.
☼☼☼ On the Bright Side ☼☼☼
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(>(>(> PEOPLE SPEAK OUT
OO Humanity's Gambling That Climate Change Won't Disrupt Agriculture say Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich , even as humanity continues to swell well beyond sustainability. It's just one of many bad bets humanity is making.
OO Climatologist: When Ocean Warming Ends, Global Temperatures To Rise Rapidly'
OO 83% Of Americans Believe US Should Act On Climate Change
OO John Kerry Warns Climate Change Poses Threat Greater Than 'Wmds'
@@James Hansen TED Talk: 'Why I Must Speak Out About Climate Change'
OO 100 Winter Olympians Sign Petition Urging World Leaders To Address Climate Change
Mary Ellen Harte
OO Heads Of US, France Call For 'Ambitious' 2015 Climate Agreement
OO UK Head David Cameron: Climate Change A Serious Threat
OO UK Students Call On Universities To Reduce Investments In Fossil Fuels
One homeowner decided to build his own flood defense in southern England recently. Via NWS at NOAA.
OO Church Of England Considers Divesting Fossil Fuels, Fight 'Giant Evil' Of Climate Change
OO Climate Change Is Here Now, Could Lead To Global Conflict, Says Nicholas Stern
OO UK: Experts Warn Recent Extreme Weather Agrees with Global Warming Predictions and will become more frequent.
OO UK Floods: A Warning To Those Who Ignore Threat Of Climate Change
OO Australian Mps Receive Climate Change-Themed Valentine's Day Cards
China is doing much to cut emissions to fight both pollution and climate change - but will it be enough? Smog over the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Credit Brian Jeffrey Beggerly via wikimedia commons.
OO President Xi Tells John Kerry China "Will Do More" On Climate
OO Chinese Environmental Protests Surge Nationally as China's rapid economic development causes increasing environmental degradation of air, water and land.
OO In Girl Scouts Vs. Kellogg's Over Palm Oil, Rainforests And Orangutans Win
OO California's Rate Of CO2 Cuts Need To Double After 2020 say regulators.
OO Oregon: Legal Challenges to 'Megaloads' Of Tar Sands Equipment
Michael Brune of the Sierra Club and Bill McKibben of 350.org are just some of many leaders putting themselves on the line against the Keystone pipeline. credit Christine Irvine
OO Keystone Public Comments Rushing Into State Dept
OO GOP Kansas Mayor Says Sustainability Is About Community, Not Politics
OO Following Louisiana Suit, EPA Agrees To Review Air Pollution Rules For Oil Refineries
☼☼☼ BRIGHT IDEAS ☼☼☼
OO REDD+ Should Finance Corridors Between Protected Areas, Argues Study
OO With Help From Supercapacitors, Trains Are Providing New Services To The Grid
OO Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers, To Trim The Power Bill
Not only visually mesmerizing, this glass orb functions as a stand alone solar generator, and the company claims it is more efficient than comparable solar panels.
OO Glass Orb Solar Generator More Efficient Than Panel says the German inventor.
OO New Cord For Electric Vehicles Offers Charge-Anywhere Versatility
OO Large-Scale Energy Storage To Reduce Load In New York City
For more news on green technology, click here.
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OO How Rural Energy Storage And Smart Grid Tech Are Edging Out Diesel
OO Chevrolet Will Now Give Money To College Campuses If They Pollute Less
OO Paris Restaurants Turn Food Scraps Into Biogas
☼☼☼ BRIGHT SIDE, STATE SIDE ☼☼☼
OO White House Quietly Discussing US Carbon Cuts After 2020 to prepare for the 2015 international climate meeting, as it pursues developing current carbon cutting policies.
OO US Outlines Plans For 'Durable And Ambitious' UN Climate Deal
OO Obama Announces $1 Billion Clirate Resilience Fund
OO US States Explore Green Banks To Reduce Risk Of Clean Energy Projects
OO Enviros, Utilities Agree: New Rate Structure Would Benefit Solar - getting justly compensated for grid maintenance costs will help utilities encourage solar.
