From heatwaves and flooding to storms and snow, 2018 has seen plenty of unexpected and extraordinary weather. We take a pictorial look back at the most dramatic weather events of this year so far. Behold the power of Mother Nature...

The year got off to a hair raising start for residents in the UK thanks to storm Eleanor hitting in the early days of January. Here waves crash over the stone jetty wall in Aberystwyth, Wales, thanks to the violent storm-force winds of up to 100mph, leaving thousands of homes without power and causing transport chaos.

The record cold temperatures that also gripped much of the US in the first week of the year were blamed for several deaths. This image shows the extent of the build up of ice along the shore of Lake Michigan on 3 January.

January's cold snap saw blizzard conditions across Atlantic Canada and the Eastern seaboard, as far as Florida too. In this image icicles hang from the top of the American side of Niagara Falls which on 3 January had nearly frozen over, although the waters still flow underneath the ice.

Meanwhile the West Coast of the USA was experiencing a different kind of weather disaster. After a massive mudslide local residents had to wade through dense bog-like conditions to try and salvage some of their possessions in Santa Barbara County. Many people were trapped, injured and even killed while the area was left completely unrecognizable.

The southern Moroccan town of Zagora doesn't normally see much in the way of snow. This unusual phenomenon was due to a cold snap from northern Europe and shows a palm grove covered in snow on 29 January.

On 7 February the Chateau De Versailles, south-west of Paris was covered with snow. The exceptionally heavy fall brought public transport in the French capital and its surrounding regions to a near halt, with hundreds of commuters forced to abandon their cars to sleep in emergency shelters overnight.

Later in February the UK was also hit by a serious storm that brought snowfall and freezing temperatures, dubbed the "Beast from the East". The storm wasn't without its beauty though leaving icicles hanging from a frozen elephant fountain pictured on 27 February in the town of Colchester, Essex.

This image, also from 27 February, shows a snow storm over St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, on the east coast of the UK. The weather conditions left hundreds of people in the region without electricity.

Sometimes when Mother Nature turns her hand to art, the results are simply stunning. On 18 March wind and ice formed a bizarre sculpture on the snowy Brocken mountain near Schierke in the Harz region, central Germany.

Unfortunately for the Alps, temperatures haven’t remained freezing enough to prevent the Rhone Glacier from gradually melting. Global warming is the culprit for changing weather conditions which are especially challenging for frozen environments. Swiss locals have taken to tucking the glacier up in reflective blankets in a desperate bid to prevent it melting.

In March the United Kingdom and Ireland were greeted with an unusual combination of weather conditions. Storm Emma met the ‘Beast from the East’ leading to weather warnings before layers of thick white snow coated the landscape across Ireland.

In central London the Queen’s Buckingham Palace residence was framed by dense snow which is especially unusual for the time of year. Normally by early March the first shoots of spring in the capital are beginning to show.

Typically the Kenyan capital of Nairobi sees two rainy seasons a year, so downpours aren't uncommon. However March's monsoon started with a significantly heavier than usual rainfall. In this image a man drives a motorbike in a street hit by heavy rain in Kibera, the city's largest slum, on 3 March. The rains continued well into May when a dam burst its banks in Subukia, Nakuru, killing at least 45 people.

Uruguay was hit by a thunderstorm in March this year and dramatic bolts of lightning shot down from above the city. This stunning photo was taken on 14 March near the main square of the country’s capital, Montevideo.

In March a powerful storm brought snow, rain and high winds to the USA's north-easterly states. Here waves crash over houses on Turner Road in Scituate, plunging much of the coastal town underwater.

Flights were cancelled and schools shut on 29 March in Khartoum, Sudan when a thick sandstorm engulfed the Sudanese capital. Sand or dust storms, known as "haboob" in Sudan normally blow over in a couple of hours, but this one lasted longer than expected.

Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea volcano erupted in May and caused carnage across Big Island. Lava can blast into the air and solidify into chunks of rocky ‘rain’ while the scorching substance will burn everything it comes into contact with. Billows of volcanic fog or ‘vog’ are released as the lava comes into contact with the atmosphere.

The volcano’s eruption sparked mass evacuations as people were forced to flee away from their homes to safety. The lava gushed down towards the sea but as it hit the cold sea water it produced a haze of acid steam and glass particles which prompted weather warnings across the island. 

To find out more, take a look at our feature on the worst weather in every state too. 

In June, India was hit with a very different kind of storm. Raging winds whipped dust into a choking frenzy and blew through the towns and cities of multiple states such as Sangam, pictured here on 13 June. The dust storms joined forces with intense lightning which struck buildings while people slept. More than 100 lives were lost and many more were injured.

The skies of Halle in western Germany were lit by a double colourful display. The two rainbows appeared on 21 June, the longest day of the year.

During the summer, temperatures climbed higher and higher across Europe in a rare heatwave. There was some respite from the intense temperatures for those in the UK on 27 July, with a series of thunderstorms. Souter lighthouse in South Shields was certainly a dramatic setting for a storm.

Europe wasn't the only place suffering, California has always had its battles with wildfires due to long periods of intense heat without any rain. Dry conditions mean fires are common place and can easily get out of hand. In July a fire near Yosemite National Park raged across over 20,000 acres and became extremely difficult to contain.

This stunning snap was captured at Red Rock Canyon, a National Conservation Area in Nevada in July, at the start of the monsoon season.

The Wayoh Reservoir in Edgworth, Lancashire, was left completely parched by uncharacteristically high temperatures. This image from 1 August shows cracked ground under the Armsgrove Viaduct after an extremely dry summer and heatwave.

