Extreme Temperatures
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Igloo

Canadian mountain resort receives almost two meters of snow in a week

Whistler Blackcomb snowfall
© Via Twitter@ApresWheeler
Whistler Blackcomb has received over 190 centimetres of snow in the last seven days, and the powder won't stop falling anytime soon.

The mountain resort reports they have measured 26 centimetres of new snow in the last 12 hours, 86 centimetres in the last two days, and 192 centimetres in the last week. With only three days into the 2016/2017 winter season, they already have a base of 206 centimetres at mid-mountain.

For skiers and boarders planning on ending their weekend making fresh lines in the snow, the weather will continue to cooperate on Sunday and maybe even make way for some blue sky.

Temperatures will be frosty at -5 C up the mountain with sunny periods and flurries developing around noon, but winds gusting up to 45 km/h will add extra chill to the air. Forecasters at Whistler expect another four to eight centimetres to fall on Sunday and three to five to fall on Wednesday.

Snowflake Cold

Coldest November for the Netherlands since 1998

Frost
© Johan Neven / Wikimedia Commons
This month was the coldest November the Netherlands had since 1998. The average temperature for November, measured at De Bilt, came down to 5.5 degrees. On 12 days the minimum temperature dropped below zero, according to meteorological institute KNMI.

The hottest it was this month was in Westdorpe in Zeeland, where the maximum temperature was 15.2 degrees on November 1st. Despite the low temperatures, this November was quite sunny. There was about 85 hours of sunshine, compared to the November average of around 63 hours.

According to Weerplaza, this autumn is full of extremes. Temperatures in the Netherlands went from 33 degrees to -7 degrees in three months.

Snowflake Cold

Frigid air mass building in Alaska, poised to descend into lower 48 next week

Alaska temperature Nov. 29, 2016
Alaska is witnessing its coldest air in almost two years, and some of the biting chill is forecast to plunge into the western United States in about a week's time.

In Fairbanks on Tuesday morning, the temperature tanked to minus-31 degrees, ending a 624-day stretch in which it was warmer than that — the second longest on record. Tuesday afternoon, the mercury only recovered to minus-21, ending a record-long 658-day stretch with highs above minus-10.

It was even colder in Bettles, Alaska, on Tuesday, where the temperature dropped to minus-41 with a bone-chilling wind chill of minus-53.

Statewide, it was the first time Alaska's daily temperature index was significantly below normal in almost a year.

Comment: From Paul Dorian at Vencore Weather:






Snowflake

Winter storm forces stretches of I-94, I-90 to close in parts of North Dakota and South Dakota

Snow on road
The North Dakota Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol have closed eastbound and westbound Interstate 94 from Mandan to Dickinson because of the winter snowstorm affecting most of central and western North Dakota.

In South Dakota, Interstate 90 was closed in the northern Black Hills from Rapid City to Spearfish.

On the 94-mile stretch of interstate from Mandan to Dickinson, the patrol said parts are blocked with heavy snow drifts along with extremely icy and snow compacted stretches. The patrol also said there was near zero visibility at times creating hazardous driving conditions.

The portion of the interstate was expected to remain closed throughout Tuesday night

Snowflake Cold

This year's extreme heat attributed to El Nino, not greenhouse emissions - globe sees net COOLING this year

temperature drop
Stunning new data indicates El Nino drove record highs in global temperatures suggesting rise may not be down to man-made emissions
Global average temperatures over land have plummeted by more than 1C since the middle of this year - their biggest and steepest fall on record. According to satellite data, the late 2016 temperatures are returning to the levels they were at after the 1998 El Nino.

The news comes amid mounting evidence that the recent run of world record high temperatures is about to end. The fall, revealed by NASA satellite measurements of the lower atmosphere, has been caused by the end of El Nino - the warming of surface waters in a vast area of the Pacific west of Central America.

Some scientists, including Dr Gavin Schmidt, head of NASA's climate division, have claimed that the recent highs were mainly the result of long-term global warming.

Others have argued that the records were caused by El Nino, a complex natural phenomenon that takes place every few years, and has nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions by humans.

The new fall in temperatures suggests they were right.
  • Global average temperatures over land have plummeted by more than 1C
  • Comes amid mounting evidence run of record temperatures about to end
  • The fall, revealed by Nasa satellites, has been caused by the end of El Nino
Big El Ninos always have an immense impact on world weather, triggering higher than normal temperatures over huge swathes of the world. The 2015-16 El Nino was probably the strongest since accurate measurements began, with the water up to 3C warmer than usual.

