Seven of the 10 costliest U.S. disasters occurred between 1989 and 1994. The states experiencing the greatest losses from natural hazards between 1974 and 1994 were California, Texas and Florida. A representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is also expected to attend. Australia Astronomers have found the first hints that failed stars known as 'brown dwarfs' may have weather patterns with winds, clouds and storms. Dr Tinney of the Anglo-Australian Observatory and Mr Andrew Tolley, a student at the University of Oxford, recently observed a brown dwarf and noted changes in its surface chemistry as it rotated.
Brown dwarfs are failed stars with masses in between that of Jupiter-like planets and normal stars.
For decades, scientists have suspected that brown dwarfs exist but the first confirmed detection came only a few years ago. Today, after 30 years of searching, less than 50 brown dwarfs have been discovered. Of these, only a handful are bright enough and close enough to be studied for weather. Tinney's team is leading Southern Hemisphere attempts to learn more about brown dwarfs. They are very faint, and extremely difficult to detect, and for Tinney and Tolley to have noted surface changes is remarkable.