California Gets a Tease of Rain; England Under Water

A monster storm named Ruth will bring winds of up to 80mph and as much as 1.6 inches of rain to parts of southern and central England this weekend. Perhaps most dangerous are the huge waves — some may reach 35 feet — expected to crash into the Cornish coast. In response to Ruth, the Environment Agency has issued three severe flood warnings, which indicate risk of loss of life, as well as 187 flood warnings and 280 flood alerts. In the Chertsey area of Surrey, the River Thames has burst its banks and home-owners are bracing for flooding.

Records from the world’s longest-running weather station at Oxford University show that the rainfall measured there in January was the most for any winter month since 1767, and was three times the average precipitation recorded.

Some scientists believe that the melting of the Arctic ice cap has caused the jet stream to track further south, leading to more storms channeled across the UK. Over the last two months, more than 5,000 homes in Britain have been flooded and a key stretch of railroad between Devon and Cornwall remains impassable.

Think Progress

And huge storms and waves have already destroyed enormous, millennial old landscapes.

And California, finally!  Hoping for more, more….