Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

26 cm (10 inches) of snow recorded in eastern Finland on Mother's Day


Yle
Mon, 15 May 2017 13:53 UTC
Snow Finland
Brilliant sunshine and relatively balmy Mother's Day weather greeted mothers in some parts of southern Finland, but in other parts of the country, mums woke to a completely different scenario.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, FMI, in Kuhmo, which lies in the southeastern corner of Kainuu in the east, the heavens dumped some 26cm of snow on Sunday.

In other parts of the eastern region, snowfall measured 20cm. However in areas such as Kajani and Sotkamo, the precipitation was more moderate, averaging just over 10cm.

The last time that so much snow was recorded in a 24-hour period between May 1 and 20 was in 1997.

By Sunday, Kainuu municipalities such as Paljakka in Puolanka had accumulated up to 93cm of snow on the ground, while other areas such as Pesiö in Suomissalmi had 53cm and Kajaani 13cm.

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Snowflake

Snow on Mother's Day in New England


wgme.com
Sun, 14 May 2017 13:31 UTC
Further north, Washington and Alexandria in New Hampshire both received snow as well.
© Carroll Police DepartmentFurther north, Washington and Alexandria in New Hampshire both received snow as well.
The National Weather Service reports that several areas of New England received snow this Mother's Day, including some parts of Maine.

The service says snow fell and accumulated in elevations about 1,500 feet early Sunday morning.

The foothills of the Berkshires in East Hawley, Massachusetts, with an elevation of 1,650 feet saw 4 inches.

Further north, Washington and Alexandria in New Hampshire both received snow. In Carroll, New Hampshire, heavy snow and fallen trees left some roads blocked.

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Moon

Rare 'ice halo' visible around the moon in New Zealand


stuff.co.nz
Sat, 13 May 2017 22:44 UTC
Ice halo around moon in New Zealand
© Met ServiceThe ice halo was captured by the MetService's camera at Mt Cook.
A rare "ice halo" visible around the moon overnight coincided with a big chill, with temperatures dropping below freezing point in both the North and South Islands.

Ashburton was the coldest spot on Sunday morning, with an icy temperature of -3.4C between 5am and 6am. Christchurch dropped to -2.9C, while in the North Island, both Masterton and Hamilton were -2.7C. "They'll be waking up to a really cold start," MetService meteorologist April Clark said. Hamilton was probably having the worst start to the day, she said.

"They have a little bit of fog around as well - they cool and get frost, and they also get fog, which is a bit miserable." Temperatures dropped even lower on Saturday night in Queenstown, dipping to -3.6C between 9 and 10pm when the skies were clear, before "heating up a little bit" when cloud set in. "It's really a huge difference when you get cloud - it's just like a little blanket over everyone."
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Snowflake Cold

Ice Age Cometh: Snow in Russia when it should be Spring?

Alyona Boldyreva & Anastasiya Karagodina
Russia Beyond the Headlines
Thu, 11 May 2017 02:51 UTC
winter, snow, ice age
© Maksim Bogodvid / SputnikA man walks in the street in Kazan, 20 April 2017.
The weather in Russia is a capricious lady. In the midst of the May holidays (May 6-9 in honor of Victory Day), many Russian cities experienced heavy snowfall—so instead of traditional shashlik (kebabs), social media were full of snowmen and snowy landscapes.

Some joked that it was because FC Spartak had just won the Russian soccer league for the first time since 2001—a huge surprise for everyone, including the gods in the sky. Others wrote that the Russian winter, a trusty ally of the Soviet army, had decided to take part in the Victory Parade. Still others congratulated each other on the forthcoming New Year.

The abundant snowfall in and around Moscow on the afternoon of May 8 was repeated two days later. According to forecasters, Moscow is approaching the record set in 1922, when more than 35 mm of precipitation fell in just a single day. Victory Day in Moscow was the chilliest since 1945. Meteorologists note that over the past 130 years the daytime temperature on May 9 had never previously dipped below +5°C. But this year saw temperatures in Moscow ranging from +3.6 to +4.6.

The snow must go on: May snow in the finest traditions of British rock group Queen.

Comment: Regular readers of Sott know to expect an Ice Age. The only question is how severe will it be... and how long will it last? To understand what's going on, check out the book explaining how all these events are part of a natural climate shift, and why it is taking place now: Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection.

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Bad Guys

@NPR bungles sea level rise story

Bob Endlich
Watts Up With That?
Fri, 12 May 2017 16:21 UTC
NPR logo
"Data from CO2 measuring stations and from the Sewell's Point and all other tide gages may clearly refute these assertions, but NPR and its colleagues will not change their minds."

"The Sewell's Point tide gage shows that the rate of sea level rise has not changed since the gage was installed in 1927, and is unchanged from our use of fossil fuels. It's time to base our policies on sound science, instead of manmade global warming fiction and scare stories."
National Public Radio's March 31 "Morning Edition" program carried a "news" story claiming that rising seas threaten a number of U.S. coastal military bases. The commentary was so laden with factual errors that listeners might have thought it was an early April fool's joke. Unfortunately, it was not.

