Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Ice Age cometh: Heavy snowfall on Honduras-Guatemala border - Hail and snow in Irazu National Park, Costa Rica, 10 degrees north of equator!

snow Guatemala
© Cortesía de Nelson MartínezSnow in Guatemala, February 10th, 2016
Irazu Volcano National Park in Costa Rica received several inches of hail/snow on Feb 13, 2016. This is the second time within three years that this type of event has taken place. Interestingly, in 2013, the same peak experienced its FIRST EVER recorded hail accumulations. Guatemala also received snowfall that year of six inches.


Snowflake

Ottawa's record snowfall caught on time-lapse video

Snow video
Time-lapse video submitted by Twitter user Eric Dupere shows the accumulation of 50 cm of snow in Ottawa during a winter storm on Feb 16.


Snowflake Cold

Whiteface Mountain in New York state records minus 114; colder than Antarctica

Winds at Whiteface Mountain's summit blasted at 45 mph on Saturday night going into Sunday morning.
© The Wild CenterWinds at Whiteface Mountain's summit blasted at 45 mph on Saturday night going into Sunday morning.
While New York City had its coldest start to Valentine's Day in 100 years on Sunday, it would seem balmy compared with the wicked wind chill at upstate Whiteface Mountain.

As temperatures dropped across the Northeast from the blast of a polar vortex, the wind chill at Whiteface, near Lake Placid, made it feel like a body- and mind-numbing minus 114 degrees late Saturday and into Sunday. Central Park could only muster a minus 1 degree.

The Wild Center, which works with the Atmospheric Science Research Center at SUNY Albany, recorded the frigid temperature from a research station at the mountain's summit.


Snowflake Cold

Record-breaking cold sweeps across eastern United States

record cold across eastern US
An Arctic surge will bring bitter cold air to the Northeast this weekend, with record low temperatures expected.
So much for a warm and fuzzy Valentine's Day.

About 20 cities across the East endured record-breaking cold Sunday, forecasters say.

New York City's temperature plummeted to 1 below zero at Central Park, shattering the record of 2 degrees, set during World War I.

Boston reported 9 below. Toronto's temperature reached 16 below over the weekend.

And those are just the real temperatures.

Factor in strong winds, and states from northern Pennsylvania to Maine felt wind chills well, well below zero.

In all, more than 75 million people from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard are expected to be affected by snow and freezing rain into Tuesday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to brace for dangerous conditions.

"The city is facing some of the coldest temperatures and wind chills we've seen in the last 20 years," de Blasio said. "Extremely cold weather can be life-threatening -- especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions."

The mayor thanked first responders.

"I think, the combination of the way New Yorkers have heeded the warnings, and the fact that our first responders are out constantly scanning for anyone who might need help, it's been very effective. And thank God, we have no reports to date of any fatalities," he said.


Snowflake Cold

Arctic blast hits Central and Eastern Canada; temperatures minus 45 celsius

If you want to go outside when the temperatures plunge, a facemask can protect from frostbite and windburn.
© Pawel Dwulit/Canadian PressIf you want to go outside when the temperatures plunge, a facemask can protect from frostbite and windburn.
Bitter cold is gripping parts of Central and Eastern Canada as temperatures dipped to -45 C with the wind chill in some areas.

Environment Canada issued cold or winter storm warnings on Saturday for provinces from Manitoba to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The national weather forecaster said temperatures could fall to -45 C in Ottawa on Saturday with the wind chill, warming up to -35 C overnight.

In New Brunswick, temperatures were expected to hover between -35 C and -40 C with the wind chill until Sunday.

Quebec and Manitoba can expect much of the same, with temperatures warming up early next week.

Meanwhile, Newfoundland was bracing for a winter storm that could bring up to 20 cm of snow to eastern parts of the island.


Attention

Around 500 manatees crowd into a Florida spring to stay warm

Hundreds of manatees swim in the warmer spring water
© APTNHundreds of manatees swim in the warmer spring water
Like most sensible creatures, manatees, the sea cows that live in the waters around the US state of Florida, seek warmth when it's cold.

