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Wed, 27 Oct 2021
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Snowflake

Loveland Ski area in Colorado receives historic seasonal snowfall - almost 7 feet so far

Loveland Ski Area
Loveland Ski Area has had a great start to their 2018 ski season — it's even historic.

Ski area officials say they've had 81 inches of snow this year which is the best start to in its 81-year history.

Since opening for the season in October, much more terrain is now ready for skiers and snowboarders. Lift 2 opened on Friday which leads to Tango Road and Turtle Creek. Lift 6 opened on Saturday.


Snowflake Cold

Record-breaking cold temperatures in many central United States cities

November Cold Snap

November cold
Record-breaking cold temperatures were found across many central United States cities on both Friday and Saturday. Temperatures dropped off quickly Friday night, setting records across states like Kansas and Nebraska.

The mercury continued to drop on Saturday morning, setting records in many of the same communities. Kansas City, Missouri broke their record low temperature for Saturday, November 10th by ten degrees! The average low for Kansas City in early November is usually in the mid-to-upper 30s.

Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods hit parts of Singapore due to intense rain

Several parts of Singapore,
© FACEBOOK/KAREN WONG
Several parts of Singapore, including Choa Chu Kang, experienced flash floods after intense rain on Nov 10,
Flash floods hit parts of Singapore including Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang on Saturday evening (Nov 10) due to intense rain.

The floods were reported along Choa Chu Kang Way up to Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1, as well as near Bukit Batok Driving Centre and a petrol station located along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5, according to national water agency PUB.

"Several places in Singapore experienced intense rain this evening. About 100mm of rain was recorded over about 1.5 hours from 4.40pm to 6pm at Bukit Panjang," said PUB. "This is about 40 per cent of the average monthly rainfall in November."

PUB officers were at the flood sites to "investigate and render assistance", said the agency.


Cloud Precipitation

Torrential rains wreck Riyadh airport, Saudi Arabia

King Khalid Airport
© Facebook / Riyadh Airports
King Khalid Airport
The Arabian peninsula has been battered by extreme weather in recent weeks and it's taking its toll on Saudi Arabia's infrastructure. New footage shows a deluge bursting through the ceiling of one of the country's main airports.

Video shows the roof tiling at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh completely buckled under the weight of water which is gushing from the ceiling and pooling on the floor.

The downpour is so heavy that one could be forgiven for thinking that it was raining inside the building.

Cloud Precipitation

Watch as flash flooding causes chunks of bridge to collapse in Israel

israel motorway collapse
Heavy rainfall throughout 9 November, caused flooding in riverbeds and other low lying areas in the Judaean Desert and the Northern Negev in Israel.

A part of the Route 90 highway near the Dead Sea, has been washed out by mudflows, leaving four people blocked and stranded, the Times of Israel reported.

The individuals have been evacuated on a military helicopter and taken to the nearest hospital by an IDF search-and-rescue team.

Comment: Vast swathes of the usually arid Middle East has seen flash flooding in recent days: Although deluges of water are swift becoming the norm all over the globe:


Attention

Humpback whale washes ashore at Oceano Dunes, California

Curious onlookers stopped to take photos of the
© KSBY
Curious onlookers stopped to take photos of the whale carcass.
Another dead whale has washed ashore at the Oceano Dunes.

Experts on scene said it's 31 feet long.

All day long on Friday, it drew quite the crowd.

"I thought, wow, that's amazing," said George Esterer. "I've never seen one after 30 years. I don't know if I'll ever see one again."

The humpback whale was found beached sometime on Thursday.

"I've always wanted to see a whale in real life so seeing this whale this morning, I was very surprised and I took many photos and everything," said Cayden McCoard.


Seismograph

Strong shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hits off Tonga

graph
A strong earthquake has hit off the Pacific island nation of Tonga, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 6.2 quake hit Saturday evening at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

The quake struck 98 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Pangai, Tonga.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a warning.

Tonga is prone to earthquakes and sits on the "Ring of Fire," the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's quakes and volcanic activity occur.

Source: AP

Comment: See also: USGS seismic data points to 2,000% increase in major earthquakes since 1900


Cloud Precipitation

More flash floods in Jordan kill 11 - Two weeks after flooding killed 21(UPDATE)

Jordan has once again been hit by heavy floods.
© Ahmad Atwah Jordanian tour guide
Jordan has once again been hit by heavy floods.
Seven people were killed on Friday in Jordan after torrential rains swept across several parts of the country, according to Al Arabiya news channel correspondent.

The Jordanian civil defense rescued a young girl and recovered the body of her sister after heavy flash floods swept their father's vehicle in the Malih area of the governorate of Madaba, while 11 others were injured in different areas of the country.

A spokesman for the Civil Defense Iyad al-Amro, told Al Arabiya that members of the Civil Defense were searching for three other missing members of the surviving child's family.



Comment: Update: The Guardian on the 10th November reports:
The death toll from flash floods unleashed by heavy rains in Jordan has risen to 11, according to local media, and forced authorities to evacuate more then 3,700 tourists from the ancient city of Petra.

Saturday's reports came a day after floods struck in several areas of Jordan, including Petra, and the searches for missing people continue.

Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghuneimat and civil defence officials say the death toll rose early on Saturday, after another body was found in the Madaba region south of the capital of Amman.

Hundreds of Petra visitors ran for higher ground on Friday as water surged through a narrow canyon leading to the Treasury, Petra's main attraction.

