Extreme Temperatures
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Tornado2

At least 3 dead as tornado rips through North Carolina county

Bryan Anderson
Global News
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 17:30 UTC
brunswick county nc tornado
© Brunswick County Sherriff’s OfficeThis photo of the Ocean Isle Beach area shows the destruction Tuesday morning following the potential tornado February 15, 2021
At least three people were found dead early Tuesday after a tornado tore through a seaside town in North Carolina at the rough edge of a blast of winter weather across the United States. Millions of people remained without power amid subfreezing temperatures, and authorities warned of treacherous travel conditions in many states.

The massive winter storm that overwhelmed a Southwestern power grid and immobilized the Southern Plains was carrying heavy snow and freezing rain eastward, with bad weather spreading through into New England and the Deep South, the National Weather Service said.

The storm system left behind record-setting cold temperatures with wind-chill warnings extending from Canada into Mexico.
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Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: Almost 5 million without power in U.S. as winter storm stresses grid

Zack Budryk
The Hill
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:48 UTC
no power
The massive winter storm that swept across the nation this week has left 5 million people without power as utilities have been forced to implement rolling power outages, Bloomberg reported.

The Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which manages a 14-state grid from North Dakota to Oklahoma, on Tuesday ordered the second day of rolling blackouts, the news outlet reported.

SPP executive vice president and chief operating officer Lanny Nickell said in a statement that the move was a "last resort" and SPP had never before ordered such interruptions.


Comment: Check out Austin, Texas this week: it's covered in ice!



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Snowflake Cold

5 million in northern Mexico without power as winter storm in Texas freezes natural gas pipelines


Al Jazeera
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:33 UTC
Mexico looks like Canada
Mexico looks like Canada
Freezing weather in the US state of Texas left almost five million people in northern Mexico without power early on Monday, as a shortage of natural gas disrupted electricity production.

Mexico's government-owned utility, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), said on Monday its operations were interrupted as the winter storm in Texas froze natural gas pipelines.

Mexico uses gas to generate about 60 percent of its power, compared with about 40 percent in the United States, and the country built pipelines to take advantage of cheap natural gas from its northern neighbour.

A deep freeze across Texas during the weekend took a toll on the energy industry in the largest US crude-producing state, shutting oil refineries and forcing restrictions from natural gas pipeline operators.
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Snowflake

Snow storm pummels Japan, disrupts travel


Yahoo! News
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 12:45 UTC
snow
A strong winter storm has lashed northern Japan and coastal regions, whipping off roofs, flooding homes and disrupting transport.

A severe blizzard battered the northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday and a storm surge inundated homes in part of the island, according to the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper.

A gust of 162km/h was recorded at Cape Erimo on Hokkaido and 135 km/h in the city of Sakata, Yamagata prefecture.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of "the most powerful blizzard in years," which could produce white-out conditions, for part of the island through Wednesday.

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Tornado2

Texas blizzard has now produced a 'snownado'

Ryan Phillips
The Big Lead
Mon, 15 Feb 2021 11:37 UTC
A
A "Snownado" in East Texas
Things are bad in Texas right now. There's a massive blizzard blanketing the state, along with single-digit temperatures and statewide blackouts.

But perhaps nothing was as terrifying as seeing the word "Snownado" come across my Twitter timeline.

In the East Texas town of Gun Barrell City witnesses recorded what looked like a tornado in the middle of the blizzard. The now-dubbed "Snownado" swirled above Cedar Creek Lake for a bit before dissipating.

Here is a video capturing the event that was thankfully uploaded to the Internet:

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Arrow Down

3 more people die in avalanches in the U.S. - total of 25 for the season


Voanews.com
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:17 UTC
This image provided by Colorado Avalanche Information Center shows an avalanche that killed an unidentified snowboarder on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, near the town of Winter Park in Colorado.
This image provided by Colorado Avalanche Information Center shows an avalanche that killed an unidentified snowboarder on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, near the town of Winter Park in Colorado.
The deaths of two Colorado men caught in avalanches and a third in Montana over the frigid Presidents Day weekend show how backcountry skiers and others in the Rocky Mountain wilderness risk triggering weak layers of snow that have created the most hazardous conditions in a decade, forecasters say.

At least 25 people have been killed in avalanches in the United States this year — more than the 23 who died last winter. Typically, 27 people die in avalanches in the U.S. annually.

Avalanche forecasters say they have rarely seen the danger as high as it is now — and it will grow as more snow moves into the Rockies, adding weight and stress on a weak, granular base layer of snow that's susceptible to breaking apart and triggering especially wide slides on steep slopes.

