Extreme Temperatures
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Ice Cube

Update! Chinese icebreaker cancels rescue mission to save expedition in Antarctica 'because sea ice is too thick'

Alok Jha
The Guardian
Sat, 28 Dec 2013 08:17 UTC
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© Laurence Topham for the GuardianThe Chinese icebreaker Xue Long has had to abandon its rescue mission of the Akademik Shokalskiy
The Guardian's man on the icebound vessel reports on the freezing conditions as the expedition waits for assistance

Cape de la Motte, East Antarctica: the Xue Long appeared as a dot on the horizon, against a bright blue sky, to the starboard side of our ice-locked ship just after dinnertime on Friday evening, local time.

After two days of intense blizzards, with biting cold that had forced us to spend all our time below decks, the break in the weather and the approaching rescue had put the crew and passengers of the MV Akademik Shokalskiy in good spirits.

With temperatures at a pleasantly bearable -1C, some of the crew went on to the ice surrounding the ship in all directions and killed time by making igloos. The rest remained on board and watched the Chinese icebreaker through binoculars as it appeared to make steady progress, silently zigzagging through the ice, from the upper deck of the ship.

As we waited, penguins, apparently confused by the sudden appearance of a solid mass caused by the compacting of ice floes around our vessel, wandered past at regular intervals, looking for the shoreline.

Comment: Global warming? Antarctica hit a new all-time coldest temperature record of -135 degrees Fahrenheit TWICE in last three years

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Cloud Precipitation

Weather caused late deliveries for Christmas - Senator calls for refunds from shipping companies

Natalie DiBlasio and Beau Zimmer
USA Today
Thu, 26 Dec 2013 12:22 UTC
Thousands of UPS packages will arrive after Christmas
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© Mark Lennihan/AP
For the Allan family in Clearwater, Fla., Chicago beef is an annual holiday tradition. The family orders Christmas dinner shipped in every year from the famed Portillo's Restaurant.

"It's a big deal," said Jan Allan. "It's something to us that's special for our family. It's not something we can get in Florida."

She was planning a dinner party for 20 friends and family. When the food didn't arrive by early Christmas Eve, she was worried.

"I became concerned and tried to check the tracking number," said Allan.

It turned out the Allans were among thousands of families that didn't get their Christmas package by Christmas.

For the first time this year, UPS took on more overnight packages than it could deliver. The company apologized to customers, blaming bad winter weather in the South and a surge in online shopping.

The apology didn't go far with people on social media, which exploded with complaints about UPS and FedEx from customers furious about empty spots under their trees.

Most complaints were directed at UPS, which issued statements on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day acknowledging that the company was overwhelmed by unexpected volume and some packages were delayed until after the holiday.
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Wreath

Alps avalanches leave four people dead after heavy snowfalls

Kim Willsher
The Guardian
Fri, 27 Dec 2013 14:15 UTC
Avalanche in St. Moritz
© Giancarlo Cattaneo/EPAExperts examine the spot where an avalanche began near St Moritz, Switzerland, killing one person.
A series of avalanches in the Alps on Friday left four people dead, including a young Irishman, and several other skiers seriously injured, according to mountain rescue teams.

Off-piste skiers have been warned there may be further avalanches this weekend.

Seven skiers were swept away when avalanches hit the popular resorts of Val-Thorens, Courchevel, La Clusaz and Serre-Chevalier.

One man, reportedly a French mountain worker, aged 50, died in Courchevel as he tried to reach his chalet refuge with his son, when the pair were "surprised by an avalanche", mountain rescue services said. The son was saved, but his father died. In a separate incident at Serre-Chevalier, a second skier, described as between 15 and 20 years of age, died in hospital after being buried in snow after an avalanche reportedly under the ski lifts.

Comment: It would be normal in reporting such an incident that the avalanches were due to very heavy snowfall in the last few days, with some places receiving up to 1.5 meter of snow (5 feet). It is likely due to the fact that the Guardian has betted so heavily on the AGW horse that all information to the contrary is ignored. Here is the snow map for the last 3 days with numbers in centimeters:
snow map for Switzerland
© WSL-Institut für Schnee- und Lawinenforschung SLFFresh snow in the last 3 days. Last updated 27.12.2013, 09:31


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Snowflake Cold

"Exceptional" snowfall in Cortina d' Ampezzo, Italy

Robert Felix
iceagenow.info
Thu, 26 Dec 2013 13:14 UTC
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"Not only is North America experiencing power outages, so is Cortina d'Ampezzo, famous skiing area in Italy," says reader Mirco Poletto. "Due to snow Cortina has had no electrical power for several hours. Trees are falling and there is avalanche and landslide danger."

Cortina d'Ampezzo (Belluno ) has been without electricity since early morning due to exceptional heavy snowfall that is creating considerable discomfort around the Cadore.

The fresh snow has reached half a meter in height, closing several roads leading to Ampezzo and Cortina, which are currently only accessible from the main road. Mountain passes are closed.

On Falzarego six people were trapped in their cars by the snow and were recovered by rescuers and taken to the shelter Col Gallina.

Even the tourist town of Madesimo (Sondrio ) in high Vallespluga remains isolated from the rest of Lombardy for the entire night because of heavy snowfall .

On the whole alpine it has been snowing copious hours without a break, and is still snowing heavily.

"Exceptional" snowfall in Cortina d' Ampezzo, Italy

Thanks to Dr Mirco Poletto in Italy for this link
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Snowflake Cold

'Heavy snowfall may disrupt Sochi Games'


Business Standard
Wed, 25 Dec 2013 12:59 UTC
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No shortage of snow has been forecast for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, but potential heavy snowfall may cause real problems, a Russian official said.

"There will be enough snow, that issue doesn't disturb us," head of the Russian Weather Service, Rosgidromet, Alexander Frolov told reporters, reports Xinhua.

On the contrary, he said, there are concerns that heavy snowfall could seriously disrupt the competition in Sochi.

He warned that weather in that subtropical zone is very volatile and snowstorms there, once started, might last for two or three consecutive days .

In December, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has once issued an avalanche warning in Sochi, anticipating blackouts, disruption of communications, housing services and transportation in the mountainous area.

Source: IANS
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Ice Cube

China icebreaker close to trapped Antarctic ship frozen in ice that is supposed to be disappearing according to Global Warmists


bbc.co.uk
Fri, 27 Dec 2013 12:13 UTC

A scientific mission ship, trapped in dense pack ice off East Antarctica since Christmas Day, is close to being rescued as a Chinese icebreaker nears.

The crew can see the Snow Dragon icebreaker, which will try to cut a path through the ice allowing the research vessel to reach open water.

The Russian Academic Shokalskiy ship has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

They are following the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.

One of the leaders of the expedition, Chris Turney, tweeted an image of the Snow Dragon icebreaker on the horizon as it approached the ship.
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Snowflake Cold

Half a million without power this Christmas in U.S. and Canada


The Independent, UK
Wed, 25 Dec 2013 05:21 UTC
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Authorities warn of carbon monoxide poisoning as two die after using gas generator in storm
Repair crews worked around the clock Tuesday to restore power to nearly half a million customers who faced a cold and very dark Christmas Eve in parts of the central and northeastern United States and into eastern Canada after a weekend ice storm. At least 24 deaths have been linked to the storm.

The US National Weather Service said more snow was expected to move into the Northern High Plains and Central Rockies on Tuesday before rolling into the Great Lakes and Midwest by Wednesday morning.

In Canada, five people were reported dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. Police said two people in Ontario died after using a gas generator to heat their blacked-out home northeast of Toronto. Police in Quebec said carbon monoxide poisoning was believed to be the cause of three deaths in a chalet on the province's North Shore. Earlier, five people were killed in eastern Canada in highway crashes blamed on severe weather conditions.

