Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

Spring snowstorm hits Manitoba

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Winnipeggers traded their t-shirts for parkas Monday, as the city got hit by an April snow storm. Stefanie Lasuik reports on what to expect weather-wise for the rest of the week.


Snowflake

Fresh snow in spring covers Hawaiʻi Island summits

This USGS Hawiian Volcano Observatory image, taken Monday morning from a temporary research camera positioned on the summit of Mauna Loa, captures a look at the snow covering the Mokuʻāweoweo caldera.
This USGS Hawiian Volcano Observatory image, taken Monday morning from a temporary research camera positioned on the summit of Mauna Loa, captures a look at the snow covering the Mokuʻāweoweo caldera.
A Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the summits of Maunakea and Mauna Loa on Sunday.

A fresh coat of snow covered the Hawaiʻi island summits of Maunakea and Mauna Loa volcanoes on Monday morning.

On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Big Island summits, as well as Haleakala on Maui. Only an inch of accumulation was expected. The advisory is no longer in effect.

As of Sunday evening, the access road to the summit of Maunakea was closed to the public above the Visitor Information Station at the 9,200 foot elevation "due to fog, flurries and below freezing temperatures." The Maunakea Rangers said they will be monitoring the summit and will provide updates as conditions change.


Snowflake Cold

Spring snowstorm hits Yakutsk, Russia

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Russia's Spring ❄ Terrible snow storm hits Yakutsk! Snow buries homes, cars and streets!


Ice Cube

Songhua river freezes in April in China

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Incredible event! Songhua river freezes in China - April 10, 2021.

The Songhua River generally freezes in November each year, but this time it freezes in April!!!!


Snowflake Cold

French winemakers count cost of 'worst frost in decades'

Burgundy vines have been set alight to fight against frost
© Etienne Ramousse/Zeppelin/Sipa/Rex/ShutterstockBurgundy vines have been set alight to fight against frost.
Winemakers across France are counting the cost of several nights of frost this week that threaten to decimate grape harvests in some of the country's best-known and prestigious wine-producing regions.

The government is readying an emergency rescue package after rare freezing temperatures that could cause some of the worst damage in decades to crops and vines.

From Bordeaux to Burgundy and the Rhône Valley to Champagne, winemakers were out in their fields on Friday inspecting the destruction.

"It breaks like glass because there's no water inside," said Dominique Guignard, a winemaker in the Graves area near Bordeaux, as he rubbed the first shoots on his vines.

"It's completely dried out, there's no life inside," said Guignard, who heads a group of producers in Graves, which is known for its robust red wine.

Many industry experts say the damage from temperatures of up to -6C may be the worst in decades, partly because the frost followed unseasonably warm weather last week.


Comment: French winemakers light up fields to save the 2021 harvest from early season frosts


Snowflake Cold

Frozen Alaska sees cold records plummet as Arctic grip aims for Northwest

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Low temperature records fell throughout parts of Alaska this past week, and the same intense cold has began to infiltrate the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

The historic cold blast settling into Alaska at the end of the week sent temperatures plummeting far below zero, so cold, in fact, as to topple several long-standing records.

Fairbanks dropped to a staggering 27 degrees below zero on Friday, smashing the century-old record of 16 below zero from 1911.

Cities like McGrath and King Salmon also dropped below zero, and set new records.

Even in cities like Anchorage, where the temperature didn't drop below zero, the mercury in thermometers did fall just enough to still break the daily record from 1986.



Snowflake

'Antarctic blast' brings early heavy snow to parts of Australia

An image posted to social media on Sunday from Cradle Mountain, Tasmania with the caption 'We woke to the most beautiful winter wonderland this morning'
An image posted to social media on Sunday from Cradle Mountain, Tasmania with the caption 'We woke to the most beautiful winter wonderland this morning'
Millions of Australians are shivering through the coldest day of the year as an icy front bringing an 'Antarctic blast' sweeps across the country's southeast.

The cold front moved in over Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia on Saturday, bringing freezing conditions, low-level snow, heavy swells and the first frost of the year.

Melbourne on Sunday woke to its coldest morning since October 20 last year according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with the mercury dipping to 8.3C.


Snowflake

Heavy snowstorm in spring forces cancellation of opening stage of the Tour of Turkey

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Hilly stage from Nevşehir to Ürgüp covered in spring snow

The opening stage of the Tour of Turkey has been cancelled after heavy snow covered the elevated hills between Nevşehir and Ürgüp in central Turkey that were due to host Sunday's first stage.

Riders awoke to heavy snow falls on Saturday and with more wintery conditions expected, race organisers were forced to cancel the stage.

The 167.3km stage was due to climb up to 1400 metres five times from a start point of 1200m before finishing in Ürgüp but the weather conditions made racing impossible.


Snowflake Cold

'Highly unusual' Arctic blast hits Anchorage, Alaska

Fresh snow April 8, 2021 on a pair of pickups in East Anchorage
© Casey Grove/Alaska Public MediaFresh snow April 8, 2021 on a pair of pickups in East Anchorage
If you thought winter was over in Anchorage, the National Weather Service has some bad news for you.

Unseasonably cold air swept into Alaska's largest city Thursday, and forecasters expect it to stay through the weekend.

The weather service is warning of wind chills as low as minus 25 degrees. There are also high wind warnings in effect for the Whittier and Seward areas.

The cold is plunging south into Alaska all the way from the North Pole, pushing a band of snow through Southcentral, said weather service meteorologist Ben Bartos.

"And with that, we'll have some very strong winds barreling through the area," Bartos said. "It's going to hit us like a freight train, if you will."

The snow is expected to taper off midday Thursday, Bartos said, with northerly winds picking up to 30 mph and gusting to as high as 50 mph. Winds are forecasted to die down Friday, with the possibility of record low temperatures to follow in Anchorage.

Comment: Meanwhile in Europe: Record-low temperature of -20°C in Slovenia as multiple century-old extreme cold records broken across Europe


Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: French winemakers light up fields to save the 2021 harvest from early season frosts

Winemakers have been using fire to try
© Reuters: Pascal RossignolWinemakers have been using fire to try and heat their vineyards to save them from frost.
French winemakers have lit candles and burned bales of hay to try to protect their vineyards from sharp spring frosts, with the forecast of more cold nights this week raising fears of serious damage and lost production.

Temperatures plunged as low as -5 degrees Celsius overnight in wine regions including Chablis, in Burgundy, and Bordeaux, which could hurt shoots already well-developed because of earlier mild weather.

Outside Chablis, known around the world for its fruity, acidic white wine, a deep orange glow from tens of thousands of candles hung over the rolling vineyards in the early hours.

Winemaker Laurent Pinson said he had put between 300 and 600 large candles — burning cans of paraffin — across many of his 14 hectares of vines.

"The harvest is at stake over a few nights — one, two or three nights — and if we have no harvest, that means no sales, no wine for consumers," Mr Pinson said.