Extreme Temperatures
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods strike Oman as temperatures sink below zero


The National
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 12:01 UTC
floods
Residents were left stranded as heavy rain and snow have blocked roads
Temperatures in some parts of Oman dropped to below zero on Wednesday as heavy rain caused flooding across the Sultanate and residents are braced themselves for a further downpour.

The Oman Meteorological office said temperatures had dropped to -2°C degrees on Wednesday in Jabal Shams, the tallest peak in the Arabian Peninsula, which is located in the north-eastern region of Oman. The temperature in the same area last year hovered around 5°C.

Residents living near the 3,000 metre peak said heavy rain and snow have blocked roads and left most of them stranded in their homes.

"We will run out of food if the bad weather continues. The lower areas of the town are flooded with rainwater and higher areas are full of snow. We will have to wait and see what happens in the next 24 hours," Firas Al-Ruqaishi, 42, a farmer at Jabal Shams, told The National over the phone.

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Snowflake Cold

Parts of Canada's British Columbia in grip of rare, extreme cold weather

Denise Paglinawan
Reuters
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:44 UTC
People use the street to slide down following a major snow storm in Burnaby, B.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. Vancouver and the lower mainland have been pounded with heavy snow fall and freezing temperatures
© JONATHAN HAYWARD/THE CANADIAN PRESSPeople use the street to slide down following a major snow storm in Burnaby, B.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. Vancouver and the lower mainland have been pounded with heavy snow fall and freezing temperatures.
Parts of British Columbia were in the grip of rare and extreme cold weather on Wednesday, resulting in school and daycare closures in Vancouver and throwing traffic into chaos, with residents in the Canadian western province advised against traveling.

Cold weather has spread across western Canada this week. In Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta, temperatures dropped to -36 Celsius (-33 Fahrenheit) as of Wednesday morning, according to Environment Canada.

The coldest spot in British Columbia was Puntzi Mountain, which recorded its lowest ever temperature of -48.2 Celsius (-55 Fahrenheit) at 8 a.m local time.

British Columbia normally enjoys relatively temperate weather through the year, and the city of Vancouver is better known for its rain than the snowy winters that define the rest of Canada. The temperature in Vancouver on Wednesday morning was -6 Celsius (21 Fahrenheit), according to Environment Canada.

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Snowflake

Up to 8 feet deep snowdrifts cleared away on Mauna Kea Access Road, Hawaii

John Burnett
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 16:54 UTC
Heavy snow blankets the high elevations of Hawaii’s Big Island after a hefty mid-January snowstorm
© WeatherboyHeavy snow blankets the high elevations of Hawaii’s Big Island after a hefty mid-January snowstorm
Crews continued to work Tuesday to repair and clear the Maunakea Access Road, which has been closed to the public since Friday because of the first snowfall of the decade.

"There's no gauge up there, but probably about two feet of snow fell," said Stewart Hunter, Maunakea Support Services general manager. "It was windy and a lot of it has drifted, and it drifts into the low places. The snow drifted up to seven or eight feet across the road in places. In some places up higher, there is no snow at all."

The road remained closed at the Maunakea Visitor Information Station, which is at the 9,200-foot level of the mountain. The snow and ice on the road is well above that point, Hunter said.

"Sometimes, the snow will extend way down," he explained. "There's just a little bit of a cap at the top. The rest of it came down as rain."


Comment: Two days earlier: Severe storm, flooding and heavy snowfall strike Hawaii - 22 inches of rain in 24 hours, snowdrifts at least 4 feet deep

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Snowflake

5.5 feet of snowfall in 4 days for Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Erin Robinson
YakTriNews.com
Tue, 14 Jan 2020 15:35 UTC
Snoqualmie Pass shuts down after spin outs
Snoqualmie Pass shuts down after spin outs
It is a white out on Snoqualmie Pass!

Plow drivers have been working hard over the past few days to make sure roads are clear for drivers traveling along I-90. As of 1:25 p.m Tuesday, heavy snow was reported with white out conditions.

The Washington State Department of Transportation said 66 inches of snow have fallen in the past four days.

Conditions will continue to be snowy as another weather system moves into the region and temperatures drop.

Comment: Two days earlier: Snoqualmie Pass in Washington walloped by nearly 3.5 feet of new snow in 2 days

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Snowflake Cold

Snow falls on Jebel Jais amid week of extreme weather in UAE

Gillian Duncan
The National
Wed, 15 Jan 2020 14:55 UTC
UAE residents are enjoying the winter chill
© Hussein Al TunaijiUAE residents are enjoying the winter chill — it's literally snowing in Jebel Jais, where the temperature reached -1 °C in the early hours of Wednesday — even as the country sees intermittent rains which sometimes bring hail.
Snow has fallen on the UAE's highest peak as temperatures plummeted to zero during the country's week-long bout of extreme weather.

Videos emerged on social media of the covering of the white stuff on Jebel Jais, in Ras Al Khaimah, after snow fell on the mountain on Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday.

In one video, a man clothed in a thick winter jacket stands in front of a 4x4 as flurries of snow fall around him.

