January 2013 world weather news

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AAP
January 03, 20137:34P

Police say more than 100 people, many homeless or poor, have died as a cold snap hits India.Source: AAP

POLICE say more than 100 people have died of exposure as northern India deals with historically cold temperatures.
Police spokesman Surendra Srivastava said on Thursday at least 114 people have died from the cold in the state of Uttar Pradesh, at least 23 of them in the previous 24 hours.

Srivastava said many of the dead were poor people whose bodies were found on footpaths or in parks.
The weather department said temperatures in the state were 4 to 10 degrees below normal.

Temperatures in New Delhi, which borders Uttar Pradesh, hit a high on Wednesday of 9.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest maximum temperature in the capital since 1969.

www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/more-than-100-dead-as-cold-snap-hits-india/story-fn3dxix6-1226547279652

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1000 ships stuck in sea ice in China

Temperatures in China plunge to their lowest in almost three decades.

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Bitter cold has stranded about 1,000 vessels in a layer of thick sea ice on Laizhou Bay in China’s Shandong province, reports the China Daily newspaper.

The ice expanded to 291 square km this week and is continuing to grow, said Zheng Dong, chief meteorologist at the Yantai Marine Environment Monitoring Center under the State Oceanic Administration.

According to aquafarmers, the ice may lead to heavy losses as farmers are unable to penetrate the ice to provide adequate ventilation for sea cucumbers and other aquatic organisms.

Coastal police have warned the ice may damage vessels passing through deeper sea areas near the Bohai and Yellow seas, in the northern East China Sea.

Since late November the country has endured an average of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees colder than the previous average, and the chilliest in 28 years, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing the China Meteorological Administration.

Meanwhile, heavy snowfall forced the closure of some sections of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway, the China Daily said.

www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/international/2013/January /international_January147.xml§ion=international

www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/05/china-weather-idUSL4N0AA0D820130105

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The fiercest winter storm to hit the Mideast in years brought a rare foot of snow to Jordan on Wednesday.

In Israel, snow fell outside Jerusalem and in the northern Golan Heights, according to the Jerusalem Post. Three feet of snow fell on Mount Hermon and flakes were falling in Nazareth as well as in the Galilee. Several roads were closed in the north of Israel due to unusual heavy snowfall.

The unusually heavy snowfall blocked streets in the capital Amman and isolated remote villages, prompting warnings from authorities for people to stay home as snow plows tried to reopen clogged roads.

In Lebanon, record snow in the mountains blocked traffic and shut down mountain passes. Later Wednesday, snow is forecast at altitudes higher than 200 yards (meters).

Snow was piling up in and around the Syrian capital of Damascus. Officials said many villages in central Homs province and along the southern border with Israel have been cut off after heavy snow fall. Torrential rains are expected over the next three days and temperatures are expected to remain around freezing.

www.therecord.com/news/world/article/866986–winter-storm-takes-toll-across-mideast

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Next time you’re bombing down the Bomber Run at Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort, consider that you’re cruising through history,” says this article in the Wenatchee World.

The popular ski run, along with every other inch of the 6,820-foot-high ski facility, has received a near-record snowfall this season.

“We’ve had historic, near-perfect snow conditions,” said Jordan Lindstrom, the Ridge’s marketing and sales director. “Early wet snow gave us a good, solid base, and lots of powder came soon after. It’s one of the best starts since we began keeping records 42 years ago.”

Second best, in fact. Through November and December, 124 inches of snow fell at the Ridge for a 62-inch snowpack at the summit with 41 inches at the base. The only season to beat it was back in 1996-97, when 133 inches blanketed the mountain.

And it just keeps on coming. On Monday, a morning storm dumped another 4 inches on Ridge slopes with more snow forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and the upcoming weekend.

Last season, it took until around Jan. 21 when the mountain’s snow reached optimal ski conditions, said Lindstrom. This season, February conditions arrived in December.

SNOWFALL’S A WINDFALL IN METHOW VALLEY, TOO

Meanwhile in Winthrop, James DeSalvo sat in his office last week and marveled as the snow kept coming down.

The executive director of the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association said some storms this winter have brought an inch an hour and, in one wintry week, 2 feet of new snow in four days.

Across North Central Washington, cross-country and downhill ski operations have benefitted from an early-winter weather pattern that funneled a series of storms through the region in November and December.

