Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

A week before Spring: Nova Scotia blizzard forecast with 40 cm of snow

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© Craig Paisley/CBCCBC meteorologist Peter Coade expects "all forms of traffic" to be affected on Sunday, including flights, roads and ferries.
Environment Canada warns of snow squalls for some areas of Maritimes Friday morning

Just a week away from the official start of spring, the Maritimes are bracing for another winter storm.

CBC meteorologist Peter Coade says two weather systems — one from the northwest and another warm and moist disturbance out of the Gulf of Mexico — are forecast to collide and become one, just south of Nova Scotia on Sunday.

The system is expected to produce snow. Coade expects "all forms of traffic" to be affected on Sunday, including flights, roads and ferries.

"Although it is still early to come up with a solid snowfall amount forecast, I think it safe to say that blizzard conditions can be expected with the strong east-to-northeast wind blowing around some 10 to 20 centimetres — possibly as high as 30 to 40 centimetres — of fresh snow," said Coade.

Ice Cube

Unusual ice heave on Otter Tail County lakes, Minnesota

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Ice damage on Otter Tail Lake mostly has been concentrated on the south shore of the lake, according to Dave Sethre, President of the Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations
Ice is a normal part of winter along Minnesota's lakes. However, this year, some property owners on Otter Tail County lakes are dealing with more ice, and damage, than usual.

Dave Sethre, president of the Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations, called the ice on one of the biggest lakes -- Otter Tail -- "pretty radical" this year.

"This is turning out to be the winter of the ice heave on many of our larger Otter Tail County lakes," Sethre wrote in a March newsletter. "Estimates are that expansion has been 150 to 200 percent at some locations."

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, ice heaves and ridges are caused by caused by the pushing action of a lake's ice sheet against the shore.

Snowflake

Very unusual snowfall forces closure of Puebla, Mexico highway

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© Mexico News Daily
Cold front delivers snow and hail to central Mexico

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.

Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.

The Federal Highways and Bridges Agency, Capufe, issued a warning via Twitter at 7:51 to urge drivers to use alternate routes. The 5 de Mayo freeway has also been closed, according to another report.

As many as 18,000 residents of the communities of Río Frío, Llano Grande and Avila Camacho are reported to have been cut off by the closure of the highway.

Yesterday, Civil Protection officials in Michoacán described as very rare the sight of snow on various hills in the municipalities of Paracho, Nahuatzén, Cherán and Zacapu.

The Zacapu-Zamora highway was closed for a while due to a heavy hailstorm at about 1:00pm, blanketing the road with four centimeters of ice and causing at least four accidents.

Officials said that with the exception of the Pico de Tancítaro, with an altitude of 3,485 meters, the sight of snow on five hills in the region was uncommon.

The National Meteorological Service said the center of the country is being affected by cold front #41, and the combination of cold air and Pacific moisture are bringing about colder temperatures, rain and snow.

Sources: CNN, El Diario

Comment:


Snowflake

Unseasonal heavy snowfall throws normal life out of gear in Kashmir, India

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© Press Trust of IndiaKashmiri guides pull sleighs carrying tourists after heavy snowfall in in Gulmarg on Sunday.
Jammu and Kashmir continues to experience heavy rainfall, throwing normal life out of gear. On Monday, a white blanket enveloped most parts of the state as mercury dipped further.

The state's main highway has been blocked affecting supply of foodgrains. The unseasonal snowfall with strong winds forced people to stay indoors.

According to the weather department, the wind confluence was continuing over northern India due to deepening of the westerly trough into central Arabian Sea. The Doda district remained cut off from rest of the state due to snowfall.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway was shut due to heavy snowfall which has hit air and vehicular traffic heavily. Meanwhile, the snowfall has affected flora and fauna in Rajouri district. A resident Mukhtar said several people have been stranded.


Snowflake Cold

Map depicts how freezing weather cut U.S. in half as westerners baked while the east shivered

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The satellite image produced by NASA records the land surface temperature. The places that experience below average conditions are coloured blue, normal appear white and those in red were warmer than average
This winter has been the season that literally divided America into two.

