Extreme Temperatures
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Ice Cube

Norway running out of fire wood during coldest winter in 60 years


Sputnik
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 11:39 UTC
norway snow
© CC BY-SA 2.0 / Siri Spjelkavik / DSC_6062
The rare weather phenomenon has emptied the Nordic country's wood reserves and has been described as having a "vacuum cleaner-effect" on stores, prompting consumers to travel far and wide to meet their demands.

Suppliers in parts of Norway are completely out of wood amid an unprecedented wave of cold that has swept swaths of Europe, national broadcaster NRK reported.

A strong cold front from Siberia, which is said to have resulted in the coldest winter in the past 60 years, with the quicksilver plummeting below 30 degrees in parts of the country, which generally enjoys a relatively mild winter owing to the Gulf Stream. The onslaught of cold has led to an explosion of photos hashtagged #sibirkulde ("Siberian cold"), but also boosted wood sales to an unparalleled level, resulting in drastic shortages across the nation.


Comment: Great swathes of Europe are spared brutal winters thanks to the gulf stream, except it's shifting course: Ice age on the way: Gulf Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say


Comment: Russia, help! UK runs out of gas amid record cold - Prices skyrocket

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Windsock

Storm Emma brings worst blizzard to Ireland since 1982

Claire Healy and Harry Manning
The Irish Sun
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 14:50 UTC
storm emma ireland
Ireland has battened down the hatches as Storm Emma blows in - as parts of Ireland could see ONE METRE of snow.

Met Eireann has issued two Irish red weather warnings as members of the public are told to remain indoors from 4pm.

And Met Eireann's Evelyn Cusack said we could see a METRE of snow as wind speeds of 110kph are predicted.

She said: "Today has been an ice day because nowhere in Ireland saw the temperature rise above zero."


Comment: See also:

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Snowflake

Seven feet of snow follows Northern California's drought

Chris White
Daily Caller
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 20:56 UTC
Seven feet of Snow follows Northern California's drought
© Heavenly Mountain Resort via APIn this photo provided by the Heavenly Mountain Resort, fresh snow covers most of a table and chairs Friday, March 2, 2018, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. A blizzard warning was in effect for parts of the Sierra Nevada, where snow was piling up and travel was difficult due to repeated highway closures and the need for chains in many places. The snow will help the Sierra snowpack, which is vital to the state's water supply and has only been about a quarter of its normal depth for this time of winter. It's also a boon for skiers and snowboarders.
A massive snowstorm Friday in Northern California could bring the state's lengthy drought to end while leaving two feet of snow in the mountains near Los Angeles.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains has seen two feet of snow and winds gusting over 100 miles per hour. Forecasters are expecting seven feet of snow in some areas of the mountain range. Meanwhile, more than 22,000 Montecito residents evacuated their homes as rain continued to pound the area - California's weather comes as a nor'easter clobbers parts of the East Coast.

"The worst of the storm has passed, and we are cautiously optimistic that due to a significant amount of pre-storm preparation we have come through this with minimal impact," Rob Lewin, director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management, said in a statement.

Comment: The droughts in California tend to be followed by devastating flooding:

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Snowflake

Record snowfall on Calgary, Alberta - month's worth of snow in 40 hours

Dave Dormer
CBC News
Sat, 03 Mar 2018 21:09 UTC
Calgarians can expect to be doing a lot of this over the weekend.
© Scott Dippel/CBCCalgarians can expect to be doing a lot of this over the weekend.
A 72-hour snow route parking ban will begin Sunday at 10 a.m. after a massive storm swept over the province, dumping a record amount of snow on Calgary.

This is the third parking ban the city has called in recent weeks. Affected streets are marked by a blue sign with a snowflake.

Environment Canada issued snow warnings for a large swath of the province Saturday morning, running from Edmonton in the north to the Crowsnest Pass and Pincher Creek in the southwest.

The warnings were lifted for southern Alberta later in the morning but remained in the northern part of the province.

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Binoculars

North Pole gull brought in by the 'Beast from the East' to Weymouth, UK

Stuart Winter
Express (UK)
Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:50 UTC
Ross's gull at Lodmoor RSPB (Dorset)
© Peter CoeRoss's gull at Lodmoor RSPB (Dorset)
Ross's gull measures little more than a blackbird but is adapted to life in some of the most inhospitable seas on Earth, searching for food on the edge of the polar ice cap.

It breeds in Northern Greenland, Canada as well as Siberia and only rare drifts southwards.

Yet over the past few days, the snowy white gull has been delighting twitchers at the RSPB's Lodmoor reserve in Dorset.

For many, Ross's gull is the most beautiful of its family, with its dove-like features, diamond-shaped tail and white plumage suffused with pink.

They only turn up in exceptional circumstances every few years, and the arrival of bird on the South Coast even got mentioned in dispatches from the Met Office this week.

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Snowflake

Rare snow in the Azores, Portugal


Euronews
Tue, 27 Feb 2018 09:31 UTC
snow on Pico mountain, Azores
© euronews (screen capture)
Snow is a rare thing in the Azores, Portugal. Pico Montain is the highest mountain in Portugal, and now it is covered with snow.

It is like a snow cone in the middle of the ocean, and a rare thing to see.

Pico Is a stratovolcano located on Pico Island, in the mid-Atlantic archipelago of the Azores. It is 2,351 metres, (7,713 ft), above sea level, and is one of the highest Atlantic mountains; it is more than twice the elevation of any other peak in the Azores.