At Stevens Pass, that weather pattern has brought some of the deepest snow in the last five years. So far, 282 inches have fallen this season, producing a 90-inch snowpack at the summit and 83 inches at the base. Four inches of new snow fell Monday night, 9 inches in the last 24 hours and 16 inches in the last two days, according to the facility’s website.

www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/jan/08/historic-snow-favors-ridge-and-crowds-follow/?a

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Blizzard for the Dakotas and Minnesota

There is the potential for close to a foot of snow covering thousands of square miles of the West, including portions of Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northwestern Nebraska, the Dakotas and northwestern Minnesota. Heavy snow will also graze Canada from southern Alberta to Northwest Ontario.

Very difficult, if not dangerous travel unfolded over portions of I-90 in western South Dakota and I-94 over much of North Dakota Friday.

In some areas temperatures were 40 to 50 degrees lower than highs experience Thursday, with a push of much colder air to follow.

The storm will drive freezing air into Southern California and Arizona.

The latest snow map for is available on AccuWeather.com’s Winter Weather Center.

www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/week-ending-snowstorm-utah-to/3832305

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(The temperatures) continue below zero.
Here’s a copy of an article that appeared in Vangurdia this morning in an inconspicuous spot in the first section. I guess we weren’t supposed to see it.



CHIHUAHUA – The arrival of cold front 21 generated temperatures of 13 degrees celsius below zero, as well as road accidents in various municipalities reported by the meteorologist of The State Civil Protection Department (UEPC), Salvador Echevarria Campos.

The UEPC meteorologist reported that 63 of the 67 state municipalities woke up to temperatures below zero degrees celsius, of these, 20 registered between zero and minus six degrees, with the forecast saying that these conditions will continue the same.

Madera and Casas Grandes are the locations with the lowest temperature registering minus 13 and minus 11 degrees, followed by Matachi and Villa Ahumada with minus 10 degrees and as well Temosachic and Bocoyna with minus 9.

Campos emphasizes that the Capital woke up to minus 6 degrees and explains also that the frost will continue, due to a mass of cold air that arrived with Cold Front number 21, which is at the border of Chihuahuan Territory but closures and havoc prevail.

Meanwhile, in the State of Sonora, temperatures registered 14 degrees below zero in the last few hours (and Sonora) has been affected by the most extensive cold wave in the last 42 years.

CAPTION ON FOTO
Suffering. The streets of Nogales, Sonora woke up covered with ice

Thanks to Alan Stover for this info, and for the translation

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January 14, 2013 - See great photo.

news.yahoo.com/photos/traffic-comes-stop-during-heavy-snowfall-tokyo-photo-07435386 7.html

Another great photo here:
sg.finance.yahoo.com/photos/japanese-women-kimonos-walk-during-heavy-snowfall-toshi maen-photo-113946116.html

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for these links

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As more than 10 inches of snow fell in Moscow – more than half of the average snowfall for the whole of January – the already congested city is on the verge of a traffic collapse.

Today, strong winds created blizzard conditions and built imposing snow drifts, bringing the city to a standstill and leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports.

The chair of the Duma’s transport committee has called for local transport officials to face legal sanctions for failing to cope with the winter weather.

“Snowpocalypse Russia: Snow ‘tsunami’ swallows streets, cars, buildings,” read the headline in Russia Times.

Life threatening

While in the large population centers in western Russia the snowstorms have caused inconvenience, further east they have been life threatening.

Entire apartment blocks barricaded by snow

The polar circle city of Norilsk has seen snowfall build to a height of more than 10 feet, and entire apartment blocks have been barricaded by snow overnight, requiring city workers to dig passageways through the snow banks.

Meanwhile, icicles up to three feet in length have formed off every building ledge, breaking at random and causing a lethal hazard for pedestrians below.

Nearly two hundred people have died throughout Russia as a direct result of weather-related accidents and hypothermia this season, according to official statistics, although the extreme conditions have likely contributed to many more fatalities.

Amazing pics of crazy deep snow in Russia!!!
rt.com/news/winter-snow-russia-weather-275/

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Up to 200 cm (6.5 ft) of fresh snow has fallen in ski resorts on the French side of the Pyrenees since Sunday, with another 40-70 cm (16-27 inches) of fresh snow expected.

Immense snowfall

It’s too dangerous slopes in such a situation to keep them open, so as a precaution, virtually all ski lifts have been closed since Tuesday.

www.telegraaf.nl/reiskrant/wintersport/21224102/__
Historische_sneeuwval_in_de_Pyreneeen__.html

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A rare winter storm dumped up to a foot of snow around the Southeast on Thursday and Friday, left thousands without power, and played a role in at least one death.

In central Alabama, hundreds of people spent a cold night trapped on Interstate 65 in Cullman County after snow caused a series of wrecks that snarled traffic for miles.

