Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Texas shatters record for winter electricity use - grid manages without rolling blackouts

Jeff Mosier
Dallas News
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 18:37 UTC
Snow covers Corpus Christi in Texas on December 8 2017. First time in 13 years. via
© InstagramSnow covers Corpus Christi in Texas on December 8 2017. First time in 13 years
Bitter cold across Texas brought a new winter record for peak electricity use, ERCOT, the state's independent electric grid operator announced Wednesday morning.

At one point, Texans were using 65,731 megawatts, blowing past the previous record by nearly 5 percent. Multiple records were set overnight as temperatures plunged statewide, but the new peak arrived between 7 and 8 a.m.

The peak use was significantly higher than the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' projection of 61,068 megawatts for a peak this winter. It fell short of the "extreme" peak projection by just 1,044 megawatts.

Overnight, the Dallas area recorded a low of 13 degrees, well below the average low of 34. While frigid, that was still far from the record low of 2 degrees in 1930.
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Snowflake

Heavy snow and snapping trees concern forest owners in Norway


The Local (Norway)
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:46 UTC
tree damage
© Berit Heggholmen
Forest owners in Norway say they are concerned about damage to trees and subsequent loss of earnings caused by heavy snow .

"We can no longer be sure of stable winters," forest owner Thor Wraa told broadcaster NRK.

A week of extreme weather with heavy snowfall in several parts of the country has caused significant disruption, with fallen trees dragging down telephone wires and blocking roads.

Wraa, who comes from the northern Telemark county, told NRK that falling trees directly affected his livelihood.

"We are concerned. Trees with as much snow as there is now are right on the limit of breaking or falling," he said.
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Snowflake

Over a meter of snow dumps on the Alps in 72 hours, with another meter forecast over next 3 days

Patrick Thorne
inthesnow.com
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 13:45 UTC
snow
A number of ski areas in the Alps have reported up to 1.3m (over four feet) of snowfall in the past 72 hours and forecasters are expecting up to 1.3m (over four feet) of snowfall in the next 72 hours.

All the snow is good news for resort bases, but less good for skiers and boarders in resort at present, or travelling out tomorrow, Saturday 20th January, as ski areas are only able to open limited terrain safely, conditions are frequently poor even in those limited open areas , and travel to and from resorts can be difficult.

Austria's Ziller Valley is reporting 1.2m (four feet) of snow in the past 72 hours with Verbier reporting 105cm and the Portes du Soleil region up to 90cm (three feet) of snow. Many other resorts including Crans Montana, Davos, Laax, La Plagne and Zermatt have had 60-90cm of new snowfall.

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Ice Cube

Hundreds evacuated as ice jams cause flooding in USA and Canada (PHOTOS)

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 20:04 UTC
Ice jam on the Saco River in Fryeburg
© Adam EpsteinIce jam on the Saco River in Fryeburg
Ice jams have caused severe problems along some rivers in north eastern USA and eastern Canada since 12 January, 2018. States of emergency have been declared and around 200 people have evacuated their homes and north eastern USA and a further 100 in New Brunswick, Canada.

Heavy rain over the last few days has also caused rivers to overflow and some surface flooding. Two people died in West Virginia when their vehicle was trapped in flood water. Flood rescues were required in Pittsburgh after a major road was flooded.

Ice jams in northeastern USA

Media have reported dozens of ice jams along rivers in north eastern USA. Below is a short summary of some of the floods.

Parts of the Connecticut River near Haddam are so blocked, ice breakers from the US Coast Guard have been called in to break the jam.

Comment: For videos see: Record-cold wave recedes, but now ice jams are causing flooding in US northeast

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Ice Cube

Cold snap hits Lake Michigan


euronews
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 21:48 UTC
Ice Chicago
© euronews

A new cold snap converted the beach of Lake Michigan in Chicago into an ice sculpture park as trees and grasses in the area got coated with thick ice and frost.

The second round of strong cold air in the new year started striking the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and other areas in central and western U.S. from Sunday, bringing heavy snow and lowering temperature to minus 15 degrees Celsius.

