Earth Changes
Back-to-back weekend storms on Friday and Sunday brought chilly temperatures, rain and snow to much of the state after months of hot weather that fueled enormous wildfires.
Case in point: A total of 18 inches of snow even blanketed Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, followed by 10 inches at Sugar Bowl over the weekend, prompting a travel advisory throughout the Sierra Nevada.
Daytime temperatures dipped to the high 50s and freeze warnings and frost advisories were issued for some inland valleys during overnight hours.
And on Monday, cold temperature records were set. It was 38 degrees at the Oakland Airport Monday morning, breaking a 2009 record when it was 41 degrees. Gilroy also set a record at 31 degrees on Monday, breaking a 1986 record when it was 34 degrees.
Many awoke to the double whammy of record snow, then the cold Sunday and Monday.
We saw several kinds of records fall across the area. Single day snowfall records were broken in Reno, Carson City, and Yerington just to name a few.
Most of the area saw a general 3 to 5 inches and that was historic for the date. We normally see our first snowfall around the middle of November, but what's so unusual is the amount that fell.
Comment: Additionally, further south in the state: Las Vegas breaks record-low high temperature set in 1946, days after record heat
NIWA Weather said Napier saw it wettest single hour on record when 54mm of rain fell between 17:00 and 18:00 on 09 November. A total of 242.4 mm of rain fell in the city in 24 hours to early 10 November - around 4 times the amount normally seen in November - making it the second wettest day on record for the city.
On 09 November, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise declared a local state of emergency for Napier due to flooding. Civil Defence urged people to "stay at home and avoid driving where possible. If you feel unsafe at home, self-evacuate to family and friends first."
The National Weather Service recorded a high temperature of 54 degrees, 1 degree lower than the 1946 record of 55.
Last week, Las Vegas had three consecutive days of record-breaking heat. The weather service observed highs of 86 degrees on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Though some parts of the valley on Sunday saw traces of rain and hail, meteorologist Andy Gorelow said McCarran International Airport, where the weather service takes its measurements, stayed dry for the 202nd consecutive day.
The potent weekend snowstorm on the Prairies brought blizzard conditions with heavy snowfall that buried cars and made travel dangerous and nearly impossible in several regions.
There have been reports of 20-40 cm of snowfall near Edmonton, Alberta and a wind gust hitting 102 km/h was recorded in Ardenville. In Kindersley, Saskatchewan 47.6 cm of snow piled up, making it the snowiest November day on record and the largest two day snowfall event for the city.
Several roads shut down in Saskatchewan and Alberta as a result of the poor visibility from the blowing and drifting snow. Police urged people to just stay home, but said if they must head out on the roads, they should go slowly and take extra precautions.
The wildfires near the coastal city of Tipaza, west of the Algerian capital, have reportedly killed two people who sought shelter in a chicken coop and forced the evacuation of nearby residents.
Sources from the city said rain water flooded into houses and public facilities as the sewers were all blocked and couldn't absorb the rain water, in a clear indication of the city's deteriorated infrastructure and public services of the east-based government.
At 9am on Sunday, the area was hit by a 3.6 magnitude earthquake that was centered in Buzzards Bay, off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to the US Geological Survey's National Earthquake (USGS) information centre.
The earthquake hit the area at a depth of around 9.3 miles and was felt in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and as far away as Long Island, New York.
It was the strongest to have hit the area since 1976, when a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded, USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso told the Associated Press.
The agency's website recorded around 14,000 visitors in the hours after the earthquake, with people from 100 miles away reporting the incident.

Flood rescues in Chiapas, Mexico, 06 November 2020 after rain from Hurricane Eta
In a 24 hour period to 06 November, 315mm of rain fell in Oxolotán in Tabasco State and 279.5mm in Escalón in Chiapas State, according to Mexico's Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SNM).
Previously Eta had caused devastation across Central America , with dozens of people feared dead in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Ivan Gyaurski, owner of The Crepery, clears the sidewalk in front of his restaurant on Second Avenue in downtown Fairbanks Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, during a snowstorm that has blanketed Interior Alaska. The winter storm had dumped up to 12 inches of snow across parts of the city and region as of Friday morning.
Snow totals for the area include 10 inches at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, 12 inches for upper McGrath Road, 8.3 inches for Trainor Gate Road and the Fort Wainwright area, 11 inches in North Pole, 10 inches in Goldstream, 12 inches at mile 17 of Chena Hot Springs Road and 6.2 inches for Birch Hill. 10.1 inches has fallen in Fox as of 9 a.m.
Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy tweeted that the highest 24-hour snowfall total for Fairbanks in November over the past century is 14.6 inches in November 1970.
"That could well be broken today," Thoman added.
Comment:
Fairbanks sets snowfall record, braces for second winter storm
Even before Interior Alaskans have had a chance to dig out from this week's record snowfall, another storm is on the way.
A total of 14.7 inches of snow fell between 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday, barely eclipsing the previous 24-hour record of 14.6 inches, set in 1970, according to the National Weather Service.
And more heavy snow is on the way.
A winter storm warning has been issued for the central Interior, including Fairbanks and North Pole, as well as the Brooks Range region to the north. This warning is in effect beginning at 3 a.m. Sunday and continuing through Monday morning. It is expected to drop 5 to 9 inches, with localized amounts up to 10 inches.
Winds of up to 35 mph are expected in exposed areas.
The storm also will affect the Susitna Valley, with up to 20 inches of snow along the Alaska Range, beginning this afternoon.
Travel will continue to be difficult and more power outages are expected, according to the National Weather Service.













Comment: Elsewhere in the US: