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Mon, 20 Mar 2023
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Snowflake

Alta Ski Area, Utah surpasses 500 inches of snowfall for the season


SnowBrains
Tue, 14 Feb 2023 12:59 UTC
Never-ending snow
© Alta Ski Area Facebook
Never-ending snow
Alta Ski Area in Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, has always been known as one of the snowiest resorts in America, but this year has taken things to a new level. 5″ of fresh snow in the last 24 hours has taken the resort to 501″ for the season.

In 1981-1982 Alta set its long-standing record for the most snowfall between October and January with an astounding 442 inches. Without shock to the locals who have experienced a miraculously snowy winter, Alta broke that record on January 25th, 2023, with a total of 445 inches of snowfall between October and January.

Alta joins Mammoth Mountain, CA, as the only two resorts in the world with over 500″ of fresh snow this season.

The resort has a 132″ base, and there are a couple more feet of snow in the forecast.

In the last ten years, Alta has surpassed 500″ in 19/20 (542″), 18/19 (626″), and 16/17 (596.5″).
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Arrow Down

2 backcountry skiers killed by avalanche in British Columbia

Avy Brains
SnowBrains
Wed, 15 Feb 2023 12:50 UTC
The scene of the fatal avalanche.
© Avalanche CA
The scene of the fatal avalanche.
Two backcountry skiers were caught and killed in an avalanche on an east-facing slope on Potato Peak, approximately 25 miles south of Tatla Lake, British Columbia, on Saturday, 11th February, reports Avalanche Canada.

The skiers had accessed the area using snowmobiles but were skiing at the time of the accident. Both victims were fully buried and did not survive. Search and Rescue was notified when the victims were reported overdue. The victims were located and recovered from the accident location.

The size 2 deep, persistent slab avalanche ran on a layer of facets approximately 10-25″ from the base of the snowpack. The slope was highly wind-affected, containing deeply wind-drifted snow and areas where the snow cover was thin and rocky. The crown depth was reported to be highly variable, between 25 and 50″.
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Snowflake

Anchorage in Alaska has seen almost double its usual snowfall since December

Wesley Early
Alaska Public Radio
Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:32 UTC
Anchorage residents clear snow on Monday.
© Elyssa Loughlin/Alaska Public Media
Anchorage residents clear snow on Monday.
With the latest weekend storm in Anchorage, the city's snowfall tally since the start of December now totals about 6 feet.

That's almost double what's usual in those two-and-a-half months, according to the National Weather Service. And, it's just the amount recorded at the weather service's official measuring spot at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Some parts of town saw more, including this weekend, said meteorologist Matthew Fazal. The West Anchorage spot got about 7 inches of snow on Sunday, a new record.

"If you're going toward the Hillside, we've been getting reports of 16 to 18 inches of snow," Fazal said.

He said, just this month, more than 23 inches of snow have fallen in Anchorage.

"The normal is six," he said. "So that gets us 17.5 inches above normal."

      Read More...
Arrow Down

Latest suggestion for cooling the planet involves blasting the moon

Mike McRae
Science Alert
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:15 UTC
Blast the Moon
© 0fjd125gk87/Pixabay
With each passing year, the effects of rising global temperatures become even more obvious, while the chances of avoiding greater catastrophes in the future retreat like every melting glacier.

Desperate to avoid worst-case scenarios, researchers have proposed various measures that could, at the very least, buy us the time we might need to mature as a society and work to undo the damage.

Blasting a steady stream of dust from the surface of the Moon is the latest suggestion to get a solid scientific appraisal, with University of Utah computational astrophysicist Ben Bromley and computer scientist Sameer Khan and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory astrophysicist Scott Kenyon giving the idea a tentative thumbs up.

This isn't to say it falls into the 'good idea' category. Not yet, at least. But as far as extreme measures go, it's a plan that could come with far fewer risks and potentially lower costs than many other strategies being entertained for emergency options.

Thanks to historic levels of carbon dioxide lingering in our atmosphere, every joule of solar radiation that warms the planet has a slightly lower chance of returning to space.

The logical thing to do would be to work together to kick our nasty habit of smoking fossil fuels. Shocking as it seems, it could be faster and easier to engage in mammoth-scaled engineering projects that literally reflect a proportion of sunlight before it hits Earth and is converted into a form that's likely to stick around as heat.
      Read More...
Snowflake

Barbara weather front pounds Greece for 3rd day, meter of snow on Evia island

Tasos Kokkinidis
Greek Reporter
Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:04 UTC
The coastal town of Aidipsos in Evia is covered in snow.
© Greek Reporter/Korina Pantazi
The coastal town of Aidipsos in Evia is covered in snow.
The Barbara weather front continues to bring low temperatures, frost, and heavy snowfall in several parts of Greece for a third day on Tuesday.