In another, a Toyota FJ Cruiser, more used to conquering sand dunes, sits with its lights illuminating the ground, which is covered in a blanket of snow.

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Snowflake

Avalanches and flooding kill over 130 people across Pakistan, India and Afghanistan - UPDATE


EasternEye
Tue, 14 Jan 2020 16:39 UTC
At least 67 dead in avalanches in Pakistan, India.
© TwitterAt least 67 dead in avalanches in Pakistan, India.
At least 57 people were killed and others were missing after avalanches in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir over the last 24 hours, senior government officials said on Tuesday (14).

In neighbouring India, at least 10 people were killed after several avalanches hit the northern-part of Kashmir.

Two Pakistani officials said many villagers were still stranded in the avalanches in the Neelum valley area following heavy rains that also triggered landslides.

Many people were reported missing and feared dead as rescue efforts got under way, one of the officials said.


Comment: Update - Jan. 15th:

The Guardian reports:
Avalanches, flooding and harsh winter weather have killed more than 130 people across Pakistan and Afghanistan and left others stranded by heavy snowfall.

At least 93 people died and 76 were injured across Pakistan in recent days - with several still missing - while a further 39 were killed in Afghanistan, officials in both countries said on Tuesday.

Forecasts suggest more harsh weather is on the way.

In Kashmir's picturesque but conflict-riven Neelum Valley, heavy snowfall triggered several avalanches, including one that hit a village and killed at least 19 people. "Ten people are still missing," the disaster authority said.

Frequent avalanches and landslides occur in Kashmir during winter, often blocking roads and leaving communities isolated.

Authorities have shuttered schools, while several highways and roads were closed across the country's mountainous northern areas.

"The severe snowfalls and landslides in AJK have caused misery & deaths," tweeted Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, referring to the part of Kashmir controlled by Islamabad.

See rest of article here.




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Snowflake

3 feet deep snow wreaks havoc in Lahaul, India - power, telecom services hit

Dipender Manta
The Tribune (India)
Mon, 13 Jan 2020 19:05 UTC
A snow-covered truck trapped in the Solang valley.
A snow-covered truck trapped in the Solang valley.
Heavy snowfall crippled life in tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti during the last two days. The district headquarters Keylong received over two feet of snow, while higher reaches like Koksar, Gondhla and Miyar valley received over three feet of snowfall.

Due to heavy snowfall, power transmission lines have been damaged in several parts of Lahaul-Spiti and a majority of villages are reeling under the cover of darkness. Power supply was disrupted even in the district headquarters of Keylong today while the communication service by BSNL, Jio and Airtel have been disrupted in many villages.

Due to freezing temperature, the water supply has been affected badly in villages and people are forced to melt snow to get water for drinking and domestic use.

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Snowflake

Up to 50 inches of new snow in 3 days for the Cascades in Oregon

Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
Mon, 13 Jan 2020 11:13 UTC
The chairlifts were mostly full at Willamette Pass Resort on Saturday, January 11
© ROB ROMIG / The Register-GuardThe chairlifts were mostly full at Willamette Pass Resort on Saturday, January 11
The amount of snow that fell in Oregon's mountains didn't disappoint this past weekend.

The snow started early Friday above 3,000 feet and never really let up, bringing multiple feet across the western Oregon Cascade Range.


Here are snowfall totals from the past 72 hours — Friday through early Monday morning from the National Weather Service.

The result matches pretty closely with what meteorologists predicted.

There is plenty more snow to come in the mountains as well, with another 1 to 2 feet possible this week.

North Oregon Cascades

Santiam Pass: 50 inches, 4770 feet

Tombstone Pass: 50 in. 4250 feet

Timberline Base: 47 in. 5880 feet
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Snowflake

Severe storm, flooding and heavy snowfall strike Hawaii - 22 inches of rain in 24 hours, snowdrifts at least 4 feet deep

Max Dible
Big Island Now
Sun, 12 Jan 2020 20:02 UTC
Maunakea
The weekend's weather events are producing rainfall totals and river peak values not experienced on the Big Island since Hurricane Lane stormed through in August 2018.

Tom Birchard, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said the 24-hour rainfall total at the Hakalau gauge on the Hāmākua Coast measured just shy of 21 inches as of 7 a.m. Sunday. The Saddle Quarry gauge, upslope of Hilo Bay, registered roughly 22 inches during the same period.

And rain has continued to fall steadily in those areas into the afternoon.

"I've heard several people comparing impacts to what they've seen from Hurricane Lane, even some folks from Civil Defense," Birchard said.

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Snowflake Cold

Heavy snow in Uttarakhand, India leaves over 900 villages without electricity and water


The Sentinel
Sun, 12 Jan 2020 14:49 UTC
snow
© Amar Ujala
More than 900 villages of Uttarakhand are without electricity and water as unprecedented heavy snowfall has disrupted normal life in the state over the past few days.

An official of the state government said: "The electricity and water supply is disrupted in more than 900 villages and 50 tourists are stranded in a number of places due to the closure of roads.

Traffic is blocked on around 100 highways across the state."

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