For the past two months the ?most read' page on Yahoo! News has been heavily dominated by stories about weather. We've had snow in the UK, snowstorms in the United States, floods and cyclones in Australia and this week we've even seen lightning striking an erupting volcano in Japan. Wherever we look there's a weather oddity. They have become so frequent that the oddities are fast becoming the normality (cue the ?it's the end of the world' paranoia). Weather broadcasts have become the news, and the news has become an episode of 'The X Files'.
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Throughout every week in December the most-read articles were all about our crises of the cold and this week has been no different - the only exception being that freakish weather is being endured by Australians and Americans this time round. It's clear that our fascination with the weather is wider than just when it affects our lives - it's a genuine interest held by us Brits to read and talk about the weather, no matter where it's occurring.
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For me it was always a filler for an awkward moment or a launch pad for hairdressers to strike up a conversation but lately I've found myself scouring the Documentary Channel to watch people chasing thunderstorms. I, too, am now a weather addict. Perhaps it's something that comes with age; like a taste for olives and an appreciation of ?Midsomer Murders'. (Thankfully I'm not old enough for either yet.)
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This week's severe weather has come as Americans battle their worst snowstorm since the 1950s, which has now spread across 2,000 miles and left more than two thirds of the country digging themselves out of the white stuff. While we thought we had it bad, in the States the National Guard is being used to help rescue stranded drivers, firefighters are taking to snowmobiles to try and get around the worst-hit areas and three million people in Texas have been left without power.
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Thankfully, in Australia cyclone Yasi wasn't as bad as predicted (that story isn't being read nearly as much as the story where forecasters warned of its enormity) but the 180mph winds were still powerful enough to batter towns already reeling from January's floods. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported - officials have put that down to good planning.
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With the weather becoming more consistent with its strangeness, we're going to be seeing it a lot more in the news. I'll see you during the heatwave.�
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Chat about this story w/ Talkita
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