The snow lasted three days and reached more than 10 centimeters in thickness in many areas. The snow accumulated near Lake Michigan even was knee-deep.

High humidity and low temperature enveloped the trees and grasses with ice and frost around the lake, forming natural-looking ice sculptures of various shapes. While some look like eagles on the tree branch, others seem like blooming flowers.

The lighthouse turned into a huge umbrella covered by ice and snow. Though the beacon has been fully covered, icicles keep shining through in bright sunlight.

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Snowflake

Snow blankets all 50 American states for the first time since 2010

Brian Doogs
nbc15.com
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 09:41 UTC
snow cover
Wisconsin isn't alone when it comes to the cold and snow. The latest blast of wintry weather brought accumulations as far south as the Gulf Coast! Wednesday morning started off with snow cover in all 50 states and 52.3 percent of the country covered in the white stuff.

To have snow on the ground in all 50 states at the same time, is a fairly rare feat. The last time all 50 states had snowfall on the ground at the same time was on February 12th, 2010.

A little known fact about Hawaii is that it often snows. Of course, that is always on the Big Island's Mauna Kea volcanic peak. Typically, the hardest state to get accumulating snowfall is Florida. This season has already featured three snowfall events in northern Florida!
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Snowflake

Fascinating photos of rare natural snowballs rolled by the wind in Scotland

Anthony Joseph
Daily Mail (UK)
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 15:19 UTC
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs
These fascinating pictures show hundreds of snow rollers - a strange and rare weather phenomenon consisting of naturally-made snowballs.

The natural sculptures roll up in the style of a tumbleweed or a hay bale and leave a trail behind them showing how they were made. They are delicate and crumble completely at the slightest touch.

Snow rollers can only be formed when the snow is cold but not frozen and the wind is strong enough to move snow but not break it.

A field full of the unusual snow rollers was discovered in Glassford, South Lanarkshire, by Eunice Clarke on Tuesday.
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Ice Cube

Great Lakes ice coverage almost 3 times bigger than on this date in 2017

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:18 UTC
lakes
2018
And more than five times what it was on this date in 2016

Great Lakes Ice Coverage

Today, 17 Jan 2018, total ice cover is 35.5%.
On this date a year ago, ice coverage was 13.5%.
And on this date in 2016, it was 6.7%
___________________
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Snowflake Cold

Snowstorm leads to over 500 collisions in North Carolina, state of emergency declared

David Byrne
AccuWeather
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 09:18 UTC
500 collisions occur amid disruptive snowstorm in North Carolina
A storm will continue to spread snow from the Carolinas and Virginia to New England throughout the day on Wednesday, challenging commuters and work crews looking to keep the roads clear.

The heaviest snow is expected to fall across portions of central North Carolina and south-central Virginia, where 4-8 inches of snow are predicted to accumulate.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Tuesday ahead of the storm.

"Nearly all of North Carolina will be impacted by this winter storm, and we're making sure North Carolina is ready," Cooper said. "I urge all of our residents to be prepared and to stay safe."

Comment: Earth's climate fluctuates cyclically and the changes in weather patterns we're seeing are those which precede an ice age so these increasingly long and cold winters will become more common place and if our infrastructure isn't upgraded to deal with it, we will see greater tragedies in the very near future: Also check out SOTT's monthly video documenting the changes happening on our planet: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - December 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Snow Globe

Lost in time: Abandoned home in Russia encased in glistening sheets of ice and snow (VIDEO)


RT
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:19 UTC
Housed encased in snow
© Ruptly
Winter's frosty embrace has transformed an abandoned Russian residence into an incredible icy palace, where frozen stalagmites hang like chandeliers.

The home in Ekaterinburg, where temperatures can easily reach minus 17 degrees celsius in January, appears locked in time thanks to a burst water mains that has almost entirely coated the interior rooms in ice.

Comment: See also: Oymyakon, Siberia: Thermometer breaks in world's coldest village as temperatures plunge to -62C

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