Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Weather chaos as Austria is hit by unseasonal heavy snowfall

Ischgl, Austria
Ischgl, Austria
Tens of thousands of homes in Austria were left without electricity and some residents had to be evacuated after areas of the country were hit by unseasonal heavy snowfall.

On Wednesday 15,000 homes in Carinthia and 6,500 in Styria lost electricity due to the weather and the whole of the country was affected by road blocks.

There are also concerns among the agricultural businesses that fruit and vegetable crops could be lost in the millions due to frost.

Experts warn the coldest day is yet to come, however, with temperatures expected to be as low as -10 degrees in some areas on Thursday - just days before the outdoor swimming pools are due to open for the summer season.


Snowflake Cold

Winter weather returns to Iceland with a vengeance

Snow in Iceland
© Rax / Ragn­ar Ax­els­son
Winter struck Iceland again with a vengeance last night, as heavy snow hit parts of the north-east.

Police and rescue services were called out several times during the night to assist with vehicles mired in snow on impassable roads. The national ring road was closed near Mývatn.

Temperatures dropped well below freezing in the northern town of Akureyri and conditions this morning there are described as wintry.

You can check out the status of road conditions in real time on the website of the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration here. Iceland Monitor also has a weather forecast section available for readers here.

Snowflake Cold

Thousands without electricity as April snowfall strikes Slovenia

Ljubljana on Thursday
© TanjugLjubljana on Thursday
Heavy snowfall has left about 10,000 households in the area of Slovenia's towns of Ljubljana, Dravograd, and Maribor without electricity.

The snow is also causing more traffic accidents, and has brought with it the threat of avalanches in some areas.

Snow continued to fall on Thursday in some parts of the country, while forecasters said that while precipitation would stop, low temperatures would persist for some time.

Most of Slovenia is currently under 25 centimeters of snow - 40 in mountain areas. Croatian news agency Hina said the snow broke branches on trees overnight, causing further trouble for drivers in some areas.

While authorities are warning against traveling to the mountains out of fear of avalanches, several ski resort said they expect an influx of guests over the coming weekend.



Source: Tanjug

Snowflake

Late April snowstorm hits Bosnia

snow in Spring
A late April snowstorm took Bosnia by surprise on Monday, especially as it followed a week of beautiful, balmy weather. (April 25)


Fish

South Florida corals dying from 'unprecedented' bleaching and disease

Florida coral bleaching
© Sun Sentinel
South Florida's corals are turning white and contracting fatal diseases in what's being called an unprecedented die-off across the region's reefs.

Off Hollywood, scientists witnessed the collapse of a minivan-sized coral colony that had started growing more than three centuries ago, when the Spanish ruled the peninsula. As recently as September, live coral tissue covered 90 percent of the colony's surface, making it among the oldest living things in the state. By December it was almost completely dead, said Brian Walker, a Nova Southeastern University research scientist, who found widespread mortality in corals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

"We saw a variety of diseases across the different corals," he said. "Some of the disease was recently active and had killed off a significant portion of the colony. It's wiped out entire species from parts of the reef. They're usually bleached white. You can see areas of just bare skeleton."


Comment: 93% of Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffering from coral bleaching


Cloud Precipitation

One massive storm, extreme weather in the U.S.

One massive storm system. Several different extreme weather results.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration water vapor loop
© Via College of DupageNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration water vapor loop.
A massive low-pressure center swirls over Denver. The effects of the giant comma-shaped storm stretch from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Welcome light rains in Minnesota. Record April heat in Seattle. Prolific snow totals in Colorado's high country. Torrential downpours and flash floods along the tail end of the troubled front in Houston.
More than 1000 water rescues today as torrential rains of 8"-16" inundated the Houston area https://t.co/WhVfcD9O7opic.twitter.com/hzh8lETrRd
— Weather Underground (@wunderground) April 18, 2016
When you get 15 inches of rain, there's just nowhere for the water to go. Cue the weather drones.
An #eyewitness news viewer sent us this drone video of flooding in Morton Ranch https://t.co/x6CS4vdJ54https://t.co/ThNOco3IRJ
— Houston News (@abc13houston) April 19, 2016
Houston flooding
© Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP
Rainfall totals between 10 and 17 inches are common across the Houston area with this storm. The heaviest totals of 15 inches-plus focused in the western suburbs.
17.6" of rain in parts of Houston metro today. More totals across SE Texas here: https://t.co/h0N3JXLFsI#houwx pic.twitter.com/7jK2XOKTuI
— NWSHouston (@NWSHouston) April 18, 2016

Comment: See also:


Sun

Death toll rises to 79 in Odisha, India as scorching heat wave continues

Heat wave in India
© PTI
Death toll due to sunstroke and heatwave rises to 79 as Odisha continued to reel under scorching heat wave with temperature above 46 degree Celsius reported in several places.

