Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

Heavy snow delays some summer road openings in Colorado

Snow on road
Several of Colorado's summer roads typically open for the Memorial Day weekend, but heavy snow is causing some delays this year.

Trail Ridge Road

Officials at Rocky Mountain National Park said crews have been working to clear Trail Ridge Road since late April.

Check out this photo of a snow plow driver working to clear Trail Ridge Road on May 4!

Trail Ridge Road
© Fritz PrehnTrail Ridge Road blocked by snow
The goal was to open the road Friday, but it will not open Friday due to snow, sleet and low temperatures Thursday night.


Sun

250 bats scorched to death in Dahod, India

Dead bats
At least 250 bats were scorched to death in Dahod district's Devgadh Baria town, forest officials said Saturday. The flying foxes dropped dead from two banyan trees along a lake and a temple of Lord Shiva - the only location where the mammals nest.

Forest officials have sought help from the fire department to create "artificial rain showers" to save the surviving bats from the bout of scorching summer. R B Jadav, Range Forest Officer of Devgadh Baria, said that the mammals have the capacity to bear temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius, beyond which they suffer severe dehydration.

Jadav told The Sunday Express, "This is the first time that such a large number of bats have died during the summer as the temperatures have risen beyond normal range. On Friday, with the help of the local civic body, we disposed of the carcasses by burying them with salt, as per the procedure."

Snowflake Cold

Unusual snowstorms and blizzards in China - three weeks before summer

Snowstorm blocked highway traffic in Northern Xinjiang
© YouTube/CCTV+ (screen capture)Snowstorm blocked highway traffic in Northern Xinjiang May 2016
China received unusual blizzards and snowstorms across four provinces over the last two weeks just weeks before summer. This occurred in the USA during the same time. Unusual is an understatement when a desert area gets a blizzard when it should be average temperatures of 30C/89F.


Comment: Snowfall records smashed across US as northern hemisphere struggles into 'summer'


Snowflake

Snowfall record hit on May long weekend in Fort St. John, Canada

Snow on Friday May 20, 2016 set a one day record for Fort St. John.
Snow on Friday May 20, 2016 set a one day record for Fort St. John.
The month of May has again lived up to its weather reputation in this region with record one day snowfall and precipitation amounts on Friday pushing monthly totals well past the norms.

The local airport weather station posted 19.4 centimetres of snow on Friday, and along with 1.2 millimetres of rain, that lifted the precipitation total to 20.6 millimetres.

The previous May 20th records were 18.8 millimetres of precipitation and only 1.6 centimetres of snow.

In addition when the Friday numbers were added to those posted Thursday, it resulted in two day snowfall and precipitation totals of 20.2 centimetres and 33.2 millimetres.

The latter was more than three and half times the amount of precipitation recorded at the airport station in the previous 18 days of this month, and it left the year-to-date total at 44.7 millimetres, nearly seven more than the May norm of 37.9.

Sun

India's roads melt as 'unprecedented' record-breaking heat wave continues

melting road in India
© NDTV/ YouTubeA man becomes stuck in melting tarmac as the heat wave in India continues

Temperatures hit a record-breaking 51C in the city of Phalodi, Rajasthan on Friday


India's on-going heat wave, which set a new record for the country's highest-ever recorded temperature last week, is melting tarmac on the roads of some of India's busiest cities.

Residents in the city of Valsad, Gujarat, had to fight melting tar while crossing the road as temperatures rose to 36C.

Video footage from NDTV shows people becoming trapped on a melting road surface as their shoes stick in the softening tarmac.


Cloud Grey

Coolest May temperatures since 1882 recorded for Washington DC; record number of rainy days

Rain in Washington DC
Washington Post tries to explain it away.

So far this May, Washington, D.C. has had "the coolest high temperatures since 1882," admits the Washington Post.

"This May's afternoon highs are running an incredible 15 degrees cooler than last May's," says the article. "And they still haven't hit 80 degrees."

This May's average high temperature is just 66 degrees (18.9 C), the second coldest on record month-to-date.

Month-to-date, the only cooler year on record is 1882, which boasted an average high of 65.5 degrees.

All 22 days have had highs below 80. The only other year not to have an 80-degree day this deep into May came in 1935.

And there's more!

Snowflake Cold

2016 to be one of the coldest May long weekends in 40 years for Calgary, Canada

Snow in Calgary
© Pam ZimmermannSnow in Calgary
After waking up to snow and recording a daytime high of just 5.5 C on Sunday, it should be of no surprise that we've had a historically cold weekend in Calgary.

In fact, 2016 is on track to be one of the coldest May long weekends over the past 40 years.

So far the mean temperature for the 2016 May long weekend is under 5 C.


Official numbers will need to come in for Monday, but with a forecast high of just 8 C, the weekend looks like it will end with a 'blah.'

The coldest Victoria Day long weekends since 1976 were back-to-back in the early 2000s. 2003 and 2004 were memorably cold all weekend, with temperatures ranging from -5.1 to 14.2 C in 2003 and -0.8 to 13.8 C in 2004. Their respective mean temperatures averaged over the four days came out to 4.2 C in 2003 and 5.4 C in 2004.

Comment: See also: Snowfall records smashed across US as northern hemisphere struggles into 'summer'


Snowflake

Huge snowstorm pounds parts of northwest China; 2 meters (almost 7 ft) of snow paralyzes traffic

Snow in China
Two meters (almost 7 ft) of snow paralyzes traffic in northern Xinjiang. Traffic has been at a standstill for three days now.

17 May 2016 - Powerful snowstorm struck the mountainous Altai Region in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, paralyzing traffic, according to CCTV channel.

Snow along the Altai mountain range covered 26-kilometer section of the highway. Snow cover at the checkpoint on the border between China and Mongolia amounted to more than two meters.

Local authorities have sent a detachment of emergency response and excavators to clear the affected sections of the road.


Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for these links

Sun

New all-time record high temperature set in India; 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius)

India's all-time record high set Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Rajasthan state.
India's all-time record high set Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Rajasthan state.
India has set an all-time record high for any calendar day as extreme heat continues to sear northwest parts of that country and adjacent portions of Pakistan.

The high temperature reached 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit (51 degrees Celsius) in Phalodi, India, Thursday. This topped India's previous all-time record high for any calendar day of 123.1 degrees Fahrenheit (50.6 degrees Celsius) set in Pachpadra on May 25, 1886, according to weather records from Maximiliano Herrera.


In neighboring Pakistan, temperatures have risen to "critical" levels this week, the Pakistani Meteorological Department reports.

The high temperatures topped out at 124.7 degrees Fahrenheit (51.5 degrees Celsius) Thursday in the city of Jacobabad.

Sun

India records its hottest day ever as temperature hits 51C (123.8F)

India heatwave
© Reuters

The heatwave has already killed hundreds and destroyed crops across the country


A city in western India has suffered through the country's highest recorded temperature .

The record - a scorching 51C (123.8F) - was set in the city of Phalodi, in the western state of Rajasthan.

India's meteorological department said the previous high was 50.6C (123 F), reached in 1956 in the city of Alwar, also in Rajasthan.

Authorities have issued a severe heatwave alert for the next two days in the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and parts of the central state of Madhya Pradesh. That means the areas can expect temperatures of 47C (116.6F) or more.

The main summer months - April, May and June - are extremely hot across most parts of India before monsoon rains and cooler temperatures arrive.