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Ice Cube

Winter storm brings ice to Southeast Texas


KHOU.com
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 23:02 UTC
Image
© KHOU
An Arctic blast dropped temperatures and brought snow and ice to Southeast Texas overnight. The weather forced the closure of dozens of freeway ramps and overpasses were shut down due to icing.
An Arctic blast dropped temperatures and brought snow and ice to Southeast Texas overnight.

As temperatures hover in the low 30s Friday, some roads may remain icy so drivers are advised to use caution, especially on bridges and overpasses, KHOU 11 News Meteorologist Brooks Garner said.

The icy road conditions on Friday morning left many commuters stranded on Houston roadways. The slick roads were blamed for hundreds of accidents in the Houston area, including a jack-knifed 18-wheeler that slammed through a concrete barrier.

Temperatures slowly rose above freezing in the afternoon. By 5:30 p.m., most roads had been cleared for any icing.

In Huntsville, residents enjoyed a light blanket of snow that stayed on the ground through sunrise. Further south, dozens of freeway ramps and overpasses were shut down due to icing.

Most Houston-area school districts canceled classes for the day, including Houston ISD, Katy ISD, and Fort Bend ISD.

While areas from College Station to Huntsville experienced a mix of snow and sleet, those hoping for snow closer to Houston were out of luck.

By 1 p.m. the precipitation was coming to an end, but moisture and heavy cloud cover remained in the atmosphere keeping temperatures cool, KHOU 11 News Meteorologist Mario Gomez said.
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Snowflake Cold

Winter storm warning for much of Western New York


The Daily News
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:41 UTC
Image
© Health.ny.gov
New York Counties
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of Western New York, including Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, beginning at 7 tonight.

The warning, which continues until 7 p.m. Saturday, replaces the previously announced winter weather advisory.

A wind chill advisory will also go into effect from midnight Saturday to noon Sunday, reports the Weather Service.

Both advisories also include Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Ontario counties.

Snow and "significant blowing snow" are a concern in the storm warning, according to the Weather Service.

Genesee and Wyoming counties could see 3 to 6 inches of snow, along with Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara.

The Weather Service is forecasting 3 to 5 inches for Orleans County.

Livingston, Ontario and Allegany counties are predicted to receive 2 to 4 inches of snow.

The entire region is expecting southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusting to 45 mph. Visibilities could be under a quarter-mile at times, the Weather Service said.
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Info

New species of river dolphin is discovered in Brazil - but it's already endangered

Ben Spencer
Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:05 UTC
Image

Scientists have named the breed, which is only the fifth river dolphin species in the world, ¿Araguaia¿, (pictured) after the Brazilian river where it was found. It is the first new species of river dolphin discovered since 1918
  • Scientists have named the new breed, which is only the fifth river dolphin species in the world, 'Araguaia', after the Brazilian river where it was found
  • River dolphins are very rare. Out of the 5 species, 3 are on the critically endangered Red List, and scientists believe the Araguaia should join it
Scientists have discovered the first new river dolphin species in almost 100 years.

They have named the new breed, which is only the fifth river dolphin species in the world, 'Araguaia', after the Brazilian river where it was found.

Writing in the journal Plos One, the researchers say the new species, the first discovered since 1918, diverged from other South American river species more than two million years ago.
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Sherlock

New virus linked to bee colony collapse disorder

Geoffrey Mohan
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:08 UTC
Image
© Joe Raedle / Getty Images
A new virus has leaped from plants to honeybees and could be contributing to the collapse of commercial hives, a study says.

A rapidly mutating virus has leaped from plants to honeybees, where it is reproducing and contributing to the collapse of colonies vital to the multibillion-dollar agricultural industry, according to a new study.

Tobacco ringspot virus, a pollen-borne pathogen that causes blight in soy crops, was found during routine screening of commercial honeybees at a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory, where further study revealed the RNA virus was replicating inside its Apis mellifera hosts and spreading to mites that travel from bee to bee, according to the study published online Tuesday in the journal mBio.

Comment: The research presented above could be another possible reason for A Shortage Of Honey Bees in the US, read the following articles for more information about the growing concern of Colony Collapse Disorder:

Bees in peril
If Bees Disappear, We'll All Be Stung
Bees Vanish, and Scientists Race for Reasons
Suddenly, the bees are simply vanishing
Crop pesticides are 'killing our bees' - says MEP
Mystery Bee Disappearances Sweeping U.S.
US: Bees' decline could lead to higher food prices
Pesticide makes bees forget the scent for food, new study finds
Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains
The Big Question: Why are honey bees disappearing, and what can be done to save them?

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Snowflake Cold

Winter weather to hit UK after weeks of floods


Sky News
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 08:01 UTC
Image
© Skynews
The Somerset Levels have seen weeks of flooding this winter.

After an exceptionally mild December and early January forecasters warn a cold spell could bring snow in some areas

Britain looks set for a distinctly colder end to January with the possibility of snow, widespread frost and cold winds.

After saturated southern England is hit by further flooding this weekend, low pressure will start to bring change across the UK next week.

The change comes as a "major incident" was declared on the Somerset Levels which have seen weeks of severe flooding and remain underwater.

The Somerset Levels is a rural area running south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills.

Sedgemoor District Council chief executive Kerry Rickards said: "With significant rainfall expected over the coming days we feel this situation needs to be escalated as a major incident."