"Snow at Pico Mountain is a rare thing. When people arrived today...and I told them that we were going to climb the highest mountain in Portugal...with these unique conditions.....snow at the top...and the typical green of the Azores...and then see the ocean...completly blue...It's different to everything else in the whole world," says mountain guide Renato Goulart.


Comment: Another indicator of an impending Ice Age? Data shows that the entire planet is seeing serious cooling: NOAA's own data reveals that global climate has cooled over 10 years

A small selection of recent related articles include:

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Ice Cube

'This is a crisis' - Unusually brutal winter doubles farmers' costs and endangers cattle in Montana

Karl Puckett
Great Falls Tribune
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 08:35 UTC
Blackfee
© MSU Extension office/Blackfeet ReservationA series of snowstorms, force winds and subzero temperatures are draining emergency resources on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana.
Montana's memorable winter is making life miserable for ranchers whose cattle are struggling to survive in the deep snow, bitter temperatures and wind, particularly on the Blackfeet Reservation where significant losses are expected.

"This is a crisis," said Joe Kipp, chairman of the Blackfeet Nation Stockgrowers Association and a rancher with 200 head of cattle north of Browning. "This is a storm that has the potential to kill thousands of head of cattle."

The storm Kipp refers to actually is a series of storms that began in northern Montana beginning Jan. 1 that have produced record amounts of snow and a series of blizzards that have not only hammered communities but hemmed in livestock producers trying to reach cattle with feed.

Among the hardest hit has been the Blackfeet Reservation, where 38,000 head of cattle graze the landscape.

Comment: From the US to Dublin to Russia:



We are entering an ice age and the changing weather patterns are leading to crop failures and problems with ill-equipped infrastructure all over the world:

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Snowflake Cold

Record cold, snow and high winds paralyzes Europe and claims lives


CBC
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 15:44 UTC
Balloch, Scotland. Freezing weather
© Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA man makes his way through the snow on Thursday in Balloch, Scotland. Freezing weather conditions dubbed the 'Beast from the East' have combined with Storm Emma coming in from the southwest of Britain to bring further snow and sub-zero temperatures, causing chaos on roads and shutting schools.
An extreme cold snap across Europe claimed more lives, forced the closure of airports in Scotland, Switzerland, France and Ireland and left hundreds of drivers stranded on snowy highways Thursday.

Heavy snow and high winds halted all flights in and out of Dublin Airport, with authorities saying they are unlikely to resume until Saturday. Irish Rail said no trains are likely to run until Saturday.

Forecasters said a new storm is bringing blizzards, 100 km/h winds, freezing rain and thunderstorms to Ireland, southwestern England and Wales later Thursday. They predicted zero visibility and deep pockets of snow.


Comment: Beast from the East meets Storm Emma, causing UK's worst weather in years


Comment: Winter began abruptly, brutally and looks to be dragging into Spring: Also check out SOTT's monthly documentary: Earth Changes Summary - January 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall disrupts hundreds of flights, clogs expressways in northeast China (VIDEO)


The Standard (China)
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 19:00 UTC
A cyclist rides against snow in Siping City of northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 28, 2018. China's national observatory issued a yellow alert for snowstorm for Wednesday and Thursday as heavy snow continued to hit northeastern China.
© Xinhua/Zhang NanA cyclist rides against snow in Siping City of northeast China's Jilin Province, Feb. 28, 2018. China's national observatory issued a yellow alert for snowstorm for Wednesday and Thursday as heavy snow continued to hit northeastern China.
Heavy snow hit northeast China yesterday, causing flight delays and expressway shutdowns and the suspension of school classes.

As of 5:30 p.m., all sections of expressway in northeastern Jilin Province were shut down due to snow, according to the local expressway authorities, Xinhua reports.

The airport in Changchun, capital of Jilin, was closed. More than 100 inbound and outbound flights were delayed, and some 20 inbound flights have been diverted to other airports.

Rescue workers have been dispatched to clear up snow and ice from roads and at railway stations.

In Liaoning province several sections of 15 expressways were closed or began traffic control due to snow, according to the provincial transportation authorities

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Snowflake Cold

Freezing spring weather may wipe out fruit crops across Southern Europe


Fresh Plaza
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 15:58 UTC
snow damage
Today (1 March), spring has begun on the meteorological calendar; however, vicious winter cold will continue to be recorded until the weekend. The strong east wind, which in the Netherlands got the nickname "Russian Bear" and is known in the UK as "Beast from the East", has caused temperatures to drop well below the freezing point in many parts of Europe. Rome got a blanket of snow, and in Croatia the layer of snow was 1.80 metres thick. On the slopes in the Alps it was freezing, and the same cold has been measured in many parts of northern Europe. Does this winter weather affect the fruit and vegetable market?

The cold and snow have disrupted life in several European countries. In the Netherlands, code yellow was issued because of cold and local snow storms. In the United Kingdom, a weather alarm was issued, and Ireland temporarily issued a code red. The main consequences for the market are delays in the supply, consumers staying home and a rising demand for winter vegetables. The consequences in other parts of Europe may be greater. Further to the south and east, the first fruit trees were already in bloom or the flowers were about to sprout. The freezing cold may very well damage the early stone fruit harvest in these regions. In few other places did the mercury drop as low as in Poland, but trade remains calm. A day temperature of -10 degrees Celsius is perceived as historically very normal, according to a trader.

Comment: See also: A taste of the future: Fruit and vegetable prices surge as blizzards cut off roads, damage crops in China

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