BBC Weather Watchers capture first snow of winter - BBC

Atlantic Canada may be in for a rough second half of the week, with forecasters keeping a close eye on the system formerly known as Subtropical Storm Josephine. The storm has been meandering up the Eastern Seaboard this week as a powerful low-pressure system. DON'T MISS: Canada's Winter Sneak Peek: El Niño puts record warmth in playThe system will swipe southern Atlantic Canada with potent wind gusts, heavy rainfall, snowfall and three- to five-metre waves along the coastal areas, elevating the risk of flooding. Low-pressure systems exist on a spectrum between tropical and extratropical (non-tropical). Josephine has slipped across the spectrum in both directions several times over the past week. Originally a strong nor’easter, the system evolved into a subtropical storm on Wednesday before returning to its roots on Thursday. A subtropical storm is one that has characteristics of both a tropical and extratropical system, a sort of hybrid storm that can bring hazardous weather to the affected regions. Content continues belowWhile this is no longer a named storm, it will still pack hazardous winds and heavy rainfall across the region.

An unusually potent threat for severe weather covers portions of the U. S. Southwest again on Thursday, bringing a second day of severe storms to the region. Thursday’s severe weather risk is a continuation of the same setup that brought the region multiple reports of rotation and hail the size of golf balls and larger on Wednesday. DON’T MISS: Canada records its northernmost tornado in nearly 50 yearsThe atmospheric setup over this desert region is more akin to what you’d expect to see on the Plains or the Prairies. An upper-level trough swinging across California brought the lift needed to spark thunderstorms amid enhanced instability and moisture. Strong wind shear aloft has allowed thunderstorms to turn severe, with some organizing into supercells capable of producing very large hail, damaging wind gusts, and tornadoes. Wednesday’s storms prompted widespread severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings across Arizona and Utah. Storm chasers reported several potential tornadoes in the region, and one report came in of hail up to 5 cm (2 in.) in diameter northwest of Phoenix. Content continues belowA similar setup on Thursday prompted the U. S.

A powerful magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck western China late Thursday night local time. The epicentre was located about 200 km northeast of Nagqu in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Estimates from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show that about 50,000 residents in the region experienced strong to severe shaking during the event, which occurred around 10:30 a.m. Toronto time. An additional 500,000+ people likely felt light to moderate shaking. “Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread,” the USGS said on its website. Additional aftershocks are likely. China’s state news agency Xinhua reported numerous casualties and building collapses in the affected areas. Tibet exists in a tectonically active region where the Indian Plate moves north and collides with the Eurasian Plate, creating the Himalaya Mountains. Content continues belowNumerous earthquakes registering M7.0 or stronger have been recorded here in the past few decades, including one in January 2025 that killed more than 100 people.

The Philippines are one of the nations that could see increased dry spells and droughts during the upcoming and potentially record breaking El Niño. (Photo by Ryan Eduard Benaid/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that the current El Niño could be the strongest on record. In this week's press conference, it warns that the event is “literally off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past 4 decades.”The latestThe WMO's latest seasonal outlook says tropical Pacific temperatures could run up to 3.8 degrees Celsius (6.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above average during the three-month period from November 2026 to January 2027. The three-month average is what is used to determine the strength of the El Niño. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said that level has never appeared in the agency's records, only seeing the strongest El Niños reach about 3 degrees Celsius above average. Remember that forecasters declare an El Niño when the three-month average tops 0.5 degrees Celsius. El Niño will peak toward the end of 2026, Saulo said, but its impacts will last well beyond that.

We're following a developing story on record rain and flash flooding in eastern Nebraska. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck a remote stretch of the Tibet Plateau late Thursday, the U. S. Geological Survey reported, sending strong shaking across a sparsely populated region of northern Tibet. The quake hit at 10:33 p.m. local time (2:33 p.m. UTC), with an epicenter about 114 miles (183 km) east-northeast of Nagqu in the Xizang Autonomous Region of China. The USGS measured the quake at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), which tends to amplify ground shaking at the surface. The USGS indicated significant casualties and damage are possible, though likely limited given the area's extremely sparse population. The USGS also flagged a landslide hazard in the area given the steep terrain of the Tibetan Plateau. No injuries or confirmed damage reports had emerged as of early reports. The region sits in one of the world's most seismically active zones, where the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates drives frequent earthquakes across Tibet and surrounding areas.

The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) recently confirmed that a tornado passed south of Salluit, Que., on July 21. It is the northernmost tornado recorded in Canada since 1980. The tornado was observed at 10:15 a.m. ET near Spartan Lake by geologist Thoman Debruyne, who was in the area at the time and was able to capture footage of the twister as it occured. He later sent the footage in to the NTP for analysis. SEE ALSO: Climate versus weather: What's the difference? NTP has classified the brief tornado as an EF0, the lowest on the scale, as there were no visible signs of any damage to the surrounding area. What's remarkable about this, though, is how far north the tornado occurred. The Weather Network's meteorologists say this is the northernmost tornado to be recorded, not just in all of 2026, but since at least 1980.2026 had a remarkable tornado season across Canada, and this latest addition to the records is only further proof.