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Snowflake Cold

Startling numbers reveal the rarity of the frigid temperatures across much of the US

Brandon Miller
CNN
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 02:51 UTC
A woman walks through falling snow in San Antonio, Texas, the United States on Sunday, February 14, 2021
© Eric Gay/AP PhotoA woman walks through falling snow in San Antonio, Texas, the United States on Sunday, February 14, 2021
A historic cold outbreak has led in the coldest air in decades across the United States, reaching all the way to the Rio Grande and bringing record amounts of snow and ice to the Deep South.

Here are some of the records that have been broken across the United States by the cold weather as well as some of the more interesting statistics recorded due to the extreme temperatures.

Extreme cold yet a record high

There was a 130-degree spread in temperatures across the US yesterday, from 90 degrees in Florida to 40 below zero in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

And while hundreds of record lows are being set in the central US, Miami hit a record high heat index of 91 on Sunday.


Comment: Ice, snow, bitter cold hits millions as major storm pummels swaths of U.S.

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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall grips Istanbul, Turkey


Daily Sabah
Sun, 14 Feb 2021 15:11 UTC
Istanbul snowstorm
© AA PhotoMunicipality crews throw salt on overpasses during snowfall at the Cevizlibağ metrobus station in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 14, 2021.
A long-rumored and feared cold front coupled with heavy snowfall arrived in Istanbul late Saturday after moving in from the country's northwestern Thrace region on the way.

By midnight, much of the city was covered in white as the Asian districts of the 15-million megapolis were last to receive heavy snowfall.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's (IBB) Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) had previously warned Istanbulites that the snowfall could last for five days with a severe drop in temperatures. Despite the ongoing weekend and nighttime curfews throughout the nation, traffic levels remain high due to decreased public transport ridership over COVID-19.

A blanket of snow covered much of Istanbul on Sunday morning, which weather forecasts say will increase in density throughout the day. Except for brief respites, the snowfall is expected to linger until Thursday.

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Snowflake Cold

Best of the Web: Over two million Texans lose power during winter storm Uri, rolling blackouts implemented as record cold strains grid to maximum

Amy Furr
Breitbart
Tue, 16 Feb 2021 01:10 UTC
texas winter storm Uri freeway closed
© Newsweek
Over two million homes and businesses in Texas are without power Monday morning as winter storm Uri sweeps across the central United States.

"The agency that oversees Texas' electric grid declared an 'energy emergency alert three' early Monday after the grid experienced a systemwide failure," the Weather Channel reported.

The alert turned into rotating outages that are likely to continue through Tuesday morning, according to grid managers.

About 2.5 million people were without power as of 9:00 a.m., the outlet tweeted:

Comment: RT follows up:
"Extreme weather conditions caused many generating units - across fuel types - to trip offline and become unavailable," the company said in a statement, urging energy conservation as the power grid has become more and more strained. Energy use has been at record levels in the state as they, as well as the central US, are facing unusually cold weather.

These rolling blackouts reportedly last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.


More than two million homes were reported to be without power in the state on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

The last time rolling outages were implemented in Texas was during a massive storm in February 2011.

Video out of Texas has shown the state blanketed with snow and some roadways dangerously covered in ice. For the first time ever, every county in the state was under a winter storm warning going into Sunday evening.


Road conditions have left many roads impassable and led to numerous crashes, especially on highways. Unlike states that are used to colder weather and heavy snowfall, Texas is facing an unusual emergency as much of the state does not have the resources to handle extreme winter conditions, leaving roads slick and icy, and many homes not insulated enough.


Footage of multiple highway crashes have hit social media with interstate roads either covered in snow or ice. Residents are being urged by local officials to stay home and not travel.


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Snowflake Cold

Manitoba shatters cold records, sets 20 new lows

Catherine Wambui
Westislandblog.com
Mon, 15 Feb 2021 19:54 UTC
cold
Manitoba has broken records for the lowest temperature this snap past Saturday. The extreme temperature in the region setting 20 lows.

Although temperatures around this time of the year have often averaged - 20 C, Winnipeg dropped down to -38.8 C, which saw it break an 1879 record by 1 C, according to Brian Luzny, an environment Canada Met.

In the meantime, Shoal Lake broke its 1970 record by close to 6 C, while Norway House registered its recent low of - 44 C, which is lower than its last record by 5 C. Essentially, it is the coldest area in the Province. Luzny noted that they are currently breaking records each day.

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