Jordanian civil protection services work on a road damaged by flash floods, near Madaba, some 30 kilometres south of Amman. Photograph: Petra News Agency Handout/EPA
© Petra News Agency Handout/EPA
Jordanian civil protection services work on a road damaged by flash floods, near Madaba, some 30 kilometres south of Amman.
See also: 18 children and teachers dead, 22 more injured in flash flooding in Jordan


Fire

California wildfires: Nine dead in most destructive inferno in a century - Celebrities flee Malibu mansions - UPDATES

Fire
© Reuters / Stephen Lam
A structure engulfed by fire in Paradise, California
Raging wildfires across California have forced 157,000 people from their homes, and have led to at least one death in the north of the state, officials say. A blaze is also approaching LA Zoo.

Fanned by high overnight winds, multiple fires have ripped through the state of California in recent days. In Northern California, a blaze visible by satellite consumed the town of Paradise on Thursday and had burned nearly 110 square miles by Friday morning.

The director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services told AP that the fire has claimed lives, but that the number of deaths is still unknown. The blaze sent residents fleeing, and currently threatens the city of Chico, home to 90,000 people.

Parts of the city have been evacuated, as firefighters struggle to contain the inferno at the city limits.


Comment: Update 10 November

The Telegraph reports:
Nine people have been burned to death as California's most destructive fire in at least a century engulfed the town of Paradise, while celebrities fled fast-moving fires in the south of the state.

Only a day after it began the so-called "Camp Fire" spread to over 140 square miles in size and levelled the town, which has a population of 30,000. More than 2,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which destroyed more than 6,700 homes and businesses.

Captain Scott McLean, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said: "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed. It's that kind of devastation.

"There was really no firefight involved, these firefighters were in the rescue mode all day yesterday."

He said thousands of buildings had been lost in Paradise, about 180 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Jody Jones, the mayor of Paradise, said the hospital, a McDonald's restaurant, and many other businesses had been engulfed.

She said: "I think we lost a high school and at least one of the elementary schools."

Residents evacuated in panic with some crashing their cars.

Mark Bass, a police officer, said the evacuation was "just a wall of fire on each side of us, and we could hardly see the road".

California wildfires
© Peter Dasilva/EPA
A CalFire firefighter attempts to cool down the side of a home in Magalia, California, near Paradise as the wildfire continues to burn out of control.
Officials said all the victims were found in Paradise, including four who died inside their vehicles. Another 35 people had been reported missing and three firefighters had been injured.

With fires burning in both Northern and Southern California 157,000 people have been evacuated, including much of the city of Malibu.

Among the evacuees was Kim Kardashian West, the reality television star, who was forced to flee her Southern California home in Calabasas, near Los Angeles.

Kardashian West posted on social media a video from an aircraft window showing fires raging below.

She shared another video along with the caption: "Pray for Calabasas. Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe."

She also posted a clip from the ground showing fire fighters driving past.


Smoke from the fire could be seen from the site of a mass shooting in nearby Thousand Oaks that left 12 people dead on Wednesday night.

Caitlyn Jenner's home in Malibu burned down, TMZ reported, although her publicist said that had not been confirmed. The reality TV star had already evacuated.

Actor Charlie Sheen said he had been unable to contact his Hollywood star father Martin Sheen and mother Janet.

He wrote on Twitter:
"I cannot get ahold of my parents, Martin and Janet Sheen. They are in the group, at the staging ground near Zuma Beach.

"If anyone has eyes on them, please let me know that they are safe and sound in the middle of this horrific scenario."
Cher, who said she had lived in Malibu since 1972, tweeted that the wildfire was coming close to her home, although she said she was not on the property.

"Friends' houses have burned. I can't bear the thought of there being no Malibu," the singer posted.

Lady Gaga posted a video on her Instagram account saying she had evacuated her Malibu home on Friday, and showing images of dark billowing smoke overhead.


Other celebrities evacuated included Oscar-winning film director Guillermo del Toro, who tweeted that he had abandoned his vast "Bleak House" museum collection of fantasy and horror memorabilia.

"Bleak House and the collection may be endangered but the gift of life remains," tweeted del Toro, director of Oscar best picture winner The Shape of Water.

Orlando Bloom tweeted a photo from his street showing the wildfire.

The Paramount Ranch, a Hollywood filming location for decades that was recently used by the HBO series Westworld, was also destroyed.

The ranch served as a location for productions ranging from 1938's The Adventures of Marco Polo to TV shows The Mentalist and Weeds. The set in the mountains west of Los Angeles dates to 1927 when Paramount Pictures leased the ranch and began making films there.


Actress Alyssa Milano said her home was "in jeopardy" amid her attempts to safely evacuate her five horses. The actress ultimately got the help she needed and tweeted that her horses were safe. "My children are safe. ... Everything with a heartbeat is safe."

The singer Melissa Etheridge also evacuated.

The entire 12,000 population of Malibu, which stretches 27 miles along the Pacific Ocean, was placed under mandatory evacuation on Friday.
More footage of the devastation:







Cloud Precipitation

12 months' worth of rain in 2 days and unexpected snow hit New Zealand's South Island

Bridge collapse on South Island, New Zealand
© RNZ
Bridge collapse on main road between Christchurch and West Coast, South Island, New Zealand on October 8, 2018.

A massive dumping of spring snow hit South Canterbury today, leaving the town of Fairlie looking like a winter wonderland.

Spring lambs were also feeling the cold, caught out by the unexpected snow.

One Fairlie resident told 1 NEWS: "I think it's global warming gone mad, November the 9th and look at it, it's incredible, who would have forecast this?"

The weather made for an unexpected day off school for kids, some who were out and about on their bikes embracing the novelty.

Road snowfall warnings have been put in place for Arthur's Pass and Porters Pass (SH73).

The snow comes as NIWA says the amount of rain which fell on one West Coast glacier between 12am Wednesday and 9am today was more than Christchurch typically gets in a year.


Comment: See also: Road closures as spring snow hits South Canterbury, New Zealand

Stormy weather: Woman swept away by floodwater in New Zealand - Over half a metre of rainfall in 24 hours