Residents in the Central Greece regional units of Viotia, Fthiotida, Magnesia and Evia have been urged to "drastically limit movements and follow the instructions of the authorities" due to heavy snowfall in their area.

The warning was issued via the 112 service to mobile phones shortly before 9.30 a.m. as the Barbara cold weather front caused schools in various parts of the country to close for a second day.

Parts of the city of Volos were reported to be covered in up to 20 centimeters of snow, with heavy snowfall was also reported in Pilio and Zagora, all of which are in Thessaly.

Heavy snow is also reported in Hania, Crete, with parts of Evia island covered in up to a meter of snow. Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator said it was on alert for power cuts due to the weather, and had placed over 150 people on call on Evia, hard hit by snow.

      Read More...
Snowflake

Heavy snowfall disrupts Slovakia


WION
Tue, 07 Feb 2023 11:33 UTC
mmmmmmmm
Strong winds and snow storms have caused traffic disruptions in Slovakia. With some rail routes and the main east-west highway being closed due to heavy snowfall.

      Read More...
Tornado2

Unchartered territory: Icy-cold waterspout forms over Vermont lake in dead of winter - Media names it 'steam devil'

Adriana Navarro
Yahoo! News
Mon, 06 Feb 2023 14:46 UTC
A steam devil was seen churning over Lake Champlain from Burlington, Vermont, on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

A steam devil was seen churning over Lake Champlain from Burlington, Vermont, on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.
Record-low temperatures chilled New England on Friday, leading to a cold-weather phenomenon that's rarely seen in the United States.


Comment: Er, how about never-before-seen?! At least, not in the modern era...


A handful of folks in Burlington, Vermont, caught sight of a funnel over Lake Champlain Friday afternoon, but this was no waterspout. The funnel instead drew in steam fog, also referred to as sea fog, creating what is referred to as a "steam devil."


Comment: Oh 'tis referred to as that, eh? Or did y'all just make that up on the spot?!



Comment: Right!...

Clearly, they don't know what they're talking about.

More likely, this is yet another manifestation of differing electric potential between surface and atmospheric layers of the planet.

      Read More...
Arrow Down

Two killed, one missing after avalanche in Himachal Pradesh, India


Devdiscourse.com
Mon, 06 Feb 2023 11:40 UTC
Representative Image
© ANI
Representative image
Two labourers were killed and another is feared trapped under the snow after an avalanche hit the Shinkula-Darcha road in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

The avalanche hit Chika village on Sunday evening, they said.

Three labourers were buried under the snow along with snow cutters in the avalanche, the officials said.

A team comprising police personnel, health officials and district disaster management authority members rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation, they said.

The bodies of Ram Budha from Nepal and Rakesh from Chamba have been recovered. The third labourer, Passang Chhering Lama (27), a resident of Nepal, is missing, according to the state emergency operation centre.

The rescue operation was stopped at night as the temperature and visibility dropped. It will resume on Monday morning, the officials said.
      Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Snow and winter storms cut power, disrupt traffic across the Balkans


TVP World
Sun, 05 Feb 2023 11:05 UTC
mmmmmmmm
Gale-force winds and snowstorms closed roads and left more than 25,000 households in Serbia without power on Sunday, while fallen trees disrupted traffic in neighboring Croatia and Montenegro.

In Croatia, a red alert was issued for the regions along the Adriatic coast due to north winds estimated to reach 130 kilometers per hour.

Authorities in Montenegro's coastal town of Budva warned citizens to stay indoors after strong winds on Saturday destroyed a school roof, brought down trees and lamp posts, sank a tourist boat and disrupted traffic along the coast.

      Read More...
Snowflake

Authorities on alert as heavy snowfall continues in Greece


ekathimerini.com
Sun, 05 Feb 2023 15:36 UTC
nnnnnnnn
The cold weather front 'Barbara' hit Greece with snowfall that started late on Saturday continued on Sunday as far south as Central Evia, cancellations of boat schedules, and snow chains on tires required in Attica and sections of the Peloponnese.

Meanwhile, the Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, police, regional, and city authorities are meeting again since 11:00 on Sunday morning.

In Attica, traffic police has said drivers moving in the entire road network of the Attica prefecture must carry snow chains or other non-slip equipment. It also banned heavy trucks of over 3.5 tons from several highways. Authorities have also banned such trucks from sections of the Athens-Thessaloniki national road as well.

      Read More...
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