Extreme Temperatures
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Cloud Precipitation

Hailstorms blanket parts of Saudi Arabia white

Snow on the road to Mecca
Snow on the road to Mecca
Al Jazeera confirms snow in Saudi Arabia. January 15, 2016

Video .. snow coats the migration route.

(One part of the Al Jazeera story says snow, a different part says hail. I'm guessing hail, but it still must have been a real shock to the drivers.)


Bizarro Earth

Giant avalanche almost buries Alpine resort

Residents of the town of Cervinia in northwest Italy learned firsthand what a "near miss" means as a gigantic wall of snow was about to devour the popular ski resort.
Avalanche
© Le Dauphiné Libéré/YouTube
On January 12 a huge, 300-meter-wide block of snow came off from the Jumeaux peak, which is almost 4,000 meters high, and plummeted toward the town until it stopped just short of the residential area. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

Snowflake Cold

Extreme cold: Siberia hits -32 degrees Celsius

minus 32
© www.flickr.comChilling out in Irkutsk, Russia
Severe frosts have hit the Russian province of Siberia with temperatures hitting minus 32 degrees Celsius. The city of Irkutsk on Monday was covered with a cold mist as residents wrapped up and hurried to work on the first day after a long New Year holiday break.

The extreme cold had taken many residents by surprise. "We of course were not prepared for such frost. It's cold. How else can one feel when it is that cold? Certainly, fresh. But still cold," said one Irkutsk resident. "You must wear a hat, a scarf and some warm coat like a sheepskin ...," said another resident.

Some residents, however, were more tolerant towards the cold claiming it was all good. "It's Siberia! It's normal. It's not a frost at all. All is good, nothing to be scared about," he said.

Snowflake Cold

Record snowfall in Merikarvia, Finland: Two and a half feet in 24 hours

Snow on car
© Jari Pelkonen / Yle Merikarvia residents drove their cars along snowy streets with the remnants of the record-breaking blizzard still on their roofs.
The western municipality of Merikarvia shoveled its way into history books on Saturday with a new Finnish record for snowfall in a single day. Local residents were in high spirits because of the chance notoriety, despite the wintry chaos.

The inhabitants of the municipality of Merikarvia in Western Finland were stunned overnight when their town became the site of a new Finnish record. At 8 am Saturday, meteorologists measured that more than 70 centimetres of snow had accumulated in a single 24-hour period, or close to two and a half feet.

Thankfully the white stuff was the light and fluffy kind, and not wet and slushy, as heavy snow drifts in such quantities can potentially cause significant damage.

"It was astonishing!" local Sirkka Puolitaival says. "But we had to believe it when nearly a metre of snow piled up on our outdoor trash cans."

For Puolitaival and many others, the snow work resulting from the record-breaking blizzard gave them a real workout.

"I'm sweating through my clothes; there's no need to visit the gym. If only I could dig out our garage and get my skis!"

Comment: Yet another case of record snowfall. Does the Ice Age cometh? For more information regarding the speed in which ice ages may develop and sudden glacial rebound, read:


Sun

South Africa heatwave claims 11 lives, as dam levels plunge 30%

South Africa heatwave
© EPA / Dennis M Sabangan File: South Africans are urged to keep hydrated during the heatwave

South African health officials said 11 people have died of heatstroke after a week-long heatwave across the country.

Provincial spokesman Tebogo Lekgethwane said Sunday, January 10, that eight people died on January 7, as temperatures passed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the North West province. Three more people died on January 8, and 16 others were hospitalized.

According to the South African Weather Service, the North West province reached record temperatures this week, with the highest at 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). The weather service warned that high temperatures may give way severe thunderstorms in the coming week.

In neighboring Namibia, the Namibian Press Association reported that severe storms damaged 31 houses, affecting nearly 100 people in recent weeks.

Parts of southern Africa are experiencing a drought due to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

AP

Comment: As the heatwave intensifies, dam levels have plunged by 30%, as the country experiences its most severe drought since 1992.


Ice Cube

Record number of 600 turtles rescued from ocean following cold snap in North Carolina

Turtle
Cold-stunned turtle
State biologists now say a record number of turtles were rescued earlier this week from our coast.

In all, 600 cold-stunned turtles were caught in frigid waters near the shore, as they were not able to swim.

The North Carolina Aquariums took in nearly 450 turtles, including the one at Pine Knoll Shores. Many of the turtles have made a quick recovery, but others need additional time and care before they can return to the ocean.

State officials say about 200 of the turtles will be transported to South Carolina & Georgia beaches tomorrow where they will be released into warmer waters. The rest will stay here for a couple of weeks for rehabilitation.

Snowflake Cold

Blizzards sweep across Armenia blocking major highways

Armenia - A highway covered with snow
© mtaes.amArmenia - A highway in Syunik province covered with snow, 1Jan 2016.
Unusually strong snowstorms have swept through Armenia in recent days, killing one person, blocking major highways and leaving many cars stranded.

The blizzards aggravated by freezing temperatures began on New Year's Eve and continued in various parts of the country in the following days. The southeastern Syunik province was hit particularly hard by the calamity.

Police found on Tuesday the dead body of a 48-year-old man near Goris, a town in Syunik. The man, who worked as a guard at a local cattle farm, reportedly went missing on Monday after heading home to get some food.

The continuing heavy snowfall in the area blocked on Tuesday morning traffic through a road connecting Goris to another regional town, Sisian. Dozens of vehicles were left stranded there.

Ice Cube

CCTV shows moment huge blocks of snow fall off shop roof onto pedestrians in Turkey

Snow falls on shoppers
© LiveLeak/DHACalm before the storm: Shoppers mill about on the High Street oblivious to the danger
This is the breath-taking moment a group of unwitting shoppers are felled by a MASSIVE snowfall .

The clip shows pedestrians milling about on a busy high street in Turkey.

Out of nowhere, a few flakes of snow begin to fall from the shop roofs above.

Then suddenly several tonnes of the white stuff descends from the heavens.

One man gets hit with such force that he collapses to the ground.


Snowflake Cold

Dozens of villages in Georgia lose power following heavy snowfall

snowfall
Snowfall in Georgia
Heavy snow continues today in a number of cities and regions in both west and east Georgia (former Soviet Republic).

Snow depth in the western town of Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Kobuleti, Batumi reaches 50-70 cm (20-28 inches) in some areas and other nearby cities - 1 meter (39 inches).

The temperature dropped to minus 10.5 degrees, in mountainous areas - to minus 15-20 degrees Celsius. Also in Abkhazia the heavy snow knocked out power to dozens of villages of western Georgia.

Power teams are working almost around the clock to restore power and brigades of workers with heavy machinery are working to clear the highways.

Binoculars

Rare Ivory gull from the Arctic turns up in Duluth, Minnesota

Ivory Gull
© Amar AyyashIvory Gull in Duluth
An Ivory Gull, resident of Arctic ice edges, has been seen for the past several days at Canal Park in Duluth.

This small gull is all white in breeding plumage, with black legs and feet.

The Duluth bird shows the random black marking of a bird in its first winter.

Ivory Gulls have been seen before in Minnesota, but rarely. Perhaps 2016 is opening with the year's highlight bird.