It has now been replaced by a La Nina event - when the water in the same Pacific region turns colder than normal.

Comment: See also:


Snowflake Cold

Snow covers sand in Saudi Arabia after temperatures drop below zero

Saudi Arabia snow and sand
© alarabiya.net
White and brown merged into one color as snow covered the desert sand in central and northwestern regions in Saudi Arabia after temperatures dropped below zero Celsius.

In the central city of Shakra' and the northwestern city of Tabuk, thin layers of snow carpeted the ground. In Tabarjal, a town located in the northern Al-Jawf region temperatures reached -3 Celsius, and in Al-Quryat, a northern province, the temperature was -1 Celsius.
Snow in Saudi Arabia
© alarabiya.net
Rainfall continues

While mid-October usually marks the short-lived peak for Saudi Arabia's rainfall season, the kingdom is still experiencing light to medium showers. Saudi Arabia on Friday witnessed medium to heavy rainfall with many Saudis posted photos and videos of their cities under the rain.

Light to medium rainfall also continued in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Professor Abdallah al-Musanad, professor of climate science at Qassim University, told Alarabiya.net, that rainfall is expected by the end of this week in all of western, eastern and central Saudi Arabia.

Snowflake Cold

Global sea temperatures drop and record snow falls across Europe, Asia and USA

Stockholm record snowfall
© JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty ImagesStockholm had its snowiest November day in 111 years.
The onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was lightning fast, sea surface temperatures are dropping globally and snow records drop across Europe, Asia and USA. The Southern hemisphere is far below normal temperatures and Australia loses up to 90% of its wheat crop due to frost and cold throughout 2016.


Comment: See also:


Snowflake

More weird weather hits Australia; snow falls in Tasmania just days ahead of summer

snow in Tasmania November 2016
© Tasmanian Rover Ski Club.Snow falling in Tassie has sent internet punters into a tail spin.
Just when you think the weather in Australia can't get any weirder, it always manages to, and then some.

With summer merely days away it has begun to snow in Tasmania.

Footage shows snow falling in our southern most state late Wednesday afternoon has gone viral and left internet users stunned.

The footage was uploaded to the Tasmanian Rover Ski Club social media accounts as a possible last minute push for potential ski bunnies to flock to the slopes.

"It is only 7 days until summer though you would not think that on Ben Lomond late this afternoon," the post reads.

The footage has been viewed over 170,000 times since it was first posted.

The temperature today in Tasmania will reach a low of 7 degrees.

Tasmanians could be witnessing a new trend, the Apple Isle having been struck by out-of-season around the same time last November and again in February this year.

In stark contrast, neighbouring Victoria this week experienced severe thunderstorms, high winds, grassfires and a steep drop in temperature from a November record high - all in one day.


Igloo

November snow in Tokyo - First time in 50-years

Snowing November in Tokyo
© AP Photo/Koji SasaharaPeople walk against blowing snow in Tokyo.
Japan's capital is experiencing November snow for the first time in more than 50 years, data from the Japan Meteorological Agency shows.The snowfall was registered on Thursday morning in central Tokyo. It was also snowing in the cities of Yokohama, Kofu, Utsunomiya and Maebashi. According to the NHK broadcaster, this is the first time that it is snowing in November in Tokyo in 54 years.

Japan's meteorologists do not exclude that by Friday morning, there could be up to two centimeters (almost one inch) of snow in Tokyo.


Snowflake Cold

Siberian snow theory points to early, frigid winter in U.S.

winter siberia
© Andrey Rudakov/BloombergA frozen road in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia.
  • U.S. could get a blast of cold from north to south in December
  • MIT scientist's research contradicts prevailing U.S. forecasts
For those cursing the unseasonable November chill, there's an ominous sign up north. It suggests this winter will be long and cold, according to one eminent scientist.

He's the father of the "Siberian Snow Theory." In a nutshell, he argues that the more snow covering the ground in northern Eurasia, the colder we can expect it down below. Sadly, Siberia is looking pretty white already.

Judah Cohen, a renowned MIT climatologist, has been working on this theory for 17 years, despite skepticism from some U.S. government weather experts. Cohen, who figures his theory has been right 75 percent of the time, spies all the makings of an early, cold winter.

"This year, we have had this very textbook situation," Cohen said.

Comment: The signs are already here, with early snowfalls and cold records already being set: