Weird Weather Wild & Weird

# Wormy fish-killers Convoys of caterpillars

-# Super-clever, brainless slime...

-Ugh!

# Bunny rabbit swarms, raging storms

# And pigs that swim at dinner time

# Tornadoes of fire Starfish going haywire

-# Algae balls from space...

-What?!

# Prairie dogs that chat Birds going splat

# And fish slapping in your face

# They're wild and weird, wild and weird

# Really, really wild and really, really weird

# They're wild and weird, wild and weird

# They're really, really wild

# They're really, really wild and weird... #

Coming upon on today's show, a perfect storm of the peculiar kind.

Hail that could give you a nasty headache.

A tornado that's a bit hot under the collar.

And the desert that is helping to save the rainforest.

Shorts, sun cream, sun hat...

Come on, Tim, we're going to miss our flight.

Don't worry about me - big Timmy is ready.

What on earth are you wearing?

-My outfit.

-We're going on a beach holiday.

To Siberia!

You can't go dressed like that -

you'll freeze to death two seconds after stepping off the plane.

Don't worry, though, I've got a spare survival suit in here,

underneath the inflatable ice station.

You do know it can get quite hot in Siberia during summer?

Yeah, good one!

Next you'll be telling me you can visit Easter Island all year round.

I'm not joking.

Here, look.

For most of us, Siberia conjures up images of a freezing,

desolate landscape - an endless expanse of icy oblivion.

Siberian weather is renowned for being extreme.

The temperature can get down to -20

on regular occasions during the winter.

But I guess less is known about the summer conditions,

but the typical temperature during daytime summer would be high 20s.

Yes, it turns out that even Siberian summers can be scorchers.

Yeah. I think I might go and change.

And in 2014, temperatures along the River Ob soared even higher.

On this particular occasion in July 2014,

the temperature had started to reach the low 40s, 41 degrees,

extreme heat in the middle of the continent.

That's better.

The locals were quick to take advantage of the glorious weather,

flocking down to the river's edge to soak up the sun.

But something strange was on the way.

Suddenly, the clouds built -

grey, leaden skies.

The temperature fell from 41 degrees down to 25 in just the space

of ten or 15 minutes.

Terror was about to rain down from the skies.

Terror raining down from the skies!

What? Lightning? Fireballs?

No, rain.

Rain, raining down from the skies?

That's hardly terrifying, is it?

What about frozen rain?

-You mean hail?

-Mm.

Again, hardly terrifying, is it?

Really?

Because this was a hailstorm of truly epic proportions.

And when I say epic proportions,

I'm referring to the hailstones themselves.

So, typically, hailstones are about the size

of a pea, maybe about 1cm across.

But, on this occasion, they were about the size of a golf ball.

Yikes!

The locals, dressed only in their flimsy swimwear,

were sent fleeing for cover,

cowering under towels and sun umbrellas to escape this

apocalyptic assault which lasted for almost quarter of an hour.

I think I might go get changed again.

So what on earth was going on?

Well, the sudden change in weather was caused

by a wall of cold air moving in from nearby mountains,

creating the perfect conditions for hail.

But why was it giant hail?

You know how hail forms, right?

Yeah.

In the hail machine in the sky and it comes out...

-You've got no idea, have you?

-No.

Well, hail starts life as water droplets.

Cold conditions cause them to freeze inside clouds,

and when they become too heavy, they fall to earth.

But the Siberian heat wave meant there was a bed of warm air rising

up from the ground which held the hail up in the clouds for longer,

allowing it to become super-sized.

And you really don't want to be around

when these mega hailstones touchdown.

Small-sized hailstones may hit the ground at about 20mph.

But the larger hailstones, the hailstones we're looking at here,

probably reach the ground at about 110mph.

-Ouch!

-Exactly.

Just check out what happened to this car

when the driver ran into a storm of giant hail.

Ohh! Looks like they're going to need new a windscreen...

and a new bonnet...

and probably a new car, to be honest.

So, next time you're heading down to the beach,

remember to pack your towel, suncream

and maybe a suit of armour.

That is unbelievable.

I know. Hailstones the size of golf balls.

No.

Unbelievable that you'd book us to go somewhere like that

on our summer holiday.

It's all right, I've got these for us.

I suppose I can think of worse weather

to encounter on your holiday.

Really?

Feast your eyes on this.

When it comes to the force of nature,

you don't get much more forceful than a tornado.

A swirling vortex formed by winds and a rising column of hot air,

spinning itself into a 300mph fury -

that's almost three times the speed of your giant hailstones.

Just look at what a tornado did to this building in Indiana, USA.

Whoa, that's terrifying!

I know, but there's another 'nado that's even more terrifying.

-You don't mean...?

-I do.

A sharknado?

Yes. What? No.

-It's not even a real thing.

-Oh!

But this is.

The outback, Australia's red desert centre -

it's one of the most extreme places on the planet,

where temperatures can soar to 40 degrees Celsius.

A bit like Siberia.

And in this super-dry, super-hot tinderbox of an environment,

fire is always a danger.

In their own right, bushfires can be a devastating, destructive force

of nature, but imagine what happens if you throw a tornado into the mix.

