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Record-breaking snowfall in Montreal: 47 centimetres of snow in one day


CBC News
Sat, 29 Dec 2012 11:37 UTC
Image
© CTV News
Montreal's massive snow clearing operation will start on Friday morning. Claudine Nicol took this photo of parked cars entombed in snow in Villeray on Thursday.
The City of Montreal said snow removal is going to take longer than expected following Thursday's record snowfall.

Michel Frenette, a spokesman for the city, said snow removal will take about nine days to accomplish.

The nine days also includes a break period for workers.

"We will stop operations on the evening of the 31st and come back 36 hours later on the morning of Jan. 2," said Frenette.

He said it is taking longer because snow blowers have to go over the same area multiple times to remove all of the snow.

Three thousand people are working to clear the snow.
      Read More...
Igloo

Atlantic Canadians brace for 2nd winter wallop


CBC News
Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00 UTC
As much as 40 centimetres of snow expected from 'significant nor'easter'.
Image
© CBC News
Atlantic Canada is bracing for more harsh winter weather set to hit Saturday night.
With another blast of winter weather headed for Atlantic Canada, people are being urged to prepare for a lot of snow throughout the Maritimes and up to 140 km/h wind gusts in Newfoundland.

The storm is expected to start Saturday night in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I.

Nova Scotia may see 40 centimetres of snow by Sunday night in the province's north and the Annapolis Valley.

Meteorologist Andy Firth said the nor'easter would bring snow, blowing snow and rain to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as southern and eastern New Brunswick.

"This is a significant nor'easter storm," Firth said from Dartmouth, N.S., on Saturday. "We have warnings out for snowfall, blowing snow and storm surges."

Firth said parts of New Brunswick and P.E.I. would see around 15 to 30 centimetres of snow.

Flurries were expected to begin over the western Maritimes on Saturday evening, with heavy snow beginning around midnight and continuing until around noon Sunday.
      Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Heavy snow in South Korea breaks December record

Hwang Sun-yoon, Kwon Sang-soo
Korea Joongang Daily
Sat, 29 Dec 2012 12:51 UTC
Korean Blizzard
© NEWSIS
Soldiers are mobilized yesterday morning to remove snow from roads in front of tollgates near the Baekyang Tunnel in Sasang District, Busan. As snow was not cleared in time, dangerous roads caused traffic jams during rush hour. Heavy snowfall is rarely seen in the southern port city.
Yesterday's rush hour was a nightmare for a 47-year-old civil servant surnamed Roh who commutes from Gimhae to Changwon, South Gyeongsang, every day.

He left home at 6:15 a.m. and reached the Changwon Tunnel that connects the two cities in 10 minutes, but soon had to turn his car around as the tunnel was closed due to snow.

Roh then passed through Jangyu and Dongmasan IC (interchange) and finally arrived at his office in Changwon at 9:40 a.m.

It usually takes only 25 minutes if he takes the tunnel route, but it took 3 hours and 25 minutes.

On his way to the office, many vehicles were waiting for assistance after being damaged in car accidents due to the slippery roads.

"It doesn't snow much in Gimhae," Roh told the JoongAng Ilbo. "Not many drivers have tire chains. It was terrible to drive because many roads are icy due to the early morning snow."
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Snowflake Cold

Coldest winter in decades for Russia with snow as much as 5 meters (16½ ft) deep - Plows cannot reach roads to clear them


The Chosen Ilbo
Sat, 29 Dec 2012 12:35 UTC
Image
© Reuters
A homeless woman has a charity meal distributed by volunteers in Russia's southern city of Stavropol on Dec. 25, 2012.
As temperatures plummet to -50 Celsius in some parts of Russia, thousands have been evacuated from their homes in the country's Far East and Siberia. More than 120 people have died from the severe cold -- at least seven in the last 24 hours.

Meteorologists say the country is experiencing one of its coldest winters in decades.

In the Far East region of Magadan, 300 kilometers of roads remain blocked by heavy snow. Plows and machines can not reach those roads to clear them. In some places, snow is as much as five meters deep.

Irina Bryarkina lives in the Tyva region of Siberia where temperatures have been -40 C for several days. It is so cold that many heating pipes have frozen and thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes.

Comment:
"One change to occur in 21st Century is sudden glacial rebound, over Eurasia first, then North America. Ice ages develop much, much, much faster than thought."
We're seeing it right now.

