Earth ChangesS


Snowflake

Heavy snowfall further hampers already delayed harvest in Alberta

Ryan White
CTV News
Mon, 08 Oct 2018 13:32 UTC
Tony Marshall tours CTV's Alesia Fieldberg through his field of wheat near Aldersyde as he awaits an opportunity to finish harvesting
Tony Marshall tours CTV's Alesia Fieldberg through his field of wheat near Aldersyde as he awaits an opportunity to finish harvesting
Farmers across the province continue to be challenged by the cold, wet weather of late as most of their crops remain in the fields.

Based on annual averages over the last five years, approximately 80 per cent of crops should have been harvested by this time. This year, only 40 per cent of harvesting has been completed.

Tony Marshall's wheat on Highwood Crossing Farm near Aldersyde remains in rows weeks after it was cut. "It's certainly not dry enough yet," explained Marshall. "We want to get it down to 14 per cent (moisture)."

Tony Marshall tours CTV's Alesia Fieldberg through his field of wheat near Aldersyde as he awaits an opportunity to finish harvesting

Marshall sees little reason for optimism on his combining prospects in the coming days. "The forecast is looking at more snow and moisture in the next couple days so we are definitely running out of time."


Comment: See also this report from late September concerning the earlier delay: Snow hampers harvests in Saskatchewan and Alberta

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Snowflake

Moisture, snow has 'really hampered the harvest' across the Dakotas and Minnesota

Jenny Schlecht
AgWeek
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 13:02 UTC
Snow covers soybean plants in Stutsman County,
© Jenny Schlecht/AgweekSnow covers soybean plants in Stutsman County, N.D., on Oct. 10, 2018. The storm dropped more than a foot of snow in some parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota.
Heavy, wet snow fell across the Dakotas and Minnesota on Wednesday, Oct. 10, further delaying harvest and possibly damaging crops.

"Harvest will be a real challenge," said Brian Bjork of Forman, N.D.

Even before the snow started falling, harvest already had been delayed by days of wet weather. But with some places reporting more than a foot of snow, it could be weeks until combines roll through the fields again.

Bjork had at least 8 inches of wet snow on his soybeans. He opened up his first field Sept. 28, and most of the low areas were still green. It's been wet ever since, he said.
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Snowflake

As much as 17 inches of snow dumped on eastern North Dakota as early season snowstorm hits


Ottawa Citizen
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 11:54 UTC
UND student Kristin Hane clears away snow
© Eric Hylden / Grand Forks HeraldUND student Kristin Hane clears away snow from her car during Wednesday’s storm in Grand Forks.
The first significant snow of the season has dumped as much as 17 inches in parts of eastern North Dakota.

School buses are running 2 hours behind Thursday as drivers deal with the slippery roads. The National Weather Service says the highest snow totals are in Finley at 17 inches, in Hannaford at 16.5 inches and a little more than 14 inches west of Hope.

Grand Forks set a record snowfall for the date at 5.7 inches.

The state Department of Transportation and the North Dakota Highway Patrol issued a "no travel advisory" for parts of eastern North Dakota on Wednesday evening due to snow and ice-covered roads and reduced visibility.

The advisory included Jamestown, Valley City, Edgeley, Ellendale, Oakes, Cooperstown, Michigan, Larimore and surrounding areas. That advisory was lifted Thursday morning.

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Cloud Precipitation

Nigeria floods ruin crops for 100,000 farmers

Ahmed Idris
Al Jazeera
Fri, 12 Oct 2018 11:15 UTC
floods
The disaster, which happened three weeks ago, may cause a shortage of rice, the country's staple food.

Nigeria's agriculture minister is warning there could be a shortage of rice, the country's staple food.

The warning came after devastating floods hit large parts of the country, destroying crops just as farmers were getting ready for harvest.

Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from some of the affected areas.

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Cloud Precipitation

One woman dead after storms and flooding hit Sardinia, Italy


Il Globo
Fri, 12 Oct 2018 10:41 UTC
The Italian island of Sardinia and parts of Liguria were on maximum red alert on Thursday as storms swept across Italy's western coasts.
The Italian island of Sardinia and parts of Liguria were on maximum red alert on Thursday as storms swept across Italy's western coasts.
A woman has died and one man is missing on the southern Italian island of Sardinia as storms battered the country's western coasts this week.

The woman's body was found following hours of heavy rain which caused flooding and swept away part of a motorway bridge.

The victim, aged 45, was driving near the town of Assemini with her husband and three children when floodwaters blocked their car.

The family became separated as they tried to escape and while the rest of the family was rescued by police, the woman's body was recovered on Thursday.