In the US, the nationwide death toll from the storm reached at least 14 on Tuesday, when a 50-year-old man in Knox, Maine, was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a generator. It was the second reported death attributed to fumes from a generator during the storm. Police in Michigan also attributed two deaths in a traffic collision that happened Monday to the storm.

As temperatures plunged into the low single digits (below minus 15 Celsius) in Toronto - where some 90,000 customers remained without power Tuesday - authorities reported a dramatic jump in calls for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, responding to 110 calls in a 24-hour period. Officials said they typically see 20 such calls a day.
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Snowflake Cold

Half the U.S. is already covered with snow

Douglas Main and Live Science
The Washington Post
Tue, 24 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC
Last week, snow covered more than half of the continental United States, the highest this measure has reached by this date in a decade, according to government scientists.

As of Dec. 15, snow covered 53 percent of the Lower 48, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported. That's a significantly higher portion than in recent years. In 2006, for example, snow covered just 12 percent of those states on the same date, according to Climate Central, a climate news Web site.

November and early December have also been quite chilly for much of the country, below the 20th-century average, Climate Central noted. "With the noteworthy exception of Alaska, nearly every state was affected by the unusually cold air at some point during the November-to-December timeframe," Climate Central reported.

What's going on?
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Snowflake

Wintry weather threatens Christmas travel chaos across Britain

Josh Halliday
The Guardian
Sun, 22 Dec 2013 08:13 UTC
Motorway M6
© Dave Thompson/PAThe M6 motorway in Cheshire: driving conditions are expected to worsen over the next 24 hours.
Torrential rain and heavy gales are threatening to create a hazardous Christmas getaway in many parts of Britain, forecasters have warned.

Gusts of up to 90mph are forecast in some areas on Monday and Christmas Eve, as heavy rainfall sweeps into south Wales and south-east England. The wintry showers have increased the possibility of a white Christmas in parts of Britain, with odds slashed in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning from dawn on Monday and advised travellers to brace themselves for chaos on the roads and rails.

"There is scope for very heavy rain, potentially some localised flooding, and strong winds in some areas so there is a risk of travel disruption," said Calum MacColl, a Met Office forecaster. An amber alert for rain was issued for south Wales and parts of southern England on Sunday, with conditions expected to worsen over the next 24 hours due to a low-pressure weather system swept in from across the Atlantic.

"[Monday] will start quite nicely in some places, but there will soon be heavy outbreaks of rain in the south-west of England and south Wales. That will quickly move into the north-east, and will bring gales with it."
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Igloo

Ice and snow frustrate US holiday travel rush

Jason Keyser
Associated Press
Sat, 21 Dec 2013 23:05 UTC
US Weather
© AP Photo/Weather UndergroundThis is a Weather Underground forecast for Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, for the U.S. A storm will produce showers and thunderstorms from Texas to Tennessee. Rain will be likely from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley and portions of the Northeast. Snow will fall from the central Plains to Lower Michigan and northern New England.
Chicago - A storm with a 2,000-mile footprint frustrated Christmas travelers Saturday from Texas to Nova Scotia with a little of everything Mother Nature has to offer, from freezing rain, ice and snow to flooding, thunderstorms and even tornadoes.

Some of the millions of people who hit the roads and airports by midday Saturday squeaked through before any major weather had hit, but the cancellations and flight delays started to mount as the afternoon wore on.

Forecasters warned motorists that roads that seemed passable one minute could turn treacherous the next, as a cold blast on the storm's back end turns rain to ice and snow.

The system's strange swirl of winter and spring-like conditions produced starkly different weather at times in areas separated by a couple hundred miles. While drivers in Oklahoma and eastern Missouri were navigating ice-slicked streets Saturday, residents in Memphis, Tenn., were strolling around in T-shirts in spring-like temperatures in the mid-60s.
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