Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

Firefighters conduct rescue operations after heavy snow in Northern Italy

Two cool cats
Two cool cats
Italian firefighters staged rescue operations in the Belluno region on December 8 after heavy snowfall in northern Italy, according to Italian reports.

Reports said eight people were reportedly trapped in Passo Giau.

In another operation on the same day, nine people were rescued at Passo San Pellegrino.


Comment: Historic levels of snow falls in parts of the Alps - up to 3 meters, with another meter forecast


Attention

French rescue helicopter crashes in the Alps during bad weather, killing 5

This picture taken on Dec. 9, 2020, shows houses and a church under snow at the entrance of Bonvillard, France, where a helicopter crash left five dead with only the pilot surviving but badly wounded.
© AFPThis picture taken on Dec. 9, 2020, shows houses and a church under snow at the entrance of Bonvillard, France, where a helicopter crash left five dead with only the pilot surviving but badly wounded.
Five people were killed when a rescue helicopter crashed in poor weather in the French Alps Tuesday.

The Eurocopter EC135 was flying at an altitude of about 5,900 feet when it came down near the town of Bonvillard, about 10 miles from Albertville in the Savoie area of the French Alps, according to a government news release.

Local authorities said weather conditions were particularly bad at the time, the Associated Press reported. It was overcast with low cloud ceilings and some snow was falling in the area Tuesday night, according to weather.com meteorologists.

Six people were on board, including the pilot, a pilot in training, two rescue personnel and two winch operators, according to the BBC.


Snowflake

Historic levels of snow falls in parts of the Alps - up to 3 meters, with another meter forecast

snow
Up to 3m has fallen in parts of Italy and Austria. The huge storm started on Friday and though it has eased, it is still falling in places with a further 1m expected.

Winter has struck with a vengeance in some parts of the Dolomites in Italy and in southern Austria.

Here is the snow coming down in Madonna di Campiglio:


Comment: View more videos: Winter storm dumps up to 2 meters of snowfall in the Alps causing problems, with another meter forecast


Snowflake

Heavy snowfall hits Ifrane, Morocco

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Heavy snowfalls hit Northern Africa, Ifrane, Morocco. Snow in desert.


Snowflake

Winter storm dumps up to 2 meters of snowfall in the Alps causing problems, with another meter forecast

SNOW
That it snows in the mountains in December is not at all exceptional. But in recent hours, up to two meters of snow fell in the Alps and that causes problems here and there. There is also an avalanche danger in many places.

Traffic in particular will experience a lot of disruption on Sunday. There are currently no trains running on the Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy. Car traffic is also partly blocked.

There are power supply problems throughout South Tyrol, according to the civil defense. Some 1,400 firefighters have been active since Sunday morning. The highest avalanche warning applies in East Tyrol in Austria. That is why avalanches are generated spontaneously, some of them very large, the local authorities warn.


Snowflake

Southeast Australia experiences summer snow in alpine regions

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As if 2020 couldn't get any weirder, snow has fallen on parts of Australia in the height of summer.

Victorian ski resort Mt Buller resembled a European winter on Sunday as flurries descended on the chalets and slopes.

Marketing manager David Clark said it was magical.

"Snow at this time of year is not unheard of," he told NCA NewsWire, explaining: "It probably snows a couple of times throughout summer each year.

"But to have it in December, so close to Christmas, was really nice."


Comment: Tasmania wakes up to SNOW on the second day of summer in Australia


Snowflake

'We got over three feet of snow in 18 hours' - remote West Chilcotin lodge owner in British Columbia

Residents living in a remote area of the West Chilcotin spent six days digging out after receiving 90 cm of snow in 18 hours on Friday, Nov. 27.
© Jennifer TolandResidents living in a remote area of the West Chilcotin spent six days digging out after receiving 90 cm of snow in 18 hours on Friday, Nov. 27.
Jennifer Toland said neighbours told her it's the biggest snow fall since the 70s

It took some residents living in a remote area of the West Chilcotin six days to dig out from the winter storm that hit the region on Friday, Nov. 27.

"After we got over three feet of snow in 18 hours, we spent lots of time clearing a trail out," Jennifer Toland who owns Eliguk Lake Lodge Outfitters with her husband Arön told the Tribune.

Their lodge is located along the famous Alexander Mackenzie Grease Trail, at 3,600 feet near the base of the Itcha Ilgatchuz mountain range.

Snowflake

Parts of Kansas saw up to a foot of snow from winter storm

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Winter weather moved through Kansas Thursday morning, bringing slick roads that led crashes and slide offs across Wichita.

Westbound Kellogg saw delays all morning after a crash near Washington. Northbound 235 was in a similar situation after a crash near 29th N. There were other crashes across the area, but no serious injuries were reported.

The highest snowfall amount recorded in Wichita so far is 2.4-inches. That came from the 21st and Maize area. 1.7-inches of snow was recorded at the Eisenhower airport.


Ice Cube

Record cold, record-fast zonal winds, missing NLCs and an open ozone hole: Antarctic weather has scientists in a spin

Antarctica


Consider it just the tip of the iceberg: noctilucent clouds (NLCs) over the south pole are AWOL this year, writes Dr. Tony Phillips of spaceweather.com.


NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. Water crystallizing around specks of dust 83 km above Earth's surface creates beautiful electric-blue structures, typically visible from November to February in the southern hemisphere, and May to August in its north counterpart. Their appearance over Antarctica in 2020 is now seriously overdue.

"Normally we see the first NLCs of the southern season around Nov. 21st," says Cora Randall of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). "But this year, it's already December and we're still waiting."

Ice Cube

Delhi records coldest November in 71 years

Cold temps in Delhi
© File
The month of November was the coldest in the national capital in 71 years, with the mean minimum temperature dropping to 10.2 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Delhi had recorded a mean minimum temperature of 10.2 degrees Celsius in November 1949.

The mean minimum temperature for November was 9.6 degrees Celsius in 1938; nine degrees Celsius in 1931 and 8.9 degrees Celsius in 1930, according to IMD data.

Normally, the mean minimum temperature for the month of November is 12.9 degrees Celsius.

The mean minimum temperature was 15 degrees Celsius last year, 13.4 degrees Celsius in 2018 and 12.8 degrees Celsius in 2017 and 2016.

Delhi also braved four cold waves in November -on the 3rd, 20th, 23rd and 24th.