Hundreds of cars and 18-wheelers were at a standstill on an 8-mile stretch of the highway early Friday.

The backup began Thursday afternoon as a winter storm blanketed the area with as much as 4 inches of snow.

“Weather like this is so unusual for us,” said Cindy Parker, who works at a Shell gasoline station just off I-65 in Cullman.

A foot of snow in Virginia

In Virginia, the National Weather Service reported 13 inches of snow in Giles County, while Grayson County and the Galax area received about a foot.

Parts of Mississippi received 2 to 4 inches of snow.

More freezing temperatures are predicted next week.

weather.yahoo.com/ala-highway-jammed-snow-storm-crosses-south-165301751.html

usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/18/16582570-snow-trapped-hundreds-overnight-on-alabama-highway?lite=

Thanks to Robert Stom for this link

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Cold snap” hits a number of Mexican states – results in 29 deaths.

This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Latin American country.

10 people died of hypothermia, while a majority of the victims – 17 people – died of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of inferior heating, two more people were killed in fires when trying to warm their homes.

Voice of Russia, RIA

english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_19/29-die-of-cold-weather-in-Mexico/

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The theft of trees is taking place also in Greece a lot,” says reader Argiris Diamantis. “In the Northwest of Greece very poor people from nearby Albania are cutting Greek trees to keep warm in the cold winters. “Use Google Translate on this link.”

www.alphafm.gr/archives/61822

Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link


When I used Google translate to read the article in English, I couldn’t determine whether the illegal logging is being done for heating purposes or for use as building materials.

Perhaps someone in Greece and educate us on this.

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With snow continuing to blanket parts of Europe – and more on the way – London’s Heathrow Airport canceled a fifth of all flights, stranding hundreds of passengers overnight.

On average, some 1,300 flights leave Heathrow daily.

Meanwhile, airlines scrapped 40 percent of flights to Paris’ main airports, with Air France predicting a similar number of cancellations on Monday.

Additionally, local media said some 25,000 homes lost power in southwestern France.


British children just aren’t going to know what green grass looks like.

worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/20/16611169-hundreds-of-flights-canceled-in-uk-paris-due-to-snow?lite=


Remember Dr David Viner saying that “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is”? (See iceagenow.info/2011/10/snowfalls/)

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The Telegraph’s” Boris Johnson, London’s Mayor, puts his personal observations about the recent winters in the UK, into a column titled, “It’s snowing, and it really feels like the start of an ice age.”

“I say all this because I am sitting here staring through the window at the flowerpot and the bashed-up barbecue, and I am starting to think this series of winters is not a coincidence. The snow on the flowerpot, since I have been staring, has got about an inch thicker. The barbecue is all but invisible.

“By my calculations, this is now the fifth year in a row that we have had an unusual amount of snow; and by unusual I mean snow of a kind that I don’t remember from my childhood: snow that comes one day, and then sticks around for a couple of days, followed by more.”

Could it be the sun?

“It is time to consult once again the learned astrophysicist, Piers Corbyn.

“Now Piers has a very good record of forecasting the weather. He has been bang on about these cold winters. Like JMW Turner and the Aztecs he thinks we should be paying more attention to the Sun. According to Piers, global temperature depends not on concentrations of CO2 but on the mood of our celestial orb.

“It might be time for government to start taking seriously the possibility — however remote — that Corbyn is right. If he is, that will have big implications for agriculture, tourism, transport, aviation policy and the economy as a whole. Of course it still seems a bit nuts to talk of the encroachment of a mini ice age.

“But it doesn’t seem as nuts as it did five years ago. I look at the snowy waste outside, and I have an open mind.”

– Boris Johnson

See entire column:
www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/9814618/Its-snowing-and-it-really-feels-like-the-start-of-a-mini-ice-age.html

Thanks to thebesig, E Stephens, Dr Bill Wilden, Steven Woodcock, D. Bishop and Sonya Porter for this link

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Crown corporation anticipates another historical peak demand Thursday morning.
Hydro-Québec posted a consumption record Wednesday and the Crown corporation anticipates another historical peak demand Thursday morning.

Preliminary evaluations show that the historical peak, recorded Wednesday morning was 38 910 MW, breaking the old record set on 24 January 2011.

This new record was beaten yet again in the evening, with 39,120 MW.

Crown corporation, which provides the needs of Quebec, expects consumption to reach yet another historical peak of 39,500 MW on Thursday morning.

Hydro-Quebec wants to reduce consumption during peak hours, on Thursday, 7 am to 9 am.


