During the last two days, wet snow in Kyiv exceeded an index that had been recorded for 130 years of weather observations, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration with reference to the Hydrometeorological Centre reports.
"During December 11-12, Kyiv had a complex of severe weather phenomena, including snow and wet snow on wires and trees, which had exceeded previously recorded index for the entire period of meteorological observations in the capital since 1881," the press service noted.
According to the forecasters, as of December 12, the snow depth amounted to 45 cm.
For December 11-12, the total precipitations numbered 42 mm, and in general, it has amounted to 103 mm since the beginning of December. Before that, the maximum daily precipitation was recorded in December of 1930 - 41 mm, and monthly - 116 mm in December of 1937.
According to the Hydrometeorological Centre, there will be a drop in temperature in the coming days.
Earth Changes
Or the world could end on Dec. 31, when my office calendar runs out.
Here's what the volcano guy said:
"The threat posed by volcanoes worldwide is greatly underestimated," he tells me. Today, he says, we ignore the fact that very large eruptions occur from time to time. It gets worse when he adds, "This size of eruption may occur on average somewhere on Earth every 200 to 500 years. It will occur again." And then it gets much worse: "This is by no means the largest, however." He says we can expect eruptions 10 to 20 times as powerful as the Tambora eruption, which killed 117,000 people. That eruption led to the Year Without a Summer, in 1816, otherwise known as Eighteen-Hundred-and-Froze-to-Death. Since the new eruption Sigurdsson is predicting could be 20 times worse than that, winter really is coming.By the way, when did professor emeritus become emeritus professor?
Other things we should worry about: asteroids, pandemics, earthquakes, tsunamis. But the writer points out that the real disaster is not being knowledgeable and not being prepared.
Not that I'm ruling out the Mayan thing.
Note: The calendar pictured is Aztec, not Mayan, as a couple of totally obnoxoid people have pointed out. Somebody should tell Google.
Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Evan is finally done pounding Samoa and American Samoa, after spending two days meandering over the islands. Evan made landfall on the north shore of Samoa near the capital of Apia on Thursday as a Category 1 cyclone with 90 mph winds, and intensified into a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds after the eye wandered back offshore late Thursday. Media reports indicate that Evan has killed two and brought heavy damage to Samoa. "Power is off for the whole country... Tanugamanono power plant is completely destroyed and we might not have power for at least two weeks," the Disaster Management Office (DMO) said in a statement. Satellite loops show a well-organized storm with plenty of intense heavy thunderstorm activity.
The storm will be a region with light wind shear of 10 - 15 knots and very warm ocean waters that extend to great depth, and could intensify into a Category 4 cyclone by Saturday, as it passes through the Wallis and Futuna Islands. On Sunday, Evan is expected to pass just north of Fiji. The GFS model shows that Fiji should experience heavy rains from Evan, but miss the core eyewall region with the strongest winds and highest storm surge. The storm will encounter decreasing ocean heat content on Monday, after it passes Fiji, and should weaken to a Category 1 cyclone. Evan is one of Samoa's most destructive tropical cyclones on record, as discussed by wunderground's weather historian, Christopher C. Burt. The most famous and deadliest tropical storm to strike Samoa (in modern records) was that of March 1889, which influenced the balance of Western imperial power in the Southern Pacific.
The storm will be a region with light wind shear of 10 - 15 knots and very warm ocean waters that extend to great depth, and could intensify into a Category 4 cyclone by Saturday, as it passes through the Wallis and Futuna Islands. On Sunday, Evan is expected to pass just north of Fiji. The GFS model shows that Fiji should experience heavy rains from Evan, but miss the core eyewall region with the strongest winds and highest storm surge. The storm will encounter decreasing ocean heat content on Monday, after it passes Fiji, and should weaken to a Category 1 cyclone. Evan is one of Samoa's most destructive tropical cyclones on record, as discussed by wunderground's weather historian, Christopher C. Burt. The most famous and deadliest tropical storm to strike Samoa (in modern records) was that of March 1889, which influenced the balance of Western imperial power in the Southern Pacific.
© USGS
2012-12-14 10:36:02 UTC
2012-12-14 02:36:02 UTC-08:00 at epicente
Location:
31.213°N 119.560°W depth=11.3km (7.0mi)
Nearby Cities:
263km (163mi) SSW of Avalon, California
269km (167mi) WSW of Rosarito, Mexico
276km (171mi) WSW of Imperial Beach, California
277km (172mi) SW of Coronado, California
746km (464mi) WSW of Phoenix, Arizona
© AP/Andy King
Snow covered trees are seen outside the Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, in Minneapolis.
