No, it's not a new synthetic form of Ecstasy; Xynthia is a winter storm that just smashed Europe, killing 62 people in France. Now, I know that isn't much compared to the Haiti earthquake or the Chile earthquake -- the point of pointing this out is that strong storms are occurring frequently this winter. I'm still looking at the snow dunes from the "Snowmageddon" that hit this area in early February. Is it global warming? Well, the scientific "line" on that is that global warming will put more moisture in the atmosphere in the form of what is commonly known as water vapor and referred to as humidity. With an El Niño still cooking on simmer in the Pacific (check the status here), that's also putting moisture into the atmosphere. Big snowstorms, like what hit us and what hit up north and what's been hitting the South and what's been dumping on the UK and now a major blow like Xynthia all need moisture and energy. Global warming and warmer El Niño conditions provide those ingredients. So this isn't surprising, as long as it's cold enough to snow or when combined with a low-pressure system.
Western Europe recovering after storm kills 62
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