Western Odisha town Titilagarh sizzled at highest 48 degree Celsius, country's highest temperature in 20 years in month of April, while Talcher was the second hottest at 46.8 degree Celsius.

Titlagarh, which recorded 47.5 degree Celsius on Friday, witnessed the mercury rising further on Saturday in the western Odisha town.

With 18 towns in the state recorded temperature above 40 degree Celsius, the suspected death toll due to sunstroke rises to 79.

As an unwavering heat wave sweeping, the government on Saturday announced ex-gratia compensation of 50 thousand rupees for each death caused by sun stroke.

The special relief commissioner's office on Saturday said to meet the drinking water scarcity need, more than one thousand tankers have been pressed into water supply service while 745 teams were engaged in repair of tube wells.

The regional Met department said the heat wave condition would prevail in several parts of the state till tomorrow and also warned interior and western parts will continue to face crippling heat conditions in next two days

Comment: Recent data indicates an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in India in recent years. Last year alone, heat wave killed at least 2,500 people - a 50 per cent increase compared to 2014.


Sun

Brutal heat wave kills over 100 in India with temperatures over 115 degrees (46°C)

India heatwave
© Sipa via AP ImagesA man drinks water to cool off during a hot day as temperatures soared above 110 degrees on April 10, 2016 in Allahabad, India.
Dozens of deaths have been reported in India as temperatures soared to 115 degrees (46°C) in recent days.

The intense heat has come earlier and is more widespread than normal, according to BBC.com. Triple-digit temperatures have been reported all over the country's southern states as west winds prevail in areas like Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, preventing sea breezes from relieving coastal cities from stifling heat along the Bay of Bengal, the report added.

The heat wave was responsible for at least 111 deaths through Saturday in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Xinhua reported. A year ago, a heat wave killed some 2,300 people in those two states, Time.com said.

Sun

Bhubaneswar, India shatters all time heat records at 45.8°C, unprecedented heatwave continues

record heat in Bhubaneswar, India
© biswanath swain A stretch of National Highway near ISKCON temple wears a deserted look as Bhubaneswar registered a record temperature on Monday
The capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar, is under the grip of severe heat wave this summer season. While the city recorded its highest day temperature at 43.2°C on 5th April, the mercury has been settling several notches above than the normal. Due to an unprecedented heatwave, the Naveen Patnaik government has ordered the closure of all the schools till April 20.

The city recorded the maximum temperature on Sunday which was the highest in Odisha and second highest in India. But beating its own record, city witnessed the highest ever maximum temperature on Monday evening at 45.8°C.

The all-time highest maximum temperature for Bhubaneswar stands at 45.0°C.

Heatwave is experienced when the maximum temperature over a place is above 40°C and five to six degrees above normal average temperatures.

While April is just half way through and temperatures are setting new records every other day, peak summer months may bring more harsh weather to several cities of East India.

Bhubaneswar has been witnessing a long dry spell since March 21, which has led to sharp rise in the mercury. Due to absence of any rain or cool winds, the temperatures has been on a higher side.

According to Skymet weather, the heat wave conditions in East India including Odisha and Jharkhand is likely to continue for another week.

Comment: Unusually harsh summer heat kills 66 in India's Telangana state


Snowflake Cold

From warmest December on record to blizzards, wild winter sets records across the northeastern U.S.


Comment: For more recent wild and crazy weather, see our latest SOTT Earth Changes Summary - March 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs.


From the warmest December on record to the "Blizzard of 2016" and snow in April, the winter of 2015-2016 put itself in the record books across the northeastern United States.

The transition to a strong El Niño brought a much different weather pattern to the region compared to the winter of 2014-2015 which brought copious amounts of cold and snow.

The winter of 2015-2016 impacted the northeastern United States differently based on location, causing some locations to end with below-normal snowfall and above-normal snowfall in others.
2015-2016 Snowfall
Warmest December on record hinders lake-effect snow season

The AccuWeather winter forecast for the Northeast and Great Lakes highlighted a mild start to the winter season as El Niño strengthened in the equatorial Pacific. The milder pattern would also lead to a weak lake-effect snow season across the Great Lakes.

"We were certain that the winter cold would be less persistent and less frequent compared to last year," AccuWeather Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.

The mild start to the season failed to produce many days of air cold enough to produce significant bands of lake-effect snow prior to 2016.

"The mild pattern during November and December took over across the eastern United States and allowed very few lake-effect events to occur at the beginning of the season," Pastelok said.

While November ended as one of the warmest months on record for portions of the Northeast, December not only became the warmest month on record across the Northeast, but shattered the previous record.