OO New Poll: Most Republicans Want To Regulate Carbon Pollution
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OO With Reliability A Concern, Universities Are Looking To Microgrids
OO Better Buildings Alliance Membership Grows To 10B Square Feet
OO The Face of US Wind Power: Interactive Map pinpoints 47,000 wind turbine sites.
OO World's Largest Solar Thermal Plant Starts, Uses Relatively Little Water
OO Over Half Of US Home Solar Systems Used Microinverters Or DC Optimizers In 2013
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OO Californians Could Save $750 Million On Energy Bills With Huge Wyoming Wind Farm
OO California Has A Third Of The Nation's Solar Power Jobs
OO Illinois Raises Bar On Energy Efficiency
Check it out here, right now!
OO Solar Jobs Census Shows Big Gains For Midwest
OO New York $1 Billion Green Bank "Open For Business"
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OO North Carolina Dumps Coal Ash Deal With Duke Energy
OO Oregon: Compromise Bill To Protect Oregon's Renewables Mandate Passes House
The solar surge continues... via forcechange.com
OO Earnings Season: Sunpower Shows Profitable 2013, Strong 2014 Guidance
OO PV Modules Were A $30.5 Billion Market In 2013
OO Reports: Pre-IPO Sunrun Raising $100M For Residential Solar Growth
☼☼☼ BRIGHT SIDE, WORLDWIDE ☼☼☼
OO Let's Celebrate, Not Lament, Renewables' Disruption of Electric Utilities
OO The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Energy
OO US, Japan, China Will Install The Most Solar PV In 2014
Orangutans benefit from Indonesia's moratorium on forest leases, too. Credit Rhett Butler at Mongabay.com
OO Indonesia Delays, Stops Leases on 1.3 million ha of Carbon Storing Forests, Peatlands
OO Microsoft Buys Madagascar Carbon Credits
OO China Confirms 14 Gigawatts Of Solar Incentives For 2014
via www.evwind.es
OO China Sets Up $1.6 Billion Fund To Reward Cities, Regions For Cutting Smog as it shuts down dirty factories and projects.
OO China Considers New Powers For Pollution Watchdog As Part Of Govt Shakeup
OO China Extends Electric-Car Subsidies To Fight Air Pollution
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OO US, China Agree To Work On Climate Change
OO Green Light For Australia's Biggest Wind Farm
OO Lockheed Inks Deal To Produce Energy From Ocean Waves In Australia
Denmark is already doing much to cut emissions, as in encouraging bicycles over car.s. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
OO Denmark Agrees to 40% Carbon Cuts by 2020, the Most Ambitious of All Europe
OO Danish Creates Climate Council to Advise Carbon Cutbacks
OO German Air Raid Bunker Transformed Into Renewable Energy Facility
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The flag flies, May 21, 2013.
At Moore, OK, the day after a huge tornado demolished it.
Credit Major Jon Quinlan/defenseimagery mil
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***** US Climate Change News *****
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STORMY WEATHER...
OO Extreme Weather Comes To Congress, And The Nation
OO Storms Taking Toll On Families, Schools In US Northeast
OO Winter's Cold, Snowy And Expensive
Photo: NOAA
OO Ice Storm Cuts Power To Over 330,000 Customers In US Southeast
OO Storm, Bringing Deadly Ice And Snow, Slams US South
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OO Arctic Air Grips US Midwest
OO Arkansas: Roads Become Parking Lots After Snowfall In Little Rock
OO Deadly Ice And Snow Storm Bears Down On US South
A sunny solar home. Photo: Dennis Schroeder/NREL
OO Hawaii: Testing Ground For A Solar-Flavored Grid
OO Snowfall No Longer A Sure Bet, Booming Ski Towns Fight Going Bust
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OO NY Times Fails Again: Op-Ed 'The Dustbowl Returns' Never Mentions Climate Change
OO Environmental Movement to Test Its Muscle in Keystone Final Stretch
OO Enviros And Industry Agree: Keystone XL Means More Oil. Why Not The State Dept?
