Central and eastern China experienced one of the most intense winters so far; Beijing had to endure one of the coldest Decembers on record, and heavy rains and landslides hit the Southwest, leaving 4 dead.
After the most extensive snow cover on record for the US in November, storm Diego blanketed the Southeast leaving 400,000 without power, while unusually intense snowfalls hit the Southwest, and parts of the Northeast and West.
South Korea had bitterly cold temperatures so early in the season, while heavy snowfalls hit Japan, delivering 80 inches in the district of Yamagata.
Snow also disrupted normal life in Bosnia, Romania and Bulgaria, forcing schools to close and causing power outages. Meanwhile, Austria got 55 inches of snow in just 7 days... And winter has just started!
A "swarm" of meteor fireballs streaked across the skies of Spain during the last couple of months, 3 of them made their passage in just 5 hours in December. Mexico, Texas and San Francisco also had their share of spectacular fireballs this month.
Saudi Arabia continues to be battered by hail, heavy rain and floods that have triggered greening of the desert in some parts. While flash floods displaced 45,000 people in Indonesia, and Sri Lanka was inundated by 14 inches of rainfall in one night.
Unseasonable tornadoes wreaked havoc in Florida, Washington and Illinois, while a twister in Java, Indonesia, destroyed 156 houses.
A strong eruption of the Krakatoa volcano caused a tsunami in Indonesia leaving 430 dead and 22,000 displaced, and another volcanic eruption in Vanuatu triggered a series of earthquakes that cracked open parts of the island of Ambrym.
Venezuela was also hit by earthshaking events, a 5.6 magnitude quake hit the region of Carabobo opening fissures in the ground and buildings.
Watch our summary below:
Comment: Also recently (on the 8th of January) a surfer was attacked by a great white shark off Montaña de Oro State Park in California, his subsequent leg injuries required 50 stitches.