      Read More...
Arrow Down

Giant sinkhole opens up at busy Shanxi intersection

Erik Crouch
Shanghaiist
Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:32 UTC
Image
© China Daily
The sinkhole strikes again! While not as epic as the gaping Xi'an collapse in May, a road in Shanxi has imploded, damaging gas and infrastructure in the area. No one was hurt, and the only significant harm was caused to underground pipes. Shanxi should be glad not to have the bus-eating holes of Nanjing or pedestrian-assassins of Xi'an.
      Read More...
Fireball 3

More evidence of comet dust-loading: Luminescent clouds in the sky over Arizona

Mark Prigg
Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:28 UTC
Residents of Douglas in Arizona have been treated to a rare and stunning phenomenon - fire rainbows.

Caused when ice crystals splits sunlight into different colours, they cause the sky to flicker with colour.

Brandon Rios, who captured the amazing images with his father, said he was 'completely astonished' by the phenomenon.

Fire Rainbow
© Brandon Rios/Rex Features
Fire rainbows, known by the proper name of circumhorizon arc, occur when the sun hits plate shaped ice cystals in the clouds, causing the colours of sunlight to separate.
'Although my father was the one to take the pictures I was with him at the time,' said Brandon after the pair spotted the rainbows over their home in Douglas, Arizona.
      Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Record-breaking storm moves to Newfoundland


CBC News
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 06:52 UTC
Montreal blanketed by more than 45 cm of snow from storm moving east.


The winter storm that dumped a record-breaking amount of snow on Montreal is now hitting Newfoundland, with Environment Canada saying northern and central parts of the province can expect 20 to 30 centimetres.

"Heavy snow and strong easterly winds over southwestern Newfoundland this morning will spread northeastward today," Environment Canada said.

By 2:30 p.m. local time, there were snowfall accumulations of 13 centimetres in Deer Lake, seven centimetres in Gander and less than a centimetre in St. John's, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Rodney Barney.

Winter storm warnings are in effect in many parts of central and northern Newfoundland, with Environment Canada warning that "dangerous winter weather conditions" are expected in some areas.

The low-pressure system producing the storm is expected to move from southern Nova Scotia to near Cape Breton by Friday evening. The system will then track across eastern Newfoundland at night before moving to the northeast of the province on Saturday.
      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Just in case? Brevard County, Florida works toward being 'tsunami ready'


The Miami Herald
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:07 UTC
Image

Brevard County, Florida
Central Florida isn't likely to be hit by a tsunami, but officials there want to be ready, just in case. Brevard County's emergency managers are working with the National Weather Service to be one of the first "tsunami-ready" counties in Florida.Emergency Management Director Kimberly Prosser tells Florida Today that Brevard County wants to be as ready for tsunamis as it is for hurricanes and wildfires. Officials will establish protocols to follow when tsunami warnings are issued and designate evacuation routes.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne says the most likely trigger for a tsunami along Brevard County would be an earthquake in Portugal or Puerto Rico.

"Rogue waves" also are potential threats. That happened in 1992 when a 10-foot-high, 27-mile-long wave crashed into Daytona Beach, injuring 75 people.
      Read More...
Phoenix

More electric power poles burst into flames in Texas


KVUE.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:10 UTC
Thousands of people in the area are waking up without power.

Austin Energy says up to 50 pole fires sparked overnight due to dirt and moisture on equipment, causing power outages for about 4,000 customers.

Experts say the mist in the air Friday morning turned dust on electric Poles to mud, which created the sparks.

There have also been reports of outages for Pedernales Electric customers. Officials ask those customers to call 888-883-3379 to report an outage.

Austin Energy says 16 crews are working to restore power in 32 locations.

Comment: Last time we checked, mist and dust don't cause power poles to burst into flames. It would be great to hear more detailed reports, but it sounds like another case of St. Elmo's fire, a plasma phenomenon caused by an electric discharge. The Wiki page on St. Elmo's says it can be generated by thunderstorms or volcanic eruptions, but another possibility is electric discharge from incoming bolides.

Sunday, 9th December 2012: Power poles burst into flames in Texas one day before Fireball sightings

      Read More...
Arrow Up

USDA economist sees higher food prices in 2013

USDA
YouTube
Sun, 23 Dec 2012 10:06 UTC
A USDA economist says Americans will be paying more at the grocery store in 2013.


Comment: This economist is talking about higher prices on the order of 3-4% inflation, but we suspect they will go much higher than that once the extensive 2012 crop failures and probable future crop failures translate into retail prices.

      Read More...
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