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At least 25 Taliban fighters killed in avalanche on Afghan border


Laprensalatina.com
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 20:11 UTC
Afghanistan

Afghanistan
At least 25 Taliban fighters were killed in an avalanche while trying to cross into eastern Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan through a mountainous route, Afghan authorities said Monday.

"Twenty five Taliban fighters, some of them Pakistani nationals, died in an avalanche last night in a mountainous area of Zazi-Aryob district last night on their way to Afghanistan," Mohammad Lal Amiri, police spokesperson for the Paktia province - where the incident took place - told EFE.

Amiri said that the accident occurred when the insurgents were trying to cross the border from Pakistan amid snow-covered mountains through a risky route which is not under the control of the Afghan security forces.

Most of the bodies of the deceased had been recovered from the area and transfered back to the other side of the Durand Line, the long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan established through a 19th century agreement between the British and Kabul, which is not recognized by the current Afghan authorities.
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Snowflake

Major snowstorm hits the Alps in mid-March - up to 4 feet of snow measured

Patrick Thorne
Inthesnow.com
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 19:32 UTC
Lech in Austria is pictured above this morning

Lech in Austria is pictured above this morning
Most of us can't get there, except those lucky enough to live near to an open ski area, but some of us still like to know what's happening in the Alps whilst we dream of returning. The news today, as we reach a year since most of Europe went in to lockdown (a week after Italy and a week before the UK), is that it's dumping down.

"The return of winter" comes with less than a week until the start of springtime and after several months when fresh snowfall has been quite rare, although most areas report good cover on their runs.

The snowfall is widespread but has so far been heaviest in the French and Swiss Alps where many resorts have posted >30-60cm (1-2 feet) of snowfall so far, some as much as 1.2 metres (4 feet) already, and the snowfall is expected to continue through this week.

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Snowflake

Late winter storm buries parts of Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado under several feet of snow, including record-breaking snowfall in Cheyenne

Aaron Brown
Wyoming News Now
Sun, 14 Mar 2021 19:17 UTC
Wyoming Highway Patrol continues to respond to calls for stranded motorists during the March 13-14 storm.
© WHP
Wyoming Highway Patrol continues to respond to calls for stranded motorists during the March 13-14 storm.
Nearly twenty-six inches fell in Cheyenne by noon, Sunday March 14th. The massive snow storm, a low pressure system fed by gulf moisture dumped, and dumped and dumped some more. By the time this article is being written Sunday afternoon, the snow continues to fall in Cheyenne.


And you read that right - the last time we had this much snow was the same year Cheyenne was hit by the famous tornado of '79. This storm broke records by noon, and it's still not done.


Comment: The storm has since heavily impacted neighboring states. According to USA Today:
More than 2,000 flights were canceled in and out of Denver alone over the weekend. Runways were closed for Sunday night, the Denver International Airport tweeted, as it marked nearly two inches of snow.

Many highways and local roads were closed, including a few with "no alternate route advised."

In Colorado, some areas already had almost 30 inches of snow by noon Sunday. A foot of snow had fallen in Denver, and more was on the way.

"Total snow accumulations of 12-24 inches for the Interstate 25 corridor and up to 3-4 feet in the northern foothills," the National Weather Service warned. "Wind gusts of 30-40 mph will cause some blowing and drifting snow."

The Colorado Department of Transportation reported a slew of highway closures, including swaths of Interstate 70 that runs east to west across the state. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center set the avalanche risk as high, warning of "very dangerous avalanche conditions."

"Slow to ramp up Saturday, storm makes itself known on Sunday," the state Transportation Department tweeted Sunday afternoon. "Return travel from the mountains into #Denver will be extremely challenging Sunday. Motorists please make plans to postpone travel until Monday." [...]

Nebraska's State Patrol tweeted asking people across the western part of the state to stay home to avoid strong winds and blizzard conditions. The Department of Transportation urged people across the state to avoid travel if at all possible, reported the Omaha World-Herald.


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Bizarro Earth

China cancels flights during worst sandstorm in a decade


New York Post
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:45 UTC
Beijing sandstorm March 2021
© Associated Press
The National Meteorological Center said Monday’s storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools had been advised to close and bus service added to reduce residents’ exposure to the harsh conditions.
China's capital and a wide swath of the country's north were enveloped Monday in the worst sandstorm in a decade, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights.

Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand. Traffic was snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital's two main airports were canceled amid high winds and low visibility.

The National Meteorological Center said Monday's storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools had been advised to close and bus service added to reduce residents' exposure to the harsh conditions.

Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew eastwards, affecting areas as far as northern Japan.

Comment: Six killed, over 80 missing after heavy dust storm hits Mongolia

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Snowflake

In Finnish capital region, snow piles built up this winter may not melt during summer

Aleksi Teivainen
Helsinki Times
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 14:42 UTC
Snow mountain at Maununneva snow dump.
© JUHANI NIIRANEN
Snow mountain at Maununneva snow dump. Its snow will not melt throughout the summer.
THE CAPITAL REGION of Finland has received so much snow this winter that the metres-high piles hauled to designated snow dump areas may not melt during the course of the summer, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

In Uusimaa, for example, the amount of snow was 1.7 times higher than last year in January, according to Foreca.

Helsingin Sanomat on Friday wrote that the piles of snow stand almost as high as 20 metres at the dump area in Herttoniemi, eastern Helsinki. In Maununneva, a north-western neighbourhood of the city, lorries have dumped roughly 16,000 loads of snow at the dump area, revealed Tero Koppinen, a production manager at Helsinki City Construction Services (Stara).

The snow ploughed from roads forms a large structure, nicknamed by the locals as the Alps, also at the only snow dump area in Espoo, in Vanttila.
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Snowflake

Colorado snowfall weekend totals: March 15 - reaching depth of over 3 feet


Denver7 - The Denver Channel
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 14:24 UTC
snow
Colorado snowfall weekend totals: March 15, 2021


Comment:

From 9NEWS on March 15 of overnight video footage taken in Fort Collins:
RAW: Time-lapse of snow building up on a table in Colorado

Blizzard Warnings are now in effect until midnight for the Front Range and foothills. Look for an additional 2-6" of snow and gusty winds near 45mph.


Credit: Eric Frazier, Fort Collins


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Huge sinkhole appears in a street in Ceuta, Spain


Euro Weekly
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 13:52 UTC
sinkhole
© Mohamed Ali
RESIDENTS in Ceuta were alarmed when a huge sinkhole appeared in the road near the entrance to the Barriada del Principe.

The sinkhole, which measured several metres in diameter, took up part of the pavement and the road, by the old Quemadero bridge and the football field, in the Spanish enclave city in North Africa.

The leader of the local Caballas Coalition party, Mohamed Ali, tweeted about the sinkhole, which left residents in the area shocked over how dangerous it could have proved.

The area was cordoned off and barriers were placed around the sinkhole.

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Windsock

Six killed, over 80 missing after heavy dust storm hits Mongolia


CGTN
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 05:33 UTC
Mongolia dust storm
© YouTube/CGTN (screen capture)
Six people, including five herdsmen and one child, were found dead after a heavy dust storm hit Mongolia, the country's emergency management department said on Monday.

In a statement, the department said it had received reports of 548 missing people from nine provinces across the country between Saturday night and Monday morning.

So far, 467 people have been found and rescuers were trying to locate 81 who were still unaccounted for, it said.

Meanwhile, local media reported that some areas in western Mongolia experienced large-scale power cuts over the weekend due to the storm.

Neighboring China was also affected by the dust storm with large areas in the north, including the capital Beijing, experiencing the largest sandstorms in a decade on Monday.

Comment: The sandstorm created surreal scenes in Beijing, with thick dust turning the sky orange over the Chinese capital. The storm caused an unprecedented spike in air pollution measurements with Beijing's air quality index showed a reading of 999, a level described as "hazardous," the worst possible tier.

Beijing sandstorm
© REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A woman walks past Drum Tower during morning rush hour as Beijing, China, is hit by a sandstorm, March 15, 2021.


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Snowflake

Colorado snow totals so far: Sunday, March 14 - over 2 feet deep in places


Denver7 - The Denver Channel
Sun, 14 Mar 2021 19:22 UTC
Woodland Park
© Debbie Kelley
Woodland Park
A list of Colorado snow totals so far for Sunday, March 14, 2021.

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Snowflake

2,000+ flights canceled in Denver due to Winter Storm Xylia - Interstates closed

Jan Wesner Childs
The Weather Channel
Sun, 14 Mar 2021 14:55 UTC
snow
More than a dozen roads in Colorado are shut down due to Winter Storm Xylia, including portions of two interstates.

The closures include Interstate 70 in both directions between Burlington and Limon and I25 in both directions from Wellington to the state line.

Other roads affected include several U.S. and state highways.

Air travel is being snarled, too. More than 2,000 flights were canceled this weekend at Denver International Airport.

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