-No way.

-Way.

A fire-nado!

That is awesome.

A swirling vortex of fire reaching high into the sky,

sucking up the flames from below into a column which can reach

a barbecue-busting temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius.

Luckily, these fiery fiends are exceptionally rare,

but experts studying bushfires have discovered 25km-long strips

of torched earth where a fire-nado has raged across the landscape.

Just imagine being chased by that.

It would give a whole new meaning to the phrase "hot pursuit".

-Ha-ha-ha, nice one!

-Thank you.

So whether it's the fire or just plain old regular "tor" variety,

the 'nado family is one wild weather clan

you might want to steer clear of.

-I'm glad we're not going to Australia on our holiday.

-Yeah.

Speaking of which, I've got a brilliant DVD

for us to watch on the plane -

1,001 Greatest Weather Forecasts.

Oh. Sounds riveting.

Something else that's riveting -

a weird weather tale packed full of fascinating science.

Oh, did you say science?

-Yeah.

-Hang on...

They make me more smarter-er.

This is the Amazon rainforest.

No, you've lost me.

I've only just started.

Hang on.

These aren't even my glasses, they're my nanny Hughes's.

Hang on.

Oh, there we go, that's better.

Go on, proceed.

The Amazon rainforest,

one of the most biodiverse places on the planet,

home to a breathtaking array of plant and animal species.

There are lots of factors that go into making this incredible

abundance of life possible, but one of the key ones

is something called phosphate.

Ah, yes, phosphate,

a chemical compound derived from phosphoric acid.

Told you.

To put it in simple terms, phosphate is

a nutrient in the soil that is absolutely vital for plant growth.

Or for the division of cells and development of new tissue,

if you'd prefer.

All right, brainbox.

Basically, no phosphate, no plants.

But there's a problem.

Because every year, when the rains come to the Amazon,

they rinse through the top layers of the soil,

washing away almost all of the phosphates.

So these nefarious nutrients abscond, then,

leaving a bio-chemical conundrum in their wake.

Could I borrow those glasses a minute?

-Hey!

-There, now maybe we can have a normal conversation.

-OK.

So why does the green shooty stuff keep growing when the phosph-thingy

has all been washed away?

I don't know. Let's ask someone smart.

As well as investigating giant hailstones,

scientist Liz Bentley has also been looking into this rainforest riddle.

There was some mechanism that was actually replenishing

that phosphorus year-on-year,

and so we were looking at where that phosphorus may have come from.

The Amazon seemed to have a magical method for conjuring up phosphate,

but where on earth was it coming from?

-I don't know - B&Q?

-No.

But the actual answer may sound even more ridiculous,

because tests showed that the phosphate miraculously turning up

in the Amazon was actually from...

the Sahara Desert!

Hang on, hang on.

-So, the Sahara desert is here.

-Correct.

-And the Amazon rainforest is here.

-Yep.

And in between is this blue thing.

-The Atlantic Ocean.

-Whatever.

How does the phosphate get from here to here?

Wind.

I'm really sorry, that crept out when I jumped over the sofa.

No, no, wind of the weather sort.

-Eww!

-Oh!

-Let me explain...

The Sahara Desert may be dry and arid now,

but millions of years ago, a part of it known as the Bodele Depression...

I think you'll find it's Bo Diddley.

..was home to a giant lake where aquatic animals lived,

died, and decomposed, leaving behind...

A really bad smell?

No, phosphates.

The lake may have dried up a long time ago,

but the phosphates are still there in the Saharan dust,

and it's that dust which is being carried all the way to the Amazon

with the help of a little weird weather.

-The wind.

-Yes.

Very, very, very, very, very, very, very long distance winds.

The satellite data showed us a three-dimensional structure

of the atmosphere so we could clearly see that dust was been taken

from the Saharan desert, from the surface of the Earth

high into the atmosphere and then transported all the way

across the Atlantic Ocean to be deposited in the Amazon basin.

That's a distance of around 3,000 miles, and we're talking about

a lot of dust.

Every year, 182 million tonnes of dust is lifted from central Africa.

Most of that dust falls into the ocean but about 30 million tonnes

falls into the Amazon basin,

and that provides 22,000 tonnes of phosphorus

to that region every year.

154,562.

-What are you doing?

-154,563.

I'm counting to see how many grains of phosphorus make up 22,000 tonnes.

It's a lot more than you'd think.

Oh, I've lost count now.

One.

Two.

I'm going to save you some time, Tim, and tell you

that 22,000 tonnes of phosphate is around 2,500 truckloads,

which must rank this as one of the greatest long-distance

deliveries of all time.

So, whenever you marvel at the greeny growth of the Amazon,

remember - it's all made possible by some old desert dust

and the weird windy weather that blows it halfway around the world.

Right, we'd better go and catch our flight

and then we can start watching 1,001 Greatest Weather Forecasts.

Oh, no, where has the DVD gone?

-Hey!

-What?

Nice earrings.

Oh, thanks, yeah.

Where's this gone, then?

# They're wild and weird, wild and weird

# Really, really wild and really, really weird

# They're wild and weird, wild and weird

# Really, really wild and really, really wild and weird

# Wild and weird! #