11/26/08: James Hansen jets across the pond yet again

James Hansen, NASA scientist, is in Westminster today to give evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on the impact of current science on climate policy. It’s being billed by new group Climate Safety as “one humdinger of a debate” between, in the red corner, Hansen and researcher Tim Helweg-Larsen of the Public Interest Research Centre, as they go head-to-head with, in the blue corner, Professor John Beddington and Professor Robert Watson, both Chief Scientific Advisers to the UK Government...

Arctic winds bring a blast of good fortune to mountain resorts - Times Online

The large snowfalls last week brought magnificent conditions across the Alps, Pyrenees and Scandinavia.

The snow in many areas is already more than twice as deep as average for this time of year. The high-altitude resort of Zermatt in Switzerland has reported more than 2m of snow, but even slopes down to 1,000m (3,280ft) have had enough snow to leave sufficient cover for the rest of December without another snowflake falling.

Particularly encouraging is that the big snowfalls have come with very cold weather. Often an early snowfall quickly melts because the ground is too warm. The recent cold temperatures froze the ground, however, letting the snow settle and build up a thick base, which can better withstand a run of no snow during the rest of the season. [Via Global Freeze]

Winter coming on strong this year - York, Pennsylvania

Old Man Winter seems more energetic than in recent years, making his appearance earlier than expected.

Heavy snow keeps children away from school in Spain

Tyre chains are needed on nearly 40 mountain passes of the main road network because of the snow, 12 passes are closed completely, and five regions of the country remain on yellow alert for harsh weather this morning - Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.
Cataluña and the Baleraic Isalnds are also on alert for high winds and possible storms this morning.

The snow resulted in 1,200 pupils getting a day off school yesterday in Castilla y León, and 60 lorries heading for Cantabria came to a halt in Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia.
197 schoolchildren in Lugo were also without classes because of the snow.