Extreme Temperatures
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Sun

New telescopes see magnetic flux ropes on Sun (which can't possibly affect Earths climate)

A new telescope has peered into the Sun to see solar magnetic flux ropes for the first time. Severe flux rope twists have been described as being like "earthquakes" on the sun, and are linked to eruptions of large solar flares that change magnetic fields, and cause radiation and energetic particles to rain on Earth.

We don't know much about solar magnetic flux ropes. We know they affect space weather, but thanks to climate experts we already "know" they can't possibly, ever in a million years, affect Earth's weather. Even though we've only just been able to see them and have no long term data on them, we have Global Circulation Climate models (which don't include these solar factors), so we have 95% certainty that none of the particles, fields or radiation changes have much impact on Earth. They might fritz satellites, electronics and communications, but Earth's atmosphere has no electrical component (wink), and the models "work" (kinda, sorta, apart from "the pause", the arctic, the ocean, the antarctic, and the holocene) without any of this fuzzy solar stuff. Got that? Repeat after me. The Sun does not affect Earth's climate. (Good boys and girls. You are fit for a government grant.)
Magnetic flux rope
© Chang LiuFine details of a magnetic flux rope captured by the New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory for Solar Active Region 11817 on 2013 August 11. The structure is further demonstrated by the 3-D magnetic modeling based the observations of Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board Solar Dynamic Observatory.
Science Daily: Scientists at NJIT's Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) have captured the first high-resolution images of the flaring magnetic structures known as solar flux ropes at their point of origin in the Sun's chromosphere.

Flux ropes are bundles of magnetic fields that together rotate and twist around a common axis, driven by motions in the photosphere, a high-density layer of the Sun's atmosphere below the solar corona and chromosphere.

Cloud Grey

Record April low temperatures logged overnight in parts of Northern Territory, Australia

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© ABC licensedA weather map released at 3:30am (CST) highlights temperatures in Australia during the early hours of April 30.
People in parts of the Northern Territory have experienced the coolest night of the year so far, with new record lows for April expected to be recorded in several places.

At 6:00am (CST) the temperature at Middle Point, 66 kilometres south-west of Darwin, was down to 13.1 Celsius, making it the coldest April temperature ever recorded at the site.

The temperature in Alice Springs was a chilly 1.7C overnight, making it the coolest night so far this year and fractionally above its coldest-ever recorded April temperature of 1.4C.

Bureau of Meteorology acting senior forecaster Billy Lynch said he expected it would have been an April record in several parts of the Top End overnight.

"It is just an indication that we are getting off to a really good start to the Dry Season," Mr Lynch said.

The low temperatures were also affecting Darwin, where it got down to 20.5C, making it the coolest night of the year so far.

But the record low overnight at Middle Point was still above the coolest temperature ever recorded in Darwin, which was just 10.4C in July 1942.

Ice Cube

Harsh winter kills 29% of blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay

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© Alyssa A. Botelho/The Washington PostA bushel of "Number 1" male blue crabs, the largest crabs that the watermen sell.
For the second straight year, a harsh winter killed more than a quarter of adult blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.

But a baywide survey of the crab population released Monday said there was encouraging news in spite of the blow. The overall population of the beleaguered crustacean climbed modestly from a catastrophic low last year.

The yearly winter dredge survey conducted by Virginia and Maryland marine scientists estimates that 411 million crabs are in the main stem of the bay and its tributaries, a 38 percent increase from last year's critically low population.

Officials at Virginia's Marine Resources Commission greeted the news as a positive sign but said it's probably not enough to lift strict limits on the numbers of blue crabs that can be commercially fished.

Snowflake

Record spring snowfall in Saskatoon, Canada

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Snow in Saskatoon.
Residents experience power outages, dig out from 30 centimeters of snow

Power has been restored for most of Saskatoon and city crews were out in force clearing streets following this weekend's record-breaking snowfall.

Saskatoon received 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow, the most of any region between Outlook and Melfort that saw snow over the weekend. The previous records for April 25 and 26 were 9.4 centimeters in 1954 and 7.6 centimeters in 1945 respectively.


Snowflake Cold

Blizzard brings over 2 meters (7 feet) of snow to Erzurum, Turkey

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7 feet of snow
Ağrı -Iran Transit Road Closed Due to Snowstorm

Lots of snow on the Silk Pass between Ağrı, Doğubayazıt and Diyadin county causing vehicles to be stuck on the road and forcing closure of roads to the Iranian border, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

A rescue operation was launched for stranded vehicles.

Highway 123 Branch Chief Fuat Öztürk, said in a statement to reporters that the snow came suddenly, due to a heavy blizzard and storm. The Silk Gateway road is closed to traffic of trucks that are caught in the spur because he stated that they wear summer tires.

