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'A terrible tragedy': 4 skiers killed, 4 injured in Utah avalanche, officials say


AZ Central
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 14:09 UTC
AVALANCHE
An avalanche killed four skiers and injured four others Saturday in a popular recreation area, making it one of the deadliest avalanches in Utah history, authorities said.

The Unified Police Department told local media that it was alerted to the avalanche about 11:40 a.m. after receiving a faint distress call from an avalanche beacon in Millcreek Canyon near Salt Lake City.

The skier-triggered avalanche swept up eight people in their early twenties to late thirties who were in two groups touring the backcountry, Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler told the Salt Lake Tribune. The avalanche took place at an elevation of 9,800 feet, the Utah Avalanche Center said.


Comment: In addition recently: Avalanches leave 9 people dead in past week across U.S.

Here is footage of the avalanche, apparently taken by one of those caught in it - and who we hope survived it.

Warning: Some viewers may find this video distressing



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Snowflake Cold

Germany brought to a standstill after massive snowstorm, sub-zero temperatures


Euronews
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:39 UTC
A Deutsche Bahn employee clears snow on
© Peter GerckeA Deutsche Bahn employee clears snow on a platform at the main station in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.
A snowstorm and strong winds pounded northern and western Germany on Sunday, forcing trains to cancel trips and leading to hundreds of road accidents. Police said 28 people were injured on icy roads.

The German Weather Service DWD urged people to stay at home and authorities brought homeless people into warm shelters amid the sub-zero temperatures.

National train operator Deutsche Bahn said main train routes between Hamburg and Hannover, Berlin and the west were canceled as snowdrifts piled up on the tracks and power lines. Some train connections in the east were also canceled, though most of the snow came down in the northwest.


12 inches of snow

Police in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia said early Sunday they had counted 222 accidents due to the bad weather conditions since Saturday afternoon. They said two people among the 28 were severely injured.
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Snowflake Cold

Winter Snow Darcy batters the Netherlands, disrupting rail and road traffic


DutchNews
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 13:09 UTC
Snow ploughs in action on the A1 motorway on
© Vincent Jannink ANPSnow ploughs in action on the A1 motorway on Sunday morning.
The Netherlands woke up to wintry scenes on Sunday, with a layer of snow covering most of the country apart from the far south and north.

The snow and strong winds are expected to continue for most of the day, but it could be well into evening before it stops in the north, weather forecasters say.

The transport ministry's roads authority has sprayed 17 million kilos of salt on the roads since Saturday evening in an effort to keep them clear. Nevertheless, there have been a string of accidents due to the difficult conditions and the slip road between the A15 and the A4 was closed for a time after a lorry jack-knifed.

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Snowflake Cold

Most snow for over a decade at closed Scottish ski centres

Patrick Thorne
Inthesnow.com
Sat, 06 Feb 2021 12:17 UTC
snow
Scotland's sensational winter for snowfall is continuing, with what is now, after nearly two months of largely sub-zero temperatures, one of the longest spells of cold snowy weather this century.

Many are comparing this winter to the 'big freeze' of 2010, but there seems to be more snowfall so far than that famously cold, but rather dry winter.

The country's five commercial ski centres are all currently closed as part of the Scottish lockdown and that currently looks set to be the case for the rest of February at least.

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Cloud Precipitation

8 people die in floods in Mpumalanga, South Africa - toll could rise as heavy rains continue

Veronica Mokhoali
Eyewitness News
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 11:45 UTC
The bridge that connects Tekwane South , eNtokozweni and KaNyamazane just collapse due to this heavy rainfall outside Nelspruit.
The bridge that connects Tekwane South , eNtokozweni and KaNyamazane just collapse due to this heavy rainfall outside Nelspruit.
The persistent rain has caused damage and flooding since tropical storm Eloise spilled over to South Africa from Mozambique. Five people are still missing.

As heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in different parts of Mpumalanga, the cooperative governance (CoGTA) department has said it fears the death toll due to the floods may rise.

The persistent rain has caused damage and flooding since tropical storm Eloise spilled over to South Africa from Mozambique.

Areas including Mbombela, Bushbuckridge, and Nkomazi were severely affected.

At least eight people died due to the heavy rains on Saturday, and CoGTA spokesperson George Mthethwa said they fear the number of fatalities could rise.

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Attention

Best of the Web: Himalayan glacier bursts in India causing flash flooding & destroying dam, 150 feared dead

Devjyot Ghoshal, Saurabh Sharma
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 11:19 UTC
glacier breaks in Uttarakhand's Joshimath
Glacier breaks in Uttarakhand's Joshimath
As many as 150 people were feared dead in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and crashed into a dam early on Sunday, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream.

