Tropical Cyclone Damien made landfall in Western Australia over the weekend and lashed north-western parts of Australia with heavy rain and damaging winds. Unrelated to the cyclone, eastern Australia also recently had some substantial rainfall totals. While rain came as welcome relief after the severe bushfires, flash floods have now swept across the region.
Storm Hervé marked the end of unseasonable warmth across parts of France and Germany last week as the system brought a cooler airmass, strong winds, and fresh, heavy snowfall to the Alps. Prior to this, south-west Europe as a whole was experiencing exceptional heat, and temperatures rocketed to 29.6C in Valencia in Spain on Tuesday, setting a new all-time February record.
Temperatures in Antarctica have soared to unprecedented highs, with the Esperanza base on the Trinity peninsula reaching a record 18.3C. At the time of reaching this temperature, tropical parts of the world such as Hawaii and Miami were recording lower values. The warmth was the result of a strong ridge of high pressure that built across the region, with local temperatures amplified by a Föhn wind – a warm, dry wind developing in the lee of any mountain range. The average high for Antarctica in summer (during the northern hemisphere winter) is about 4C.
