Extreme Temperatures
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Cloud Precipitation

Major snowstorm in Ontario causes flight cancellations, school closings

snowstorm toronto
© Chris Young /The Globe and MailA woman walks down a residential street as snow falls in Toronto on Friday, February 8, 2013.
The worst of a winter storm into southern Ontario landed during morning rush hour, covering the region in a white shroud of snow flurries and sleet, forcing schools to close and disrupting land and air traffic. (For a list of school closures, transit delays and flight information,click here.)

Other vehicles were reported to be stuck in snowbanks, in ditches or blocking lanes after spinning out of control. At the Bayview entrance of the southbound Don Valley Parkway, cars had trouble negotiating the icy in-ramp. The DVP's Bayview off-ramp was reported to be closed because of slippery conditions. On Highway 401, the eastbound collector off-ramp at Allen Road was also closed because of the road conditions.

On the Queen Elizabeth Way, near Fort Erie, a snowplow fell into a ditch and, a few kilometres further north, a salter truck had rolled.

More than 150 highway car collisions had been reported, said Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Dave Woodford.

There were only minor injuries, mostly from fender benders, he said.

Snowflake

NASA's satellite view of massive Nor'easter - frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico

A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

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© NASA
The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

Snowflake Cold

Southern Ontario braces for biggest snowstorm in years

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© CBC News
The Friday morning commute is looking to be an ugly one for Southern Ontario as the Alberta Clipper swinging through the area today is amplified by moisture from another storm system moving up from the United States.

"It might be the biggest storm since 2011," said Rob Khun, a severe weather meteorologist with Environment Canada, referring to the March 2011 storm that dumped 12.5 cm of snow on the GTA.

Snow from the storm system has begun to fall in southwestern Ontario this morning as the Alberta Clipper tracks through the area, and it should arrive in the GTA by this afternoon. This will leave about 2 cm of accumulation on the ground, however the added moisture arriving from the south this evening will turn this to heavy snowfall overnight and into Friday morning.

Total accumulations for southern Ontario are expected to be between 15 and 25 cm of snow, and strong winds will add blowing snow to the mix, making for hazardous driving conditions tonight, through the Friday morning commute, and possibly into tomorrow afternoon as well.

Eastern Ontario is expected to be even harder hit, as snowfall accumulations already forecast to be up to 25 cm from the Alberta Clipper are pushed up to 35 cm or higher by the approaching storm from the south and local amplification due to winds blowing in off of Lake Ontario.

Environment Canada has issued Snowfall Warnings from London-Essex to Kingston-Prince Edward regions, and from Niagara region up into Grey-Bruce along the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

Snowflake

Monster blizzard Nemo headed for U.S. Northeast

Blizzard_1
© Kelly Keene
A significant snowstorm is expected, which can be compared to the 1978 blizzard. Snowfall could exceed two feet (.6 meters) in some areas.

The northeastern United States is preparing for a monster storm, which many are calling Nemo, expected on February 8, 2013. It could easily produce over two feet of snow (.6 meters) and wind gusts over 60 miles (96 km) per hour, causing zero visibility and bringing cities to a standstill.

In many ways, we are looking at an historic storm that could paralyze cities such as Boston, Providence, and Hartford. We're expecting blizzard conditions in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Northeastern New Jersey, Long Island, southeastern Maine, and New York City.

Moderate to major coastal flooding is also possible. Two storm systems will phase together to create a large pressure gradient that will result in winds sustaining around 35-50 mph with gusts over 74 mph. Tonight is the last night to get ready for a significant snowstorm that can be compared to the 1978 blizzard.
Blizzard
© Google/NWSBlizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Northeast.

Snowflake

New England blizzard - one for the books? Major winter storm on its way

New England blizzard: Forecasters are predicting more than 2 feet of snow in New England, and blizzard conditions, including high winds, blowing snow, and coastal flooding. A major winter storm heading toward New England may not be one for the record books, but even some of the nation's snow-hardiest people should proceed with caution, according to at least one expert.
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The National Weather Service forecasts blizzard conditions in New England by late Friday afternoon.
As much as 2 feet of snow could fall on a region that has seen mostly bare ground this winter, the National Weather Service said. That's exciting for resort operators who haven't had much snow this year.

The storm would hit just after the 35th anniversary of the historic blizzard of 1978, which paralyzed the region with more than 2 feet of snow and hurricane force winds from Feb. 5-7.