"The actual number has not been confirmed yet," but 100 to 150 people were feared dead, Om Prakash, chief secretary of Uttarakhand state where the incident occurred, told Reuters.

A witness reported a wall of dust, rock and water as an avalanche roared down a river valley.

"It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone," Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the upper reaches of Raini village, told Reuters by phone. "I felt that even we would be swept away."

Comment: The Indian Express reports that just two days earlier, an avalanche occurred at the glacier. Which doesn't bode well for the Barry Glacier in Alaska where it's predicted that a landslide induced mega-tsunami 'could happen at anytime'.

With the above in mind, a recent study revealed that melting icebergs are a key feature of an ice age.

For more, check out SOTT radio's:

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Seismograph

Shallow M6.3 earthquake strikes near Papua New Guinea


Volcano Discovery
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 06:04 UTC
PNG quake map
Date & time: 7 Feb 2021 05:45:55 UTC - 3 hours 18 minutes ago
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, 7 Feb 2021 3:45 pm (GMT +10)
Magnitude: 6.3
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 3.56°S / 145.92°E (Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea)
Nearest volcano: unnamed (91 km / 57 mi)
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Seismograph

Magnitude 6.3 earthquake rattles southern Philippines


CNN Philippines
Sun, 07 Feb 2021 05:46 UTC
Philippines quake map
© Phivolcs
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck at Magsaysay, Davao del Sur past noon on Sunday noon, state seismologists reported, noting aftershocks were expected.

In an earthquake bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, or Phivolcs, said the tremor struck 6 kilometers southeast of Magsaysay at 12:22 p.m.

It had a depth of 15 kilometers and was tectonic in origin, indicating it was caused by a movement in the Earth's crust.

Intensity 5, rated by Phivolcs as "strong," was felt in Kidapawan City, Arakan, Carmen, Kabacan, Makilala and M'Lang, North Cotabato; City of Koronadal and Banga, South Cotabato; Matalam, Cotabato; Bansalan, Hagonoy, Magsaysay and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

Intensity 4 or "moderately strong" was recorded in Davao City; Banisilan and Midsayap, North Cotabato; Don Carlos, Bukidnon; Polomok, Sto. Nino and Norala, South Cotabato South Cotabato; Alabel, Kiamba and Malapatan, Saranggani; Palimbang and Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat.

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Mars

Skies and snow turn orange as massive Saharan Dust load spreads across south-central Europe this weekend

Marko Korosec
Severe Weather Europe
Sat, 06 Feb 2021 21:34 UTC
SAND
A massive amount of Saharan Dust has advected across the Mediterranean into central Europe this weekend, thanks to the favorable pattern turning the jet stream into southerly directions. High dust concentrations have turned skies and snow to orange across southern and central parts of Europe, creating an apocalyptic scenery.

It has been a dynamic pattern establishing across Europe this week, with a persistent upper-level High over the Arctic region and northern Europe. But to the south, an atmospheric river is dragging storm systems from the Atlantic into the southern parts of Europe.

One of these systems has deepened across southwestern Europe this weekend and turned the jet stream into south-southwesterly directions. This means the flow comes directly from the Saharan desert and it normally raises the potential to receive Saharan Dust particles across the European continent.

This time, the result is the significant advection of Saharan Dust into the Mediterranean region and into central Europe. Including the Alps and areas further north where reports of orange snow and skies are coming from the public.


Comment: Related: Severe Saharan sandstorm hits Algeria

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Snowflake Cold

Snowfall in Shimla, India highest in the last 30 years - nearly 2 feet of snow in a day


The Indian Express
Sat, 06 Feb 2021 14:23 UTC
snow
Following snow and rain in most parts of Himachal Pradesh, the weather largely cleared up in the state on Friday and is expected to remain dry over the next week, meteorological officials said.

Snowfall in Shimla was the highest in the last 30 years, the meteorological centre said.

Heavy snowfall, however, has led to the disruption of transport and power supply in parts of the state, especially Shimla district. Kufri and Shimla received nearly two feet of snow on Thursday while Shillaro and Khadrala received 55 and 49 cm each.

PWD officials said that three national highways, one state highway and 461 link roads in the state are currently blocked with snow. The primary roads of Shimla, including the circular road and the bypass road, were cleared of snow on Friday, but authorities have warned motorists to drive with precautions due to a layer of black ice on the road, which is slippery and accident-prone.

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