On Thursday morning, roughly 500 of the gentle, aquatic giants crowded into the Three Sisters Springs as temperatures along Florida's Gulf Coast dipped below 10 degrees Celsius.

The springs have been periodically closed to swimmers because of the large concentration of the endangered animals.

But that hasn't stopped visitors from flocking to the boardwalk to gawk at the behemoths, which can weigh up to 590kgs.

Manatees are very susceptible to cold weather.

They can suffer hypothermia and cold stress and will eventually die if they are in water below 20 degrees Celsius.



Snowflake

Costa Rica: Frost covers Irazú volcano in the middle of summer

escarcha costa rica
© Rutaalterna.org
This is how the Irazu Volcano National Park looks right now.


Comment: Frost in tropical Costa Rica in the middle of its summer? Nothing to see here folks, keep believing in global warming! Alternatively, you can have a look at these articles:


Snowflake

Heavy snowfall cripples life in northern Pakistan

Heavy snow fall in Murree,  Pakistan
© Sohail abbasiHeavy snow fall in Murree, Pakistan. 11.2.2016
Widespread rain with thunderstorm and snowfall in northwestern upper parts of the country continued since Wednesday evening, crippling life in hilly areas, Samaa reported Thursday.

According to Met Office, heavy snowfall was recorded in hilly areas of Malakand Division, Hazara Division, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

Popular tourist destinations of Naran, Kaghan, Shogran and Murree also received heavy snowfall, with many roads blocked including Shahrah-e-Karakuram.



Arrow Up

Warm weather breaks over a dozen temperature records across Alberta, Canada

record warm temperature in Calgary
© Drew Anderson/CBCThe ice that covered the Bow River just a few days ago has begun to thaw, thanks to consecutive days of above-zero temperatures in Calgary.
Warm weather broke over a dozen temperature records across Alberta on Tuesday, including in Edmonton.

The last record high temperature for Feb. 9 was set at 5.9 C at the Edmonton International Airport in 1995. On Tuesday, temperatures reached 7.9 C, setting a new record.

Temperature records were also broken in Brooks, Calgary, Claresholm, Drumheller, Grande Prairie, Jasper, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Peace River, Sundre and at the Waterton Park Gate.

Colin Fong, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the above average seasonal temperatures - which normally sit at -3.8 for this time of year - are caused by a ridge of high pressure.

"That ridge is just kind of ushering in that warm air from the south, keeping at bay all of those weather systems from the west," said Fong, keeping skies clear and temperatures warm.

"The highs are definitely on the good side of history, but as we see that ridge breaking down we're going to see that trend towards more of the normal," warned Fong.

Comment: See also: Records broken as winter heatwave hits Southern California


Snowflake Cold

1,747 village roads closed due to heavy snowfall in eastern Turkey

Snow covered park is seen after heavy snowfall as weather freezes, in Kayseri, Turkey on February 8, 2016.
© Anadolu AgencySnow covered park is seen after heavy snowfall as weather freezes, in Kayseri, Turkey on February 8, 2016.
Heavy snowfall, which started falling in several provinces across eastern Turkey on Saturday, caused the cancellation of many flights and led to the closure of roads, the Cihan news agency reported on Sunday.

A total of 1,747 village roads were closed due to heavy snowfall and storms in eastern Turkey. The roads include 791 in Erzurum, 362 in Muş, 262 in Kars, 252 in Ağrı, 50 in Erzincan and 13 in Ardahan. Snow reached a depth of 95 centimeters in central Muş, 77 centimeters in Ağrı city center and 32 in central Kars. Teams from the Special Provincial Directorate are working to clear snow from the roads.

The lowest temperatures in the region were recorded in Ağrı (minus 10 degrees Celsius), Erzincan (minus 9 degrees), Erzurum (minus 6 degrees), Kars (minus 4 degrees), Ardahan (minus 3 degrees) and Iğdır (minus 2 degrees).

Several flights to and from Muş and Erzurum on Sunday were cancelled due to the harsh weather conditions.