This stunning weather map shows how those in the west of the country enjoyed one of the warmest February's on record, while those in the east endured heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures.

The extreme contrast in temperatures has been put down to global warming and the melting sea ice in the Arctic by some experts, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

Comment: Exactly so. To find out much more about the cause of such weather extremes and other seemingly unrelated and disparate global upheavals, then the book Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection would be a very good place to start!


Snowflake

Western Newfoundland continues to be buried in snow

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© CBCThe snowbanks in Corner Brook tower over the streets following a winter of intense snowfall.
Schools were closed and snowfall warnings were in effect for parts of western Newfoundland on Wednesday, with another 15 to 25 centimetres expected in the region throughout the day.

Environment Canada had snowfall warnings in effect for much of the west coast, and winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of the Northern Peninsula — saying conditions should continue well into Wednesday night.

Schools were closed for at least the morning in such communities as Stephenville, St. George's and Lark Harbour.

Ice Cube

Huge chunks of ice wash ashore on Cape Cod

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© Dapixara PhotographyChunks of ice washed ashore in Wellfleet
The historic winter of 2015 has left giant chunks of ice on the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Cape Cod photographer Dapixara captured images of a person standing next to the massive pieces of ice that washed ashore in Wellfleet over the past few days.

WBZ-TV Chief Meteorologist Eric Fisher says this could be a "once-in-a-generation" event due to the extraordinary amount of ice on the Massachusetts Bay. Fisher says the ice won't be around for long.

There have been several remarkable images left from the record-setting winter, including the nearly frozen waves captured off the coast of Nantucket last month.


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© Dapixara PhotographyChunks of ice washed ashore in Wellfleet

Igloo

Blizzard conditions close access to Hawaii summits

Ice, snow, and high winds close Mauna Kea Access Road
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© NOAAThere is some visibility on Mauna Loa.
The wintry weather continues on the summits of Hawaii Island.

Mauna Kea rangers report blizzard conditions have shut down the road to the summit of the mountain. Poor weather is forecast for the next several days. Webcams have been blinded by the white out.

The summit of Mauna Loa is also closed. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park says the area is off limits for backcountry use due to the continued winter storm conditions.

A high wind warning is in effect for both summits until 6 p.m., reports the National Weather Service. Southwest winds are blowing 45 to 70 mph with localized gusts over 105 mph.

A winter weather advisory is also in effect, with an additional 1 inch of snowfall expected at elevations above 12,500 feet.

There has been constant snow on the summits over the last week. On Saturday, the harsh weather took a break long enough for island residents to drive up to the summit.

Wolf

Brutal winter takes toll on wildlife around New York

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© Loraine IzzoA screech owl that lost a lot of body weight because of the harsh winter.
Wildlife rehabilitators say that animals - mainly waterfowl, owls, hawks and some mammals - are under serious stress due to the cold winter.

Two months of snow cover and brutal bouts of arctic air are endangering wildlife.

Wildlife rehabilitators say that animals — mainly waterfowl, owls, hawks and some mammals — are under serious stress. Many have starved because their food sources have been covered with snow and ice and the water they need to survive has been frozen.

"It's been a really hard, long, cold, desperate and brutal winter for wildlife," said Taffy Williams, a wildlife rehabilitator from Yonkers. "A lot of raptors, hawks and owls are being found dead."

Animals have been foraging in places they usually don't — risky places such as urban streets or sun-warmed banks along parkways.

Snowflake

Italian village receives more than 8 feet of snow in just 18 hours

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Snow in Capracotta
Italian village has broken records after it received a dump of more than eight feet (2.56 metres) in 18 hours

A tiny village in Italy is claiming to be one of the snowiest places in the world after it was smothered under more than eight feet (2.56 metres) of snow in less than 24 hours.

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An intense storm left the inhabitants of Capracotta climbing out of first floor windows onto great mounds of snow and having to get around on snowshoes and skis.

Other locals had to dig tunnels from their front doors in order to be able to leave their homes.