. . . . CALIFORNIA DRYIN' . . . .
OO How California's Worsening Drought Could Make Your Grocery Bill Spike
OO California Faces Critical Drought, Despite Recent Rains
OO Drought Threatens CA Hydroelectricity Supply, But Solar Makes Up The Gap
One salmon that didn't make it. Natl Park Service, Wikimedia Commons.
OO Drought Blocking Passages To Sea For California Coho Salmon
OO Early California Wildfires Jeopardize Homes, Vineyards
OO California Drought Emergency Sparks Call To Ban Fracking And Protect Water
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OO Obama Announces Aid For Drought-Stricken California
OO Both CA Senators Propose Emergency Drought Legislation
As these satellite views show, California is a lot browner from the drought. Photos: NASA
OO California Seeing Brown Where Green Used To Be
OO California Farms Are Slow To Adopt Water-Saving Technology
OO Farmers: Obama's Drought Relief Efforts Lacking
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OO Obama: Fate Of California Farms Affects Whole Country
OO Desalination Plants A Pricey Option If Drought Persists
<><><><> FOSSIL FUEL FOLLIES <><><><>
OO Oil, Gas Drilling Seems To Cause Earthquakes
OO Coal Dust Pollution, Dirty White Pants, And Coverups: The Consequences Of Exporting Coal
OO The Oil Industry's Fight to Kill Renewable Fuels--and Why It May Win
Credit Dirk Ingo Franke atWikimedia Commons.
OO EPA Greatly Underestimates Methane Leaks, Study Confirms but indicates gas is still better than coal.
OO Methane Leaks Negate Benefits Of Natural Gas-Powered Vehicle says study.
OO Natural Gas Vehicles Could Be Worse For Climate Than Diesel
OO Subpoena Caps Bad Week For Fossil Fuel
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OO Transcanada Asks Texas Supreme Court To Skip Keystone Review
OO BP Gulf Spill Oil Causes Heart Damage to Tuna study says
OO Exxon Oil Spill Town in Arkansas 'Deserted Land'
@@ A video captured the Kentucky gas line explosion, which lit up the night sky. Photo: Telenia Dobbs, at Facebook.
OO Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion Levels Homes In Kentucky Town
OO After Coal Ash Spill, North Carolina Rethinks Prior Paltry Pollution Fine
OO Two Oil Spills Reported in Western North Dakota
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OO North Dakota Oil Spill Cleanup to Last at Least Two More Years
OO Train Derails In Pennsylvania, Spilling Up To 4,000 Gallons Of Canadian Oil
OO Company Has Yet To Stop 9 Month Long Tar Sand Leaks in Alberta
Photo: wxpi.com screenshot
OO VIDEO: Explosion And Fire At Chevron Natural Gas Well In Pennsylvania
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/11/3279631/explosion-chevron-gas/
OO W Va Water Nightmare: Private Testing Finds Coal Chemical In 40% Of Homes
OO One Month After Toxic Spill, West Virginians Face 'Crisis of Confidence'
OO West Virginia Chemical Spill Company Skips Congressional Hearing
<><><><> GOPPING IT UP <><><><>
Even elephants can't survive on oil. Credit: Mary Ellen Harte
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OO The GOP Wants States To Seize Public Lands For Drilling And Mining
OO House Republicans Voted Against Environmental Interests 95 Percent Of The Time In 2013
OO The GOP Has A Hot Air Problem On Climate Change
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OO GOP Climate-change skepticism's funding sources are hidden
OO Senate GOP Sends Second Letter To Obama Urging Keystone Approval
OO House Republicans Muddy California's Drought Response Efforts
One can see this from an airplane window of a trans US flight these days, and this is what GOP Sen. Ted Cruz wants to see a lot more of in the US - do you? via gctca.org.
