Extreme Temperatures

From September to May, it keeps snowing in Denver, Colorado

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Tue, 11 May 2021 18:52 UTC

Conditions near Larkspur as published by the National Weather Servic

Snow has fallen in the Mile High City over nine straight months, spanning 245 days

A seemingly endless snow season has gripped the Mile High City, where flakes first flew in early September and fell again late Monday into Tuesday. A coating to a few inches of snow covered much of the Denver region Tuesday morning.

The snow accumulated mostly on grassy areas and caused few problems, but it extended one of Denver's longest snow seasons on record, spanning 245 days.

The first flakes of the season fell in the city on Sept. 8, when an inch fell just one day after high temperatures in the 90s. It was the first measurable September snow since 1994.

While small amounts of snow fell in October (four inches), November (five inches), December (seven inches) and January (3.1 inches), it wasn't until February that Denver really started to get dumped on.

"Seems like in February things seemed to turn around," said Jim Kalina, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colo. "February [with 13.5 inches of snow], March [34 inches] and April [12.6 inches] were all above normal."

Heavy snow hits Australian ski resorts a month early

Sam McPhee
Daily Mail Australia
Wed, 12 May 2021 06:01 UTC

A blizzard has lashed Australia's ski resorts more than a month early in welcome signs for the nation's skiers and snowboarders (pictured, Thredbo resort on Wednesday morning)

A 'blizzard' has lashed Australia's ski resorts more than a month early in welcome signs for the nation's skiers and snowboarders.

Temperatures fell to nearly 0C on Tuesday night, seeing a heavy downpour of snow to fall throughout the night through New South Wales snowy mountains.

Both Thredbo and Perisher ski resorts received a 10cm dump of snow at their village level alone, with much deeper powder at the top of the runs.

Mid-May snow dumps are rare in the region but offer a welcome sign for people hoping to get their skis on when the snow season gets going in June.

Perisher recorded 74.7mm of rain overnight Tuesday, resulting in large snowfall across the region.

Spring snow accumulates in parts of Colorado and Wyoming

USA Today
Tue, 11 May 2021 14:55 UTC

Interstate 70 near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel in Colorado on May 10

Portions of Wyoming and Colorado got another taste of winter on May 10 with several inches of snow accumulating across higher elevations.

Forecast of 16 inches of May snow prompts 'winter storm warning' in Colorado

Spencer McKee
Out There Colorado
Mon, 10 May 2021 18:05 UTC

A winter storm warning has been issued for parts of Colorado after the National Weather Service has predicted between eight and 16 inches of snow in parts of the state through Tuesday afternoon, with higher totals possible in isolated areas.

Areas impacted by the warning include Rocky Mountain National Park, the Medicine Bow Range, the mountains of Summit County, the Mosquito Range, the Indian Peaks, and the Front Range foothills. The warning is currently in place from 3 PM on Monday through 3 PM on Tuesday. A few places of interest this warning includes are the Eisenhower Tunnel, Breckenridge, Mount Evans, Georgetown, and Estes Park.

See a full map of the storm prediction below:

Hungary records its coldest April of the 21st century

Hungary Today
Mon, 10 May 2021 13:27 UTC

April this year was the coldest this century, and it was the 15th coldest since 1901, Hungary's weather service said on Sunday.

The month was 2.9 C. cooler than the average of 11.4 C. recorded between 1991 and 2020, the service said on its website and on Instagram.

April was especially capricious this year, witnessing snow and even snowdrifts.

Several other records were also broken during the month, with 80.7mm of rain drenching Tokaj, in eastern Hungary, on the first day of the month, while in Budapest, the record for the hottest day (26.1 C.) was broken on the same day.

On April 15, the coldest day, the mercury did not get above -0.6 C. in Kekesteto in the north of the country.

Mass deaths of reindeer on Yamal peninsula in Russia might be linked to climate change, scientists believe

The Siberian Times
Mon, 10 May 2021 12:53 UTC

© Arctic Lab Yamal
First reports about winter rains followed by lengthy spells of extremely cold weather on Yamal appeared in December 2020.

Thousands of domestic and wild animals perished because they couldn't get to forage locked under ice.

New ideas to rescue reindeer herding are urgently needed for the Yamal peninsula, said members of the scientific expedition that just returned from the trip to its northern tundra.

'The perished reindeer were observed all around the northern tundra, among them were wild reindeer who also suffered from icing and lack of forage. Herders showed us that their hooves were worn out because they had to dig through ice so much', said researchers Alexandra Terekhina and Alexander Volkovitsky from the Arctic Research Station in Labytnangi, part of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology.

More than halfway through spring, snow covers Montana prairies

USA Today
Sat, 08 May 2021 12:19 UTC

Throughout Montana on May 8, people said hello to winter weather again as snow blanketed the landscape.

England is on for its coldest May since record-keeping began back in 1659 (during the Maunder Minimum)

Cap Allon
Electroverse
Fri, 07 May 2021 07:08 UTC

Following its coldest APRIL since 1922, England is now on for its coldest MAY since record-keeping began some 362 years ago-since the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715)!

Back in 1659, England was still processing the death of Richard Cromwell, who, after the execution of King Charles I, had ruled the Commonwealth of England for 5 years. The year 1659 is also the start date of the Central England Temperature (CET) dataset, which has proved an invaluable resource for meteorologists and climate scientists alike. Astonishingly, what the dataset reveals in 2021, in this time of supposed "catastrophic global heating," is that England is on for its coldest May in more than three and a half centuries (at least).

Even more astonishingly, note that 1659 falls within the early-stages of the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715)-a period of reduced global temperatures correlating with historically low solar activity during which the Sun was often devoid of sunspots for years and even decades at a time. Therefore, what the English are experiencing this May eclipses the extreme lows documented during the last full-blown Grand Solar Minimum.

"Snow in May," reports the BBC.

"Lake District skiers 'giddy' in unseasonal weather," continues the headline.

Comment: We're entering an ice age. Its effects will likely be felt within the coming year, and its devastating consequences over the next 3-5 years.

See also:

Two avalanches after heavy May snowfall in French Alps kill 7 - total of 12 such deaths within week for region

France24
Sat, 08 May 2021 17:15 UTC

Two avalanches in the French Alpine region of Savoie left seven people dead Saturday, prefecture sources said.

Local authorities had already warned Friday of unstable snow formations given a recent falloff in temperatures.

The first avalanche occurred late morning at Valloire, a village close to the 2,642-metre (8,670 foot) Col du Galibier mountain, killing four local people aged between 42 and 76.

They were among a five-strong group of walkers one of whom was found safe and well by rescuers after two helicopters were scrambled.

Comment: Details of the other fatalities: Five killed in two snow avalanches in the French Alps

Some footage of the recent snowfall in the district of Savoie: