Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

Over 60 cm of snow hits British Columbia's southern interior; daily snowfall record for several communities

Much of the Kootenay region, including this property near Nelson, is digging out after days of record-breaking snowfall.
© Bob KeatingMuch of the Kootenay region, including this property near Nelson, is digging out after days of record-breaking snowfall.
Sparwood, Castlegar, Cranbrook break official Environment Canada daily snowfall record

Communities in the B.C. southern Interior are coping with a record-breaking February snowfall resulting in highway mayhem, school closures and extreme avalanche warnings.

The small town of Sparwood in the Elk Valley has already received 60 centimetres of fresh snow Monday, demolishing the previous record of 18.3. Cranbrook and Castlegar also both broke snowfall records two days in a row.

"A lot of areas are getting hit pretty hard," said Jennifer Hay, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.


"It's going to go on for the next few days. We'll definitely have a few breaks in there, but we won't see a change in the pattern until probably Friday."



Comment: See also: Areas of British Columbia receive yearly snowfall average in just 72 hours


Bizarro Earth

Apocalyptic scenes in Louisiana and New Orleans after four huge tornadoes flip cars and trash homes

New Orleans tornado
© APA man walks down the street past destroyed homes after a tornado tore through the eastern part of New Orleans
Parts of eastern New Orleans are looking like a disaster area following a line of severe weather that blew through the city on Tuesday morning.
An enormous storm ended up flipping over cars, tore the roofs off homes, ripped through a gas station canopy, broke tall power poles off their foundations, flipped a food truck upside-down and left a couch resting improbably on a pile of debris in the middle of a road.

Hail as big as ping-pong balls was observed near Kenner, Louisiana. More than 10,000 homes and businesses lost power in southeastern Louisiana because of the storms.

Severe thunderstorms swept across the Gulf Coast region, where at least four damaging tornadoes and large hail were observed in parts of southeastern Louisiana, including New Orleans.


Additional images

Snowflake Cold

Lowest temperature in history recorded for Qatar

QATAR
© NASA/NOAA/DoDQatar
On Sunday, February 5, 2017, weather station located in Qatar's southwest measured 1.5 °C (34.7 °F) which is the coldest recorded temperature in the weather monitoring history of the State of Qatar.

Qatar Meteorology Department (QMD) said the temperature was registered in the coastal city of Abu Samrah, in the country's southwest. The new record low temperature is the lowest since the 3.8 °C (38.8 °F) recorded in January 1964 in the city of Mesaieed.

Interestingly, neighboring UAE received rare snowfall in its mountainous region this weekend and registered -5 °C (23 °F) and 10 cm (3.9 inches) of accumulated snow.

The cold wave started affecting Qatar, and the Arabian Peninsula in general, on Wednesday evening, February 1.

Snowflake Cold

Rare polar phenomenon, Sudden Stratospheric Warming, could trigger big freeze across UK

UK snow travel chaos
© Trinity MirrorSnow chaos is predicted for Scotland after the arrival of a rare polar weather system
The UK faces a three-week freeze with temperatures plunging as cold as -15C because of a rare North Pole phenomenon that triggered the 2010 big freeze and nationwide white-out. The worst cold spell of winter, with widespread snow, ice and travel chaos, threatens from February 11.

The North Pole's high-altitude air has suddenly warmed up and is set to shunt cold low-level Arctic air south to Scotland. However, the whole of the UK is set for a bitter spell of freezing temperatures.

The event, known as a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) usually chills Scotland for two weeks or longer and sees widespread snow. It has not occurred for four years, official records show. The warning points to the Arctic phenomenon in its February to April forecast being briefed to the Cabinet Office, transport bosses, councils and emergency services.

An SSW often allows cold air to flood Britain from the east and is forecasting "colder and drier conditions" from the end of the week for up to three weeks, lasting into March. The last SSW event to hit Scotland was in early 2013, which saw the coldest March for 51 years, with snow and -12.5C lows as late as March 31 in Braemar, Aberdeenshire.

Snowflake

Areas of British Columbia receive yearly snowfall average in just 72 hours

Heavy snowfall in Chilliwack
© Mike HellingerHeavy snowfall in Chilliwack
Heavy snow continues in B.C. Monday across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, with snowfall warnings still in effect for several parts of the province.

The storm caused tens of thousands of outages over the weekend peaking at 128,000, though fewer than 2,000 remain Monday morning. Some mountain highways remain closed including, Highway 3 in both directions at the B.C./Alberta border due to low visibility. The Alex Fraser Bridge was also closed for a short period of time Sunday afternoon due to poor weather.

Around 43 cm of snow has fallen in Powell River, with an astonishing 77 cm recorded in Chilliwack. It's estimated both communities have received their yearly snowfall average in 72 hours.

Many schools in the Fraser Valley have closed their doors Monday including, the University of the Fraser Valley due to deteriorating road conditions. Langley, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Hope, Mission and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school districts are closed.


Arrow Down

Series of avalanches kill over 100 across Afghanistan

People remove snow from their house in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on Feb. 5, 2017.
© Ghulam Mustafa / EPAPeople remove snow from their house in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on Feb. 5, 2017.
More than a 100 people have been killed in a series of avalanches triggered by days of heavy snowfall around Afghanistan, including 50 in one village, officials said on Sunday, warning the death toll could rise still further.

The avalanches struck after three days of heavy snow, which has destroyed scores of homes and blocked roads mainly in central and northeastern provinces, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the stricken villages.

The bulk of the deaths however occurred in remote Nuristan province, where at least 50 people were killed in a single village, Mohammad Omar Mohammadi, a spokesperson for the ministry of natural disaster told AFP.

"Avalanches have buried two entire villages in Bargmatal district, 50 bodies were recovered from one village while rescuers are trying to reach the other village," said the spokesperson.

Elsewhere 54 people were killed in northern and central Afghan provinces, where officials said massive avalanches destroyed 168 houses and killed hundreds of cattle.

Bad weather and deep snow had hampered efforts of rescue workers to reach the isolated villages, raising fears the toll could rise sharply, according to officials.



Snowflake Cold

NOAA said in 1974 global cooling to starve the planet; freezing smog engulfs Europe

Poking out of the rock-hard ground and covered in snow, these Spanish vegetables haven't made it to our supermarket shelves
Poking out of the rock-hard ground and covered in snow, these Spanish vegetables haven't made it to our supermarket shelves
NOAA came out in 1974 and said get ready that a new cooling era on Earth will starve the population, then along comes the once in a 3000 year Grand Solar Maximum delaying what was thought a beginning of a new Little Ice Age in the late 1970's. Now its back, the cooling has begun, vegetable rationing in Europe from cold, New Zealand temperatures drop 1C and freezing smog engulfs Europe.


Sources

Arrow Down

2 avalanches kill at least 10 in Chitral, Pakistan; snowfall breaks 20-year record

Representative image
Representative image
At least nine people, including women and children, were killed when an avalanche struck in Chitral during wee hours of Sunday.

According to administration officials, three houses were completely buried in the snow and 19 others were affected in Karimabad Valley. Most of the families have been evacuated.


The district administration official told The Express Tribune that Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had called for helicopter services from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as the area remained inaccessible due to heavy snow in the last 48 hours.

Snowflake

Unprecedented snow claims over 40 lives in Afghanistan, Pakistan also affected

Unprecedented snow claims over 40 lives in Afghanistan, Pakistan also affected February 2017
A park in Kabul is blanketed in snow
Sunday declared a public holiday as unprecedented snowfall blocks roads, delays domestic and international flights

Over 40 people have been confirmed dead on Sunday as snowstorms wreak havoc on various parts of Afghanistan, prompting the government to declare Sunday a public holiday.

The unprecedented snow in a decade has led to the closure of main highways leaving many people stranded, out of power and other supplies.

Comment: See also:


Red Flag

Vegetable rationing after extreme weather devastates European crops

Europe vegtables rationing
© Victoria Jones/PA
European agriculture has been decimated with at least 80% losses which have led to black market sales of produce, rationing, shortages, collapsed greenhouse facilities and bankruptcy for farmers. The losses are beyond epic and this is what is expected in the new grand solar minimum, but the media brushes it away saying its bad weather in Europe.