As the heatwave hit Helsinki in Finland, a local supermarket opened its doors to sleep-deprived residents who were desperate for a cool night’s kip. On 4 August these women were among others who set up camp alongside the fridges and freezers of the shopping aisles for a snooze.

On 7 August in Berlin, Germany, these elephants at Tiergarten Zoo took a splash in the cooling water to get a break from the heatwave. Hopefully they had fun as the mercury soared to 98°F (37°C) in the German capital.

Lightning was also seen across Nevada in the United States, during August this year. This striking photo was taken on the 12 of the month, after the 70mph winds that accompanied the thunderstorm disrupted power cables and left tens of thousands in the Las Vegas valley without electricity.

Torrential rains caused the worst monsoon flooding in a century across Kerala, India. The rising waters caused mass damage and hundreds lost their lives while many others were left stranded. Rescue teams were deployed by boat and helicopter to try to help those caught in the floods. This photo from 18 August was taken as a boy was lifted to safety by rescuers.

The people living in this Rohingya refugee camp have fled persecution in Myanmar. This photo of children playing in the Bangladesh camp was taken on 28 August and shows the waterlogged ground after monsoon rains.

Water levels also rose in Sangam, India on 3 September, and this mother dog lifted her pup out of harm's way and carried the tiny animal through the rising waters. The floods were caused by the monsoon rains which pushed the Ganges and Yamuna rivers beyond the brink.

This is Hurricane Florence, seen from the International Space Station on 10 September. The image was taken by Astronaut Ricky Arnold as the hurricane gained strength in the Atlantic moving west. It was another three days before Florence hit land in North Carolina.

Typhoon Mangkhut killed dozens in the Philippines before heading towards China. This image, taken after the worst of the winds had passed shows a damaged factory in Zhuhai in China's Guangdong province on 17 September.

Poseidon may have been the Greek god of the sea, but even he'd need help protecting his temple from the crashing waves hitting the cliffs at cape Sounion, in southern Athens on 29 September. The storm pictured here was called a 'medicane', a portmanteau of the words Mediterranean and hurricane, but, alas, not a technical meteorological term.

The Northern Lights occur thanks to space weather, when charged particles in the solar wind collide with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere. This display was captured on 7 October this year, in Western Finland. 

Indonesia was also struck by heavy rain this year. On the 16 October a boy held a kitten which had managed to survive the floods in front of a house where recovery and repair efforts following the floods had begun.

In October disaster struck Florida in the form of Hurricane Michael. The tearing winds cost 36 peoples their lives and decimated this part of Mexico Beach. This photo of the aftermath was taken on 17 October, a week after the category four storm first hit.

The hurricane caused huge structural damage and many homes left standing were left without power. On 20 October these two Florida residents rested in a bus stop of the suspended transport service. Around them uprooted trees and rubble from the storm remain.

In October residents and tourists alike in the Italian city of Venice were put on alert because of the rising waters. Here, tourists battle through to see St Mark’s Square despite the soggy conditions. High tides and strong winds were blamed for causing the heavy flooding to the city. 

Now read about the other landmarks around the world under threat from climate change. 

In calmer skies, this rainbow was captured on 25 October over Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. A line of birds sit on power cables as though watching their friend fly across the rainbow.

One of the biggest influences on the weather is global warming and the effects are becoming increasingly clear. This photo shows the Collins glacier in Antarctica which has been melting and retreating further back over the last 10 years. This causes huge problems for the wildlife in the area as well as the whole planet due to the knock-on impact of rising sea levels.

A tropical storm delayed the opening of the Invictus Games in Sydney in October by an hour. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Meghan and Harry) were caught in the downpour. In this image the storm is clearly seen making its way over the Sydney Opera House.

A strong storm hit the Rapallo harbour in Italy, on 30 October this year. The winds battered boats into the shore and destroyed part of the nearby dam. Nine people lost their lives in the raging storm.

In early November a thick fog descended on Kiev in the Ukraine. The dense weather was so heavy that the skyscrapers and modern buildings of the city were almost invisible, with only the tips peaking over the fog.

In Croatia, heavy fog fell during a UEFA Europa League football match in Zagreb’s Maksimi Stadium. This photo taken on 8 November and shows the Dinamo Zagreb and Spartak Trnava teams playing against each other in extremely low visibility.

Also at the beginning of November, bolts of lightning struck through the skies of Netanya in Israel. The coastal city is located north of Tel Aviv and this impressive streak was caught by the photographer on 4 November.

Brilliant flashes of lightning were also a spectacle over Port-au-Prince in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The dramatic bolts lit up the sky on 14 November this year.

Hot weather and little rainfall meant wildfires sprung up in California during November. Multiple fires raged with winds spreading the sparks, making it almost impossible to contain.

This photo from 15 November shows the devastation caused by the fires. These remains were once the Californian neighbourhood of Paradise before the flames destroyed homes and buildings. Thousands of acres have been burned through and, at time of writing, the blazes are still going. Around 1,200 people are unaccounted for and 77 are confirmed to have lost their lives in what is undoubtedly one of the worst-ever wildfires.

The capital of Kuwait, Kuwait City was hit by heavy rain causing flash floods across the area. In this photo from 14 November locals get around the serious situation by whizzing up the flooded street on a speed boat.

This photo from 15 November shows floodwaters flowing in Tiger Leaping Gorge or Hutiaoxia Gorge in Lijiang in China's southwestern Yunnan province. At least 8,000 houses were toppled and 17,000 people affected by a flood on the Jinsha River in Yunnan.

Now read about the weather that changed the world in 2018