At http://beachcombersalert.org … reports from beachcombers around the world are sought for the purpose of understanding the ocean currents and winds.
A video at http://bit.ly/1isEo98 … shows a hail storm engulfing the Barj Khalifar in Dubai, the tallest building in the world.
A video at www.vimeo.com/89500402 … there is a brilliant flash of green light at the top of the orb of the Sun as it set behind an island off the coast of Western Australia. It is an optical phenomenon and can occur at sunset or sunrise when the Sun almost sinks below the horizon. For a brief moment the upper rim of the Sun can suddenly be overcome by a flash of green light.
The wet winter, three months of rain over southern Britain, was caused by the Jet Stream getting stuck in a fixed position. In normal years the Jet Stream is quite mobile and moves back and forth – as it is inclined to do at the moment.
Why do we put the clocks back or forwards? It seems some guy who liked getting up with the larks decided the rest of us, still happily snoozing in our beds, were missing out on daylight (and the occasional burst of sunshine). Why don't we move the clocks forward and it will get light later (when we are asleep) and dark earlier (when we are wide awake) – or that was the original idea. Nowadays, putting the clock forwards could be excused by the notion of saving energy – as it doesn't involve switching on street lights and living room light bulbs quite as early as they did in Victorian times. It is estimated we get to enjoy (when its bright) an extra 80 minutes of daylight. So, when you get woken up in early March by a sun beam entering your bedroom and shining directly in your face, you might appreciate why the guy who got up with the larks wanted us to enjoy it – rather than sleep through it.