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Tornado1

'Like an atomic bomb': Hurricane Michael leaves trail of devastation in Florida and Georgia


Sputnik
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:12 UTC
Hurricane Michael
© Getty ImagesHomes destroyed by Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida.
After 'ambushing' Florida with a sudden overnight strengthening into Wednesday, Hurricane Michael roared ashore with winds of 155 mph, the third-most powerful hurricane to ever strike the US. By Thursday afternoon the storm had greatly weakened, but was still dangerous and dumping inches of rain on areas still recovering from Hurricane Florence.

Michael, now downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, is presently located around 60 miles west of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, although rain and wind can be felt from the storm across a 500-mile-wide swath of the US spanning from Georgia to Maryland. The storm sped up as it began to move inland, now traveling northwestward at 23 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, administered by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The storm has left nearly 400,000 Floridians without power, according to the state's Division of Emergency Management, along with 330,000 in Georgia, 76,000 in South Carolina, 73,000 in North Carolina and 50,000 in Alabama.

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Oil Well

Hurricane Michael shutters nearly half of oil production in Gulf of Mexico

Nick Cunningham of
Oilprice.com
Wed, 10 Oct 2018 16:20 UTC
oil rigs gulf of mexico
© ESRI 2013Oil drilling operations Gulf of Mexico
Roughly 40 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production and 28 percent of its natural gas production was shut down as of Tuesday, as the region braced for a powerful hurricane to make landfall.

At least 75 platforms were evacuated, according to Reuters, including those operated by Anadarko Petroleum, BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the Florida Panhandle, threatening catastrophic damage to Florida's Gulf Coast. "Some additional strengthening is possible before landfall," the National Hurricane Center said in a public advisory. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour as of Wednesday morning.

An estimated 670,800 barrels per day of oil production and around 726 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production shut down. At least three drilling rigs were evacuated and eight more were moved out of the range of the storm, according to BSEE.
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Snowflake

A least 10 inches of early snow falls at ski resorts in Utah - depth at one already 2 feet

Cristina Flores
kutv.com
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 12:56 UTC
Utah ski resorts got at least 10 inches of snow
© Cristina Flores / KUTVUtah ski resorts got at least 10 inches of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday — some as much as one foot at the base.
Utah ski resorts got at least 10 inches of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday — some as much as one foot at the base.

At Brighton, Marketing Manager Jared Winkler said there was nearly two feet of snow at mid mountain.

While that generates a lot of excitement for ski season, it's too soon to know when Brighton will open officially.

"It could warm up in November, so we will keep our fingers crossed," he said, recalling one year the resort opened by Halloween.

While the resort is not officially open, the parking lot was full with visitors enjoying sledding or the "Bone Zone," which is an area open to boarders and skiers.


Comment: Note that prior to this latest snowfall event over the 9th/10th of October, another early season storm over the 7th/8th had already dumped nearly 2 feet of snow at Brian Head Resort, Utah.

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Snowflake

20 inches of early snow in 2 days reported at Wolf Creek Ski Area, Colorado


The Pagosa Sun
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 12:08 UTC
Wolf Creek Ski Area
Wolf Creek Ski Area
With 20 inches of snow falling between Monday and midday Wednesday, Wolf Creek Ski Area is slated to open for the season this weekend.

For the time being, the ski area will only be open on Saturdays and Sundays, with three lifts operating on all-natural snow: Nova, Treasure and Bonanza, according to Sarah Stephens, assistant to the vice president of marketing and sales.

Stephens reported shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday that 20 inches of snow had fallen at the summit, with 18 inches at the midway.

That midway total had settled into a 14-inch base, she reported.
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Snowflake Cold

This is the snowiest October Calgary has ever had — and the month has just begun

Jodi Hughes
Global News
Thu, 11 Oct 2018 11:50 UTC
Snow in northwest Calgary Oct. 2, 2018.
© Jodi Hughes / Global CalgarySnow in northwest Calgary Oct. 2, 2018.
Calgary has marked another weather milestone. As of Oct. 10, this October will go down as the snowiest on record with 48.2 centimetres of snow. The old record was 47.5 centimetres of snow in October 1961, according to Environment Canada's historical records.

Early season snow blanketed the city at the beginning of the month, with snow falling six out of the first 10 days in October this year.

Calgary will normally see 10 centimetres of snow throughout the entire month of October. By Oct. 3, 2018, the city had nearly quadrupled that amount.

A number of snowfall records were set this month: the record of 4.6 centimetres for Oct. 2 was crushed when 32.8 centimetres fell; that snowfall total marked the snowiest single day ever in the month of October; and the record for measurement of snow on the ground was also beaten for a number of days thanks to that system.
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