• The most effective measures to be applied are as follows:
• reduce the heating of one to two degrees (Celsius) in all parts of the house, especially those that are unoccupied;
• See a few hours use of major appliances, especially the dryer and dishwasher;
• if possible, limit the use of hot water.

Hydro-Québec wishes to set an example by reducing the heating and lighting in all its offices in Quebec. The logo and the wall of the office will be off.

www.meteomedia.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=Froid_extr_me___Hydro-Qu_bec_lance_un_appel_aux_abonn_s_22_01_2013?ref=ccbox_weather_topstories

Thanks to Pierre Demers for this link

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Record snowfalls and extreme sub-zero temperatures during Russia’s freezing winter have driven the number of deaths to more than 200, with 18 deaths reported on Tuesday alone.

This winter some 207 people have frozen to death, reports the Interfax news agency. Particularly affected is the Tyumen region in Western Siberia.

More than 4500 people have been treated since the onset of winter due to frostbite or hypothermia.

The Russian weather service forecast that temperatures will fall even farther in the days to come. In Moscow, it should cool during the day to minus 18 degrees Celsius, and at night, especially north of the capital, to as low as minus 27. degrees.

newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/1409339

Thanks to Steave for this link

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Snow blanketed much of Germany early this week following heavy snowfall on Sunday and Monday, the German Weather Service reported. The service said that 3.5 billion tons of snow fell in the country on Sunday alone. With the winter blitz continuing, that figure could rise to 6 billion tons by Wednesday.

At Frankfurt’s airport, Germany’s largest, about half of 1,190 planned flights were cancelled on Monday, according to German news agency DPA. In Munich another 200 flights were grounded. Delays affected air traffic at every German airport as crews de-iced planes and snow-removal equipment was used to clear gates.

Icy conditions also shut down a major stretch of highway in northern Germany around Berlin, affecting Monday morning commuters. And a 70-kilometer-long (44 mile) traffic jam formed on the A4 autobahn near the border between the states of Thuringia and Hesse.

Trains didn’t fare much better either, with travelers facing long delays.

In some places ice skaters could be seen cutting figures on ice-covered roads.

www.spiegel.de/international/germany/winter-weather-hits-german-airports-and-roads-a-878987.html
Thanks to Robert van deLeur for this link

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Plus, winter storm watches for parts of Illinois, including Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The National Weather Service warned of snow-covered roads in affected areas.

Rain, sleet and snow will also hit the Plains and Midwest over the weekend, with the potential for a up to 0.5 inch of ice for Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis and Chicago, said meteorologist Michael Palmer of The Weather Channel.

“The icy mixture will affect Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo going into Monday,” he added.

Palmer warned of “significant travel issues with very slick roadways” and also said some affected areas could see power outages Saturday night through Sunday.

usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/26/16710398-storm-warnings-issued-as-big-chill-bites?lite=

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Bitter temperatures stretch into a fourth day across several states. Four deaths so far.

The “cold snap” arrived Saturday night as waves of Arctic air swept south from Canada, pushing temperatures to dangerous lows and leaving a section of the country well-versed in winter’s pains reeling.

In International Falls, Minnesota , the temperature dropped to minus 30F on Tuesday morning. The so-called “Nation’s Icebox” climbed to a balmy 3 below zero F for a high.

Among the coldest temperatures recorded Tuesday was 35 below at Crane Lake, Minn., a National Weather Service forecaster said early Wednesday.

The coldest location in the lower 48 states Monday was Embarrass, Minn., at 36 below. On Sunday it was Babbitt, Minn., at 29 below, according to the National Weather Service.

The bitter conditions were expected to persist into the weekend in the Midwest through the eastern half of the U.S.

See entire article:
news.yahoo.com/midwest-remains-locked-deep-freeze-083737259.html

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Unusually frigid and snowy conditions blanketed much of Great Britain in snow earlier this month, as shown in this image taken by NASA’s Terra satellite on Jan. 26.

britain-snow-26Jan13.jpg

As of the afternoon of Jan. 21, Redesdale Camp, Scotland, was the nation’s leader in snowfall, with 11 inches (29 centimeters), Accuweather reported. Earlier Accuweather reported that 8 inches (20 cm) had fallen in Sennybridge, Wales, and 6 inches (15 cm) in Dunkeswell, in the southwest of England. The snows closed many schools and forced flight cancellations and delays at London’s Heathrow Airport.

“Snow is a relatively uncommon sight, particularly in the southern parts of Great Britain,” says this yahoo article.

See entire article:
news.yahoo.com/britain-blanketed-snow-satellite-image-201731484.html

In interactive map where you can zoom in for a closer look:
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2013/jan/29/britain-snow-space-nasa-satellite