Expert insight: Improving severe thunderstorm prediction will reduce devastation - Western University

See the moment a mudslide engulfs buildings at Nepal-China borderRising water levels in the Bhotekoshi River prompted Nepalese authorities to warn of potential new flooding on Sunday, urging residents in vulnerable, devastated districts to stay on high alert. Mobile warnings were dispatched early in the day as rescue teams worked to clear debris from a crucial highway connecting Kathmandu to the flooded areas. At least 800 people are dead, and more than 3,000 are missing across Nepal and Tibet. In Dhading, one of the worst-hit regions in Nepal, some residents began returning to ruined homes to see what can be salvaged.(MORE: How did the deadly flood disaster in Nepal and Tibet happen? Here's what scientists are saying)Residents sat in homes with walls washed away by the floods, shoveling sludge-like mud and rubble off balconies or window frames. Others scanned the ground for items they could pick out of the mud and rinse off. One man had returned for his chickens, which he found alive. He tied them up and put them in the cabin of his truck. “Everything is finished. Nothing is left.

Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) from Jiigurru (Lizard Island Group). (Andy Lewis/Coral Sea Foundation)When you swim through the azure waters of the Great Barrier Reef, there is one entity on the seafloor that’s almost impossible to miss: the giant clam. Its huge, fluted shell frames a soft mantle shimmering with electric blue, green and gold. As the world’s largest living bivalve, Tridacna gigas can reach 1.2 metres, weigh more than 200 kilograms and live for over a century. Across their long lives, these clams record their daily life in their shells, creating an autobiographical shell diary. In our new research, we read one of these shell diaries to reconstruct month-by-month climate conditions at Jiigurru (also known as the Lizard Island Group), in the northern Great Barrier Reef. The shell’s story reveals that, before widespread industrial-era warming, Jiigurru’s summers were cooler than today, while winters were surprisingly similar. Jiigurru (Lizard Island Group) showing Blue Lagoon where our giant clam recorded its shell diary. (Sean Ulm)How can a shell keep a diary?

What is regenerative farming? How to start it in your own backyardThis fall, goldenrod is abundant and monarch butterflies have been passing through the Moonbeam Blooms Flower Farm in Cane Creek Valley, just south of Asheville, North Carolina.  Owner Jessica Stark won’t be bagging up the leaves, and she says you shouldn't either. Moonbeam Blooms is a regenerative flower farm, where the priority is keeping the soil healthy. “Regenerative farming is focused on really building a relationship with the land and the soil, and has some differences from conventional and even organic farming,” Stark explains. What is regenerative farming? While there’s no legal definition for regenerative farming, its core draws on the USDA’s principles for soil health:Disturb the soil as little as possibleKeep it coveredKeep living roots in the groundGrow a mix of plantsYou don’t need a farm to try it. Here’s how to start in your own yard. Swap plastic for mulchStark says to swap landscape fabric or plastic sheeting for mulch. Get More of Our News on GoogleSet The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

THE TAKEAWAY: Life-threatening flash flooding inundates Hurricane, Utah. Residents living near Gould Wash were forced to evacuate immediately. City officials issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency to address the ongoing flooding. Evacuation orders were issued for residents in Hurricane, Utah, on Thursday as life-threatening flash flooding slammed the city. WHAT IS A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM? Residents living near Gould Wash were forced to evacuate immediately as floodwaters inundated the area. Hurricane experienced substantial flooding after more than an inch of rain fell in 12 hours.  (Paul Canfield  / FOX Weather)The typically dry region was transformed by the heavy rainfall, with floodwaters turning streets into rushing waterways. HOW HIGH PRESSURE AND LOW PRESSURE DRIVE THE WEATHER"Hurricane City crews and emergency response partners have been actively responding to significant flooding and related infrastructure damage throughout the community," Hurricane City Emergency Services said in a press release. City officials issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency on Thursday to address the ongoing flooding and assess the damage.

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.