Snow covered trees are seen outside the Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, in Minneapolis.
A snowfall totalling 10.5 inches fell on Minneapolis, setting a daily record that eclipsed the previous mark of 7.4 inches set in 1961. The total was the fourth-highest for December in the history of the Twin Cities. Daily records of 11 inches fell in St. Cloud, MN, and 12.5 in Eau Claire, WI.
"The amazing combination of snow, wind and colder temperatures combined to produce the blizzard conditions over a three-state area," said Tom Niziol, the winter weather expert for The Weather Channel.
"It's interesting because it was a swath of heavier snow that moved across the Dakotas and in through Minnesota during the day and evening hours yesterday. For a major winter storm, a large-scale storm, the heavier snow was in a narrow corridor. We got as much as 17 inches of snow in Sacred Heart (MN), 14 inches in Hendrick (MN), and if we zoom into Minneapolis these are amazing snowfall totals. I believe these are Top 5 for December calendar days that go back all the way to the 1800s."
© AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan
Motorists head north on an icy stretch of Interstate 25 near Bernalillo, N.M., after the state was slammed with severe weather Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.
Motorists head north on an icy stretch of Interstate 25 near Bernalillo, N.M., after the state was slammed with severe weather Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.
The National Weather Service says a winter storm system is approaching the state from the west and is expects to dump snow on parts of New Mexico overnight.
Widespread rain and snow showers will develop around the southwest mountains before midnight with significant snow accumulation in the higher terrain expected and precipitation to spread north and east overnight.
The weather service says and strong winds are expected to accompany the storm system.
Much of western and northern New Mexico will remain under winter storm warnings and advisories.
© AP Photo/Risto Bozovic
Children play in the snow in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Heavy snowfall in blizzards have closed roads, disrupted power supplies and shut down an airport in Montenegro, amid a winter freeze that has killed several people and created travel chaos in the Balkans since last weekend.
Children play in the snow in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Heavy snowfall in blizzards have closed roads, disrupted power supplies and shut down an airport in Montenegro, amid a winter freeze that has killed several people and created travel chaos in the Balkans since last weekend.
In one of the worst-hit areas, snowdrifts and avalanches blocked roads in hilly northern Montenegro, where about a meter (3 feet) of snow fell overnight, officials said.
Across the border in southwestern Serbia, heavy snowfall blocked roads to more than a dozen villages, with some left without electricity and schools being closed for the rest of the week, officials said.
"We have got heavy machinery out and we are doing all we can," said emergency official Samir Bakic. "The wind is making the effort more difficult."
At least nine deaths across the region have been blamed on the snow and deep freeze, with temperatures as low as minus-15 Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Oleksandr Popov, head of Kyiv City State Administration, has declared a state of emergency in the capital.
Popov's statement published on the official website of the Kyiv city administration says:
Popov's statement published on the official website of the Kyiv city administration says:
"Because of a potential threat to the economy and the life of the city as a result of the impact of heavy snowfall Kyiv is now officially in the state of emergency. This will allow the capital to engage forces not subordinate to the city authorities."
More snow in Dallas than Chicago? Tornado outbreaks in Florida in December? What in the world is going on with all this crazy weather?
Someone ready a deep-fryer and aioli. Hundreds of dead Humboldt squid washed up on beaches Sunday along Rio Del Mar in Santa Cruz County, according to the Santa Cruz Patch. There is no immediate explanation for why so many of the large invertebrates would die suddenly and in this location. Humboldt squid have not been native to the Monterey Bay area for very long. The squid have been seen further north - which can be confusing for some, since the squid are named for Humboldt Bay, where they can also be found - since the 1997 El Nino event, according to the Patch, and apparently like the Monterey Bay area for its plentiful food.
The squid grow to as big as four feet long thanks in part to the bounty of fish in the Monterey Bay - itself a notable area for the deep Monterey Canyon just offshore. Squid have washed up on California beaches before. In 2009, dead squid were found in the sand after an earthquake.
The squid grow to as big as four feet long thanks in part to the bounty of fish in the Monterey Bay - itself a notable area for the deep Monterey Canyon just offshore. Squid have washed up on California beaches before. In 2009, dead squid were found in the sand after an earthquake.