The council said it would continue to provide practical support to residents whose properties are flooded or are predicted to flood.

Next week's drop in temperature will come as a shock following a wet but exceptionally mild December and January, Presenter Isobel Lang, said.

"The low bringing us rain this weekend will slip away southwards allowing significantly colder air to seep west and southwestwards across us on a biting east or northeast wind.
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Cloud Precipitation

People don sweaters to stay warm in chilly Malaysia

Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah
New Straits Times
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 11:35 UTC
Kuala Krai blankets
© BERNAMApix
Unusual Weather: Kuala Krai Hospital ensures patients have enough blankets
It may seem unusual but people in this Kelantan town have been putting on sweaters this week. The reason: the mercury is showing 17o Celsius!

A check by Bernama at the Kuala Krai Lake Gardens and the Cinta Wangsa Park, a popular workout spot, found that people were turning up later than usual because of thick mist.

Civil servant Mohd Baihaqi Che Man, 28, said he now heads to the park an hour later than usual, at 8am, to exercise.

"The cold weather caused a thick mist to envelop the area and visibility is reduced. I also had to put on three layers of clothing, including a sweater, because the weather is colder than it was last week."
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Apple Green

New Zealand food prices jumped 7% in last 6 months‏

Sandra Conchie
New Zealand Herald
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 15:30 UTC
Shopping Trolley
© Unknown
Grocery prices for 20 popular items at three Tauranga supermarkets have risen a total of up to 7 per cent in six months, a survey shows.

A Bay of Plenty Times Weekend survey of four Tauranga supermarkets this week showed the total price for 20 staple items rose between $1.81 and $4.17 at three stores, but fell $2.49 at the fourth when compared with last June, when a similar survey was done.

Total prices rose at Pak'nSave Papamoa, Gate Pa New World and Countdown Fraser Cove but dropped at Four Square Papamoa Beach.
      Read More...
Apple Green

Floods threaten food supplies in Indonesia

Indriani
Antara News
Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:19 UTC
Idonesia Java Flood
© AP
Indonesians wade through a flooded street in Bandung, West Java, as heavy rain triggered floods in the area, submerging hundreds of houses and forcing residents to flee.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Floods that stuck several parts of Indonesia in recent days might threaten domestic food supplies, according to the chief of the Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen Association (KTNA), Winarno Thohir.

"We should not underestimate the impact of large floods in Java, which supplies 60 percent of the nations food needs," he said here on Saturday.

Winarno estimated that 250,000 hectares of paddy fields nationwide were inundated during recent floods.

The floods which struck early this year were larger than those in previous years, he noted.
      Read More...
Igloo

Colder weather heads for U.S. as ice set to coat Texas

Brian K. Sullivan
Bloomberg News
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 10:36 UTC
Image
© Scott Olson/Getty Images
The tugboat Commissioner breaks up ice in Burnham Harbor near the Loop on January 21, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. Temperatures in Chicago fell lower than the South Pole this month as freezing weather boosted energy consumption, grounded thousands of flights across the U.S. and disrupted operations at refineries and natural gas production sites.
Parts of southern Texas may get a rare coating of ice as temperatures plunging across the U.S. portend an even sharper cold snap to come.

Temperatures across the eastern U.S. and parts of Ontario and Quebec will be at least 8 degrees below normal through Jan. 27, said Matt Rogers, president of the Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. Next week will be colder, he said.

"The crazy thing is that the current cold snap this week looks to be a bit more modest in the face of next week's outbreak," Rogers said. "The cold coming for the end of January is sufficient to make this the coldest month of the century so far and the coldest the Lower 48 has felt in at least 20 years."

Temperatures in Chicago fell lower than the South Pole this month as freezing weather boosted energy consumption, grounded thousands of flights across the U.S. and disrupted operations at refineries and natural gas production sites.

The natural gas-weight heating degree days value for January is expected to reach 1,062.9, higher than the five-year average of 949.5 and the coldest since 2001, Rogers said.

The value is determined by subtracting the daily average temperature from a base of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the resulting number is a measure of how cold it is and how much energy is needed to keep homes and warm.

Cold Front

"A wave of low pressure along the cold front currently settling into the southern states is expected to spread a rare coating of ice across southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana," the National Weather Service said.
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Extinguisher

'Unprecedented' for January: Wildfire breaks out in middle of the night in cold mountains of California


ktvn.com
Fri, 24 Jan 2014 08:21 UTC
Image
© North Lake Tahoe Protection District
Firefighters have contained a small wildland fire that flared up north of Incline Village early Friday morning.

Firefighters with the cold mountains of California Fire Protection District first got a report of the fire around 2:30 am.

It was burning above the Allison Subdivision near Ralston Court and Jennifer Street.

Crews took more than an hour and a half to reach the fire's edge after hiking about a mile through thick and heavy vegetation.

And they got it contained pretty quickly, though it continued to put up smoke for a while afterward.

Firefighters say our drought conditions can mean fires can start even in January. "This is one of the driest water years on record, this is really unprecedented for this area. Hopefully we get some moisture soon," says John Washington of the U.S. Forest Service.

Firefighters urge campers to only light campfires in designated campgrounds, and say it's important for homeowners to create defensible space around their property.

No structures were threatened.

The U.S. Forest Service has taken command of this fire.

The cause remains under investigation. If anyone has information regarding this incident, call Assistant Fire Marshal, Mark Regan at 775-461-6200.
      Read More...
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