"This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine," said Louis Uccellini, director of the weather agency's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Snowflake

Powerful storm to dump foot of snow this weekend on U.S. East Coast as region braces for coastal storm

A powerful coastal storm could dump as much as a foot of snow on areas of the East Coast this weekend. Though metropolitan areas along the East Coast have enjoyed a relatively mild winter with less than half of the average snowfall, a mix of snow, wind, and rain could change all of that come Friday and Saturday. Meteorologists say that a weather system from the Midwest will meet with one from the South, creating a storm that will deliver wind, snow, and rain.

The Weather Channel reports that the Midwestern storm pattern, which passed through Chicago and Milwaukee, will mix with wetter weather coming from New Orleans, Louisville, and even Atlanta. By Thursday night, forecasts predict that the clipper system will travel from the Great Lakes region to the East Coast, passing through cities like Philadelphia, New York, and up towards Boston.
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Ice Cube

Snowiest winter in 100 years paralyzes Moscow

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© RIA Novosti / Denis Tyrin
The snowiest winter in a century has hit the Russian capital, causing Muscovites to get stuck in traffic jams 3,500km in length on Monday evening - the distance from Moscow to Madrid.

­Since the beginning of the winter, over 2 meters of snow has fallen on the Russian capital, the Moscow mayor's aide in housing and public utilities Pyotr Biryukov told Interfax. Snowfall is expected in Moscow for four or five more days, he added.

On Monday, 45,000 community services employees and 15,000 units of equipment were attempting to cope with 26 cm of snow - nearly a fifth of the average annual fall.

The latest snowfall has become a nightmare for drivers with the capital's commuters trapped in gridlock.

Many of those who left their workplace in the evening had to spend five to 10 hours getting home. The average speed of vehicles was no more than 7-9 km/h. The number of road accidents - 3,000 - was much higher than during an ordinary day, with minor accidents quadrupling, according to Channel One TV.

Ice Cube

New satellite image shows the unusually frigid and snowy conditions that blanketed much of Great Britain

Unusually frigid and snowy conditions blanketed much of the island of Great Britain in snow earlier this month. The winter wonderland was spotted from above by NASA's Terra satellite on Jan. 26. The snow started falling mid-month when a storm system blowing in from over the North Atlantic combined with unusually chilly conditions ushered in by a pattern called the Scandinavian Block, according to Accuweather.com. This high-pressure pattern sits in place over Scandinavia and funnels cold air toward the United Kingdom from over the Baltic and western Russia, according to the U.K. Met Office.
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© NASA
As of the afternoon of Jan. 21, Redesdale Camp, Scotland, was the nation's leader in snowfall, with 11 inches (29 centimeters), Accuweather reported. Earlier Accuweather reports said 8 inches (20 cm) had fallen in Sennybridge, Wales, and 6 inches (15 cm) in Dunkeswell, in the southwest of England. The snows closed many schools and forced flight cancellations and delays at London's Heathrow Airport.

Igloo

Heavy snowfall closes dozens of roads in Turkey

Snow in Turkey
© aabadoluajansi
Meric-Ipsala road in the Thrace region of Turkey has been shut down to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday due to heavy snowfall which began in Edirne province.

Aside from the Meric-Ipsala road, 37 village roads have also been shut down to traffic due to heavy snowfall in the region.

Road crews are working to open the Meric-Ipsala road to traffic again on Sunday.

Snow thickness at Uludag, one of the favorite skiing centers of Europe, reached 215 centimeters on Sunday.

The Weather Department of the north-western province of Bursa said that they expected snowfall at Uludag on both Sunday and Monday.

Igloo

Snow and ice blanket Germany

Snowing in Germany
© Spiegel Online InternationalA commuter train battles snow to reach Munich's airport.
Winter weather threw travel across Germany into turmoil early this week. Snow blanketed much of the country, causing hundreds of cancelled flights and road closures. Conditions began to improve on Tuesday, but not before skiers at ice skaters could have a little fun.

Jack Frost continued to bite at Germany's nose on Tuesday, with snow still falling across many parts of Germany on Tuesday, following heavy snowfall on Sunday and Monday, the German Weather Service (DWD) reported.

The service said that 3.5 billion tons of snow fell in the country on Sunday alone. With winter weather continuing, that figure could rise to 6 billion tons by Wednesday.

Winter weather conditions led to frustrating travel conditions across the country. At Frankfurt's airport, Germany's largest, about 543 or 1,190 planned flights were cancelled Monday, according to German news agency DPA. In Munich another 200 flights were grounded. Delays affected air traffic at every German airport as crews de-iced planes and snow-removal equipment was used to clear gates.