Sunday 21 May 2023

Hailstorms in France


Climate weirdness has settled in, with record temperatures and wildfires in Pacific NW Canada, floods and landslides in California and Italy after severe drought for years, massive storms and a tsunami in New Zealand, devastating tornadoes in the states, and hailstorms in Texas and Provence. 

Apparently, the landslides in California have triggered a new gold rush, with nuggets now worth about $1900 an ounce. 

Devastating for Provence - Defense system for St Emilion

A swath of vineyards in Provence has suffered massive damage they say. The vineyards in St Emilion suffered a similar fate a couple of years ago and have now organized a system of protection for their vineyards using cloud-seeding balloons. Each balloon is filled with 200g of hygroscopic salts which are dispersed in the clouds once a certain altitude is reached. These salts help to suppress hail formation, creating rain showers instead. We'll see if the cloud seeding works. 

I wonder what effect the hygroscopic salts will have on the terroir when they fall to earth in the rain?

Scientists predict that hailstorms will become more severe with climate change. The golfball-sized hail that fell in Catalonia last year may be an indicator. 

 El Niño on its way - expect more weirdness

 El Niño may be forming if the Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures are an indicator. 


El Niño has the potential to accelerate climate change with devastating economic consequences and worse. 



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