NPR remains so wedded to its belief that humans and carbon dioxide emissions are causing a fossil fuels - driven global warming catastrophe that its reporting has been compromised, and it is unable to think critically or report honestly without resorting to activist claims and fake news events.

Real journalism would have at least included passing references to alternative views and sources. But they were absent in this story, which in truth is a splendid example of ignorance or deception—reader's choice.
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Snowflake

Record-breaking snowstorm puts an end to California's 'super bloom'

Michael d'Estries
Mother Nature Network
Thu, 11 May 2017 14:52 UTC
A portion of California's recent super bloom was killed off last weekend after a rare spring snowstorm.
© Sicco Rood/Anza-Borrego DRCA portion of California's recent super bloom was killed off last weekend after a rare spring snowstorm.
Part of the state's most prolific bloom since 1999 is now buried under 10 inches of snow.

A Southern California super bloom so prolific it could be seen from space has been killed off by a last gasp from old man winter.

While many of the spectacular species of wildflowers, from Arizona lupine to desert lilies, were already on the wane, a freak snowstorm that blew through the state on May 7 finished the job. In San Diego, the city recorded its coldest day in 64 years with a high of "only" 59 degrees. Nearby Palomar Mountain, where blooms were still heavy with color, recorded a record 10 inches of snowfall.

Comment: See also: Cold weather is keeping birds from nesting and delaying blossoming of wild berry bushes in Finland's north

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Snowflake

Rare May snowfall in Oslo beats 50 year old record; 40 cm (15 inches) of snow


Belarus News
Fri, 12 May 2017 14:25 UTC
Snow covers an outdoor cafe in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway, on May 11, 2017
Snow covers an outdoor cafe in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway, on May 11, 2017
A rare May snowfall hit Norway's capital city overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, and, in some parts of the city, it was the first time in 50 years that there was that much snowfall.

In the Tryvann area north of Oslo, 40 cm of snow was registered, according to newspaper. Aftenposten

Snow also fell in Oslo's Blindern area, where the main campus of the University of Oslo is located.

"Snow was registered at Blindern in May only once before. It happened in 1967," meteorologist Terje Alsvik Walloe told Aftenposten.

On Wednesday, the thermometer did not go above 3.1 degrees in Blindern, marking the lowest temperature ever measured on the same date in Oslo.

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Ice Cube

'Global Warming Surprises'

Dr. Fred Singer
Watts Up With That?
Thu, 11 May 2017 17:23 UTC
earth on fire

Guest essay by Dr. Fred Singer

Exploring some of the intricacies of GW [Global Warming] science can lead to surprising results that have major consequences. In a recent invited talk at the Heartland Institute's ICCC-12 [Twelfth International Conference on Climate Change], I investigated three important topics:

1. Inconsistencies in the surface temperature record.

2. Their explanation as artifacts arising from the misuse of data.

3. Thereby explaining the failure of IPCC to find credible evidence for anthropogenic global warming (AGW).

A misleading graph

In the iconic picture of the global surface temperature of the 20th century [fig 1, top] one can discern two warming intervals — in the initial decades (1910-42) and in the final decades, 1977 to 2000.

Although these two trends look similar, they are really quite different: the initial warming is genuine, but the later warming is not. What a surprise! I wouldn't exactly call it 'fake,' but it just does not exist; I try to demonstrate this difference as an artifact of the data-gathering process, by comparing with several independent data sets covering similar time intervals.
Fig 1 20th century temps; top—global; bottom– US
Fig 1 20th century temps; top—global; bottom– US
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Snowflake Cold

April in Finland was colder, wetter and snowier than usual


Yle
Tue, 02 May 2017 13:20 UTC
Snow Finland
The Finnish Meteorological Institute's figures show that April 2017 was colder, wetter and snowier than average, confirming the gut instincts of most of those who reside in Finland.

April was unusually damp and cold in Finland, according to the weather stats released on Tuesday by the Meteorological Institute (FMI). Across most of the country the temperature was between one and two degrees lower than average.

In the south you have to go back to 2013 to find a similarly frigid month, in the centre of the country 2003 was the last time it was this grim, and in the north it hasn't been so cold and snowy in April since 1998.

Comment: See also: Highly unusual snowfall in Finland?

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Snowflake Cold

Cold weather is keeping birds from nesting and delaying blossoming of wild berry bushes in Finland's north


Yle
Wed, 10 May 2017 13:33 UTC
Ptarmigan
Ptarmigan in snow
There is still plenty of snow in the forests of Lapland, and there is ice on many of its lakes and rivers. Spring has inched forward slowly and temperatures, especially at night, are frigid. Right now, the weather in Lapland is 4C-5C below the long-term average.

The cold is being reflected in the late arrival of migratory birds. According to Jukka Jokimäki, a researcher at the University of Lapland's Arctic Centre, the institution's annual count of migratory birds is now on hold because so few have come as far north as the Arctic Circle.

"At the beginning of April it looked like we'd have an early spring, but migration has been at a standstill and is around a week and a half late. Wagtails are the only insect eaters being seen. Wading birds are missing altogether, which is understandable since all of our ponds and lakes are still covered by ice," reports Jokimäki.
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