Extreme Temperatures

Avalanche kills skier in Wyoming national park - at least 32 avalanche deaths in US this 2020-2021 season

Joe Sutton and Kaylene Chassie,
CNN
Tue, 23 Feb 2021 13:46 UTC

Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center shared this photo on Monday announcing there had been a fatality "in very extreme terrain."

A skier was killed after getting swept up in an avalanche Monday in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, the National Park Service said in a news release.

Matthew Brien, a 33-year-old resident of Jackson, Wyoming, had been leading a small group of locals who wanted to ski the Broken Thumb Couloir when the avalanche was triggered, the park service said.
His is the latest of at least 32 avalanche deaths in the US in this 2020-2021 season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Twenty-three fatalities were recorded last season, with 25 deaths tallied in each of the two seasons before that.

Saudi Arabia sees snowfall for first time in 50 years - photo, video

Evgeny Mikhaylov
Sputnik
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 08:44 UTC

Earlier this winter, Saudi Arabia, among other countries, experienced unusually cold weather, with the temperature falling below 0 degrees Celsius and massive snowfall blanketing the desert for the first time in 50 years.

Several parts of Saudi Arabia have experienced an extremely rare phenomenon for the region - a snowy winter, as blizzards hit the Middle Eastern country this week. Weather warnings have been issued for several parts of Saudi Arabia, with the Aseer region being the worst-hit by the heavy snowfall.

Comment: See also:

6,601 US cold records from Feb 7 to Feb16

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 14:01 UTC

A full thirty percent of all U.S. reporting stations set record daily cold highs and 20% set record daily cold lows from Feb. 14-16, according to NOAA. From Feb. 7th to the 16th, 6,601 daily cold records (for a particular day) were tied or set.

There were 944 daily-record-cold highs on Feb. 14, alone. (Happy Valentines day everyone.)

Another 567 daily-record-cold lows were set on the following day, Feb. 15.

As impressive as those numbers are, dozens of locations set records, not just for a particular day, but for any day in their history.

Snowmobiler killed in Idaho avalanche - death toll reaches 30 in the US this winter season

Alaa Elassar, Kaylene Chassie
CNN
Sun, 21 Feb 2021 13:28 UTC

A snowmobiler died in an avalanche in the Smoky Mountains, Idaho.

A man snowmobiling in the Sawtooth National Forest in central Idaho died Friday after triggering a large avalanche.

The snowmobiler was riding up a steep slope in the Smoky Mountains, roughly 8 miles from Galena Summit, when he triggered the avalanche, according to the Sawtooth Avalanche Center.

"We are saddened to report that a snowmobiler was caught and killed in an avalanche yesterday in the upper reaches of the Smiley Creek drainage," the avalanche center said in a Facebook post.

"The avalanche danger was rated considerable at the time of the accident," the center said. "We extend our heartfelt condolences to the victim's friends and family."

Comment: The following incident now takes the death total to 30: Snowmobiler killed, another injured in Nevada avalanche

Snowmobiler killed, another injured in Nevada avalanche

Bob D'Angelo
kiro7.com
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 13:20 UTC

One snowmobiler died and another was seriously injured Saturday in Nevada's Ruby Mountains.

One snowmobiler was killed and another was seriously injured Saturday in an avalanche in a Nevada mountain range, authorities said.

Three men from Elko were snowmobiling near Castle Lake in the Ruby Mountains, The Elko Daily FreePress reported. The men were above Lamoille Canyon when the avalanche occurred shortly before noon, the newspaper reported.

Their names have not been released.

According to Elko County Undersheriff Justin Ames, one of the men escaped the snow and called for help.

Ames said another man suffered a broken leg and clavicle and was being flown to Salt Lake City for treatment, the Daily FreePress reported. The other snowmobiler remained buried in the snow, the newspaper reported.

Death toll rises as record freeze continues across Southern U.S

Tim Moran
Patch
Thu, 18 Feb 2021 00:00 UTC

.Many of the deaths reported in Texas are of people trying to stay warm during a record cold spell.

© AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Residents of Houston had to wait over an hour in the freezing rain to fill their propane tanks on Wednesday

ACROSS AMERICA — The death toll continues to climb from the historic freeze that has ravaged Texas and many other Southern states, with news outlets reporting as many as 35 deaths across multiple states in connection with the cold and widespread power outages.

Most of the deaths reported as of Thursday morning have come in Texas, where millions of residents lost power this week due to a failure in the state's power grid system; just under 500,000 homes and businesses remained without power as of Thursday. Deaths from the freezing weather this week have also been reported in Louisiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Missouri, according to several news reports.

Reported deaths from the Southern winter freeze as of Thursday range from 21 to 35, as media outlets have varied on the totals as they come in. The high-end number was reported by the Columbus Telegram, a newspaper based in Nebraska.

Comment: See also:

Record-breaking winter weather has millions of Americans trying to stay warm

Steve Almasy, Madeline Holcombe and Holly Yan
CNN
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 18:15 UTC

Texans shivered as power grid failed in the face of the February snowstorm

While many Americans were dealing with how to stay warm Tuesday, some vaccine providers were dealing with the news that some shipments were running behind.

About 105 million Americans throughout the county remain under a winter storm warning or watch as many deal with frustrating power outages and stinging cold temperatures. "Significant snow, sleet, and freezing rain accumulations will spread across most of the Mid-South Wednesday and Thursday," the National Weather Service said.

Winter storm warnings are in effect in parts of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and all of Arkansas. Watches are in place from Kentucky to New England.The weather has led to at least 26 deaths, including three people who died in carbon monoxide related incidents and one driver who hit a snowplow.

The frozen precipitation also was hampering coronavirus distribution.

Winter wonderland... in Lebanon

RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:10 UTC

Heavy snowfall has turned Lebanon's mountainous region of Kfardebian into a winter wonderland - not a scene usually witnessed in this region!

Severe blizzard hits Kazakhstan

Kazinform
Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:01 UTC

A storm alert was issued for the cities of Nur-Sultan and Kokshetau as well as six regions of Kazakhstan for today, February 18, Kazhydromet reports.

It is expected to snow and rain in the Kazakh capital today with fog, blizzard and ice-slick predicted locally. Mercury is forecast to drop sharply from +1+3 to -15-17 degrees Celsius and lower.

Snow and rain, ice-slick and blizzard are also expected to batter tonight Mangistau region. Wind gusting 15-18 m/s is to roll through the region.

Aerial views of a frozen downtown Chicago under snow during historic cold weather

VOA News
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 12:28 UTC

Aerial views of downtown Chicago under a blanket of snow during an historic cold snap that has had the United States in its grip for several days, thanks to an Arctic blast that is causing temperatures to plummet.