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It took a lot of time and effort to clear the road to the village Tekman, where the electrical power was cut off by a snowstorm (tipi).

Snowflake Cold

Spring snowfall in Aberdeenshire, Scotland as temperatures plummet

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© Kirstie RossProper snow up at Turriff
Snow has hit the North-east today with temperatures in the region dropping below freezing.

The Met Office said Aberdeen will see "flashes" of snow showers throughout tonight.

A yellow warning for ice in Aberdeenshire and Moray was issued this evening and the alert is valid until 7am tomorrow.

And other areas, such as Aboyne, are expected to see the most snowfall.

A Met Office spokesman today said temperatures could drop to as low as -2C (19F) in some parts of rural Aberdeenshire later this evening.
Proper snow up at #Turriff :( this is not fun pic.twitter.com/liAPC4CTde

— Kirstie Ross (@EEkirstie) April 26, 2015

Snowflake

Band of late April snow blankets Great Lakes, Appalachians

A band of late April snow moved into the Great Lakes and Appalachians Wednesday, dropping up to 8.5 inches in some areas.
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© Jim SlusserSwanton, Maryland, is one area in the Mid-Atlantic seeing snow in late April.
"After a warmer stretch in April, blocking high pressure near Greenland has forced another prolonged, deep plunge of chilly air into the Great Lakes," weather.com meteorologist Jon Erdman said. "That deep, cold air pivoting into the Appalachians with surface temperatures just cold enough allowed snow to accumulate in parts of southwest Pennsylvania and far western Maryland. In the Great Lakes, up to 8.5 inches of snow was measured in parts of the western U.P. of Michigan and far northern Wisconsin."

Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, West Virginia and Wisconsin all saw snowfall by noon local time Wednesday.

Here are a handful of snowfall reports from the affected areas:
  • Champion, Pennsylvania - 3 inches
  • Oakland, Maryland - 2 inches
  • Bessemer, Michigan - 8.5 inches
  • Gile, Wisconsin - 8.5 inches
  • Davis, West Virginia - 2 inches
  • Isabella, Minnesota - 3 inches

Snowflake Cold

Global warming surprise! Freak April snow storm hits Moscow

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© RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov
Polar bears at the Moscow Zoo were in heaven, but millions of residents in the Russian capital certainly were not as a snowstorm - yes a snowstorm in the middle of April - brought gasps and groans from city dwellers.

Winter fur coats were hastily unpacked, while those who had been putting off changing their winter tires - probably through laziness - were blessing their good fortune.

Muscovites took to social media to make their feelings known, with sarcasm certainly coming to the fore. Some were questioning that global warming had by-passed Moscow, while others just let pictures do the talking.
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Snowflake

Irony overload: Global warming rally disrupted by snowfall

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Global warming sit in
Student activists with Fossil Free CU camped out the University of Colorado, in an attempt to force the Board of Regents to dump its endowment of fossil fuel holdings.

Instead, the group's Facebook page shows students camping out in the snow.

So much for global warming.

Thanks to Zandhaas in the Netherlands for this link

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© ffcu facebookHey you, look at all this 'global warming'

Igloo

April blizzard conditions cause 70-vehicle pile up on Wyoming interstate; 10 inches of snow in one day

As many as 70 vehicles piled up in one spot of a Wyoming interstate Thursday after a heavy April storm dropped almost 10 inches of snow on the area, authorities said.
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© Wyoming Highway PatrolMultiple-vehicle crashes in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 on Thursday, April 16, 2015, that closed the highway between Rawlins and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
An almost 150-mile-long stretch of Interstate 80 remained closed in both directions Thursday afternoon between Cheyenne in southeast Wyoming and Rawlins in the central part of the state because of treacherous, slick conditions that caused accidents across the area, officials said. The worst spot was near mile post 342, between Cheyenne and Laramie, two of the state's major population centers.

The state Highway Patrol said three major accidents happened at that location within just a few hours, the first at 11:22 a.m. ET (1:22 p.m. ET) in blizzard conditions. All told, as many as 50 commercial vehicles and 20 passenger vehicles were piled up at the scene, it said.

No deaths were reported, but the Highway Patrol said, "but multiple injuries have been confirmed." Details on the injuries weren't immediately available.

State Transportation Dept. traffic cameras showed that a long line of trucks and cars remained stalled at that location late in the afternoon:

The National Weather Service said parts of Laramie County along I-80 got up to 9.8 inches of snow — and things could get worse.

Snow was expected to increase overnight into Friday morning, with as much as a foot of snow expected along the southern Laramie range. "there will likely be significant impacts to travel, especially along Interstate 80 from Buford to Arlington," it said.

Comment: Average Snowfall for Wyoming in April:
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