OO 6 Ways GOP Senator Cruz Wants To Increase Carbon Pollution, All In One Bill
OO Obama Faces New GOP Congress Challenge On Coal Curbs
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Via the University of East Anglia Climate Change webpage
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<<<< Climate Change Round the World >>>>
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OO Biggest Climate Warming Countries Are...
OO Climate: Cost is A Tough Sell, But Worth It, Says Economist
OO El Niño May Make 2014 The Hottest Year On Record aided by global warming, indicates a new study and forecast.
OO This construct of the 1997 El Nino from NASA satellites shows the characteristic high concentrations of heat (white and red areas) built up in the Eastern Pacific. Credit NASA.
OO UK Floods: 10 'Must Read' Articles On Climate, Science And Resilience
OO Water Shortages Could Disrupt Britain's Electricity Supply, Researchers Warn
OO Severe Weather Cuts Off Rail Links To Southwest England
Flooding has cut off rail links in England. Photo: screen capture at Wales News, wn.com.
OO UK Govt Accused Of 'Dismantling' Climate Adaptation Strategy
OO UK's Historic Flooding Is Washing Sewage Into The Streets
OO Flood Waters 'Could Last For Months'
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OO UK Asks: Is Record Wettest Winter Due To Climate Change?
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059994552
OO Why Has British Weather Been So Bad? It has to do with unusual behavior of the jet stream, tied to global warming via melting Arctic ice, but attempting to trace any single event back to climate change misunderstands the complexity of the system.
OO Floods In Britain Threaten Farm Output And Investment
Unfortunately, much of southern England looks like this. Via Wales News, wn.com, screen capture.
OO Storms Batter Flooded Britain
OO UK: Clean Energy Fouled by Climate Energy
OO Storm Cuts Power To 55,000 Homes In France
Map from UNOSAT, International Charter Space and Major Disasters.
OO Thousands At Risk As Rains Strain Zimbabwe Dam
OO Death Toll In Burundi's Torrential Rains Rises To 77
OO Bolivia Floods Kill 38, More Heavy Rains Forecast
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OO Summer Temperatures Dampen Sochi's Winter Olympics
OO Global Warming Threatens Future Potential Olympic Locations
OO Kosovo Rations Water Amid Worst Drought In Decades
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OO Australia Sees Greater Risk Of El Nino Weather Pattern
OO What Are The Top Five Climate Challenges For Australia?
OO Eleven Dead In Japan After Worst Snowfall In Decades Hits Capital
China's smog problems are horrendous, but its cleanup plan could make things worse. Photo via treehugger.com
OO China's Plan To Clean Up Air In Cities Will Doom The Climate, Scientists Say
OO China's Environmental Concerns Could Be GM's Problem Too
OO Pollution Makes Beijing Almost 'Uninhabitable For Human Beings'
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Ten Global Warming Indicators. Credit NOAA
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(((((((( Seeking the Science ))))))))
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OO New Parasites Infecting Whales and Seals including belugas, as climate change allows diseases to spread.
One of Australia's most beloved and cutest animals, the bilby, is also affected by climate change. Via molvray.com
OO Australia: Climate-Change Map Shows Plants, Animals Already Threatened reports Oliver Milman at the UK Guardian. Changes are already taking place, with shifting climate conditions are most pronounced in central and eastern Australia. The map shows possible migratory pathways for many species, but many are also headed towards extinction. And pathways do not ensure that the species will take them and thrive; they merely represent possibilities.
OO Threatened Lion Tamarins Further Threatened By Climate Change
They look like they already understand they're being threatened. Credit Uspn at Wikimedia Commons.
OO Fire In The Hole: After fracking comes coal - A dangerous new way to mine natural gas is being considered.
OO New Evidence Links Climate Change To Severe Weather