Extreme Temperatures
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Igloo

Chicago experiences 10th snowiest winter on record

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© Scott Olson/Getty ImagesA man clears snow from the sidewalk in front of an apartment building on February 2, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. Snow began falling in the city Sunday morning and did not stop until early Monday morning, leaving behind more than 19 inches. It was the fifth largest snowfall in the city’s history.
Not only was this weekend's blizzard the 5th largest snowstorm in the city's history, it also made the past week the 8th snowiest week on record for Chicago.

According to the National Weather Service, a total of 21.3 inches of snow was measured at O'Hare from Jan. 29 through Feb. 4. Virtually all of that - 19.3 inches - came during the snowstorm that started Saturday night and ended Monday morning.

Also thanks to the blizzard, this February is already the 10th snowiest on record in Chicago, with more than three weeks left until the end of the month.

With 36.7 inches of snow so far this winter in Chicago, we've already reached the normal snowfall for the entire average winter season in Chicago, meaning - despite no measurable snow in December - Chicago is virtually assured of having above normal snowfall this winter.

There will be a nice break from the snow during the next couple days. CBS 2 Meteorologist Megan Glaros reports no precipitation is expected for the next 24 to 48 hours.

While Thursday is the first time in the past eight days that Chicago won't get any snow, temperatures plunged below zero overnight.

Shortly before 8 a.m., the temperature dipped to 2 below zero at O'Hare International Airport, with a wind chill of 10 below.

It was even colder in some outlying suburbs, Thursday morning, with temperatures of as low as 14 below in Kankakee, and 16 below in Aurora.

The frigid conditions won't last long though. While Thursday's high will be only about 16 degrees, temperatures will return closer to normal the next several days, with a high of 32 on Friday, 35 on Saturday, and 32 on Sunday. Next week will start about the same, with highs in the upper 20s or lower 30s through Wednesday.

Snowflake

New statewide snowfall record set in Eastport, Maine: Over 6ft in 10 days

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© Don DunbarSnow was piled up on sidewalks of Eastport on Tuesday, after a major storm brought several inches of snow to the small city in Washington County.
Seventy-six inches and counting.

That's how much snow has fallen in Eastport since Jan. 25, which is a new 10-day record for documented snowfall anywhere in Maine. The previous record of 71 inches was set more than 50 years ago at Ripogenus Dam, just west of Baxter State Park in Piscataquis County, over a 10-day period, from late December 1962 to early January 1963, according to the National Weather Service.

Victor Nouhan, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Caribou, emphasized Wednesday the amount of data and information available to the federal agency is limited, so he cannot say whether Eastport's 76 inches is the most snowfall ever in Maine in a week and a half. He said the Fryeburg area got an exceptionally heavy dumping of snow in February 1969, which may rival the amount that officially has been measured in Eastport.

Ice Cube

New Brunswick braces for fourth snow storm in a week; state of emergency declared in Saint John

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© Dan Culberson for The Globe and Mail
New Brunswick is bracing for another blast of snow after being battered by a third storm in less than a week.

A local state of emergency has been declared in the southern peninsula of Saint John, whose streets are piled high with snow. Environment Canada says more snow is expected to begin Wednesday night in some areas of New Brunswick and will continue well into Thursday.

Snow vs. Snow: How high is it?

So far this year, Saint John has seen more than 160 centimetres of snow. Normally, Saint John has 15 to 20 centimetres accumlated at this time of year. Environment Canada meteorologist Claude Cote said Wednesday night's incoming system could bring 15 to 25 more centimetres to the city.

For some perspective on how much snow that is: Here's how Saint John's recent snowfall compares with one of the city's most famous sons, actor Donald Sutherland. Recently renowned for playing President Coriolanus Snow in the Hunger Games film franchise, Mr. Sutherland is 6-foot-4, yet his hometown's piles of snow would nearly bury him.

Saint John's snowfall is also formidable when compared with the rest of Canada, parts of which saw less snow in a month than Atlantic Canada has seen in three days.

Atlantic Canada's snowy week
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Saint John

Mayor Mel Norton says it was the first time in almost three decades that the city declared a state of emergency, which allows the city to ban on-street parking.

He says the state of emergency will be in effect for up to a week in the city's southern peninsula.

Comment: Listen to SOTT's interview with the authors of Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection, for an in depth look at the crazy weather we are having here on the planet and the possible human connections.


Snowflake

Record-breaking 113cm of snowfall in Luleå, Sweden

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© TTLuleå resident Anitha Andesson enjoying the record snowfall.
The people of Luleå in northern Sweden are used to white winters, but this Tuesday the snowfall hit new heights - or new depths - breaking a record set almost 50 years ago.

As snow continued to fall across Sweden, an impressive snowfall was measured at Luleå airport on Tuesday morning, breaking the town's previous record of 111 cm in 1966.

"This has happened very fast. On January 28th they had 56 cm. In a week they have doubled their snow depth," Alexandra Ohlsson, a meteorologist at SMHI, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Arrow Up

Once again, Great Lakes ice far above normal

Great Lakes ice cover has been above normal five of the last seven years, and seven of the last thirteen years. It is already far above the normal annual maximum, with another month of growth left.
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Many experts claim the exact opposite, because their career depends on lying about the climate.

Telescope

Ice halo around the moon seen in the UK

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Pictured is the moon halo over the, Isle of Wight. The moon halo is formed by a high-altitude ice crystal cloud that gathers around the moon
Last night many observers in the UK reported seeing an odd halo of light around the moon.

The remarkable phenomenon was captured in stunning images, showing the moon surrounded by a bright ring of light.

The spectacle is caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere, specifically when thin cirrus or cirrostratus clouds are present at an altitude of about 20,000 feet (6,100 metres).

Binoculars

Snowstorm brings Eurasian thrush to Apple River, Canada

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This rare Fieldfare was spotted by Blaine and Kathleen Spicer in Apple River, Cumberland County, on Jan. 31, and again over the next two days.
Kathleen Spicer has seen a lot of different birds in her yard over the years, but very few in North America have been visited by a Fieldfare.

The robin-like European bird was first spotted by Spicer's husband Blaine in an apple tree in their yard during a snowstorm on Jan. 31, and was still being observed there as of Monday.

"Blaine saw it out the window and said, 'I don't know what this is,' so I grabbed my camera and stood on a chair to get a picture of it," aid Mrs. Spicer. "I thought maybe it was a Varied Thrush, because it had a robin shape. But when I looked at the picture, I knew it was something else."

Although she had never seen a Fieldfare before, there was something familiar about the bird. She grabbed a guidebook she had for European birds, and there one was right on the cover.

Snowflake Cold

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil 'forecasts' 6 more weeks of winter

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© AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarGroundhog Club handler Ron Ploucha, left, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 129th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
The handlers of Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said Monday the furry rodent has forecast six more weeks of winter.

Members of the top hat-wearing Inner Circle announced the "prediction" Monday morning.

A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.

Snowflake Cold

Winter is here: Sub-zero temperatures continue in UK with another week of snow predicted

snow buries car Derbyshire
After extreme weather, a car is almost hidden by several feet of snow near Castleton in the Derbyshire Peak District yesterday afternoon
It's bad news for anyone who didn't pick up a coat in the January sales - last month's icy spell is expected to continue all week.

The mercury was expected to fall to -11C in some parts of the UK overnight, with subzero temperatures expected every night this week and snow predicted across swathes of the nation.

Southern England is gearing up for its coldest snap of the winter, with forecasters saying it will fall to -4C in the South tonight - as cold as your fridge.

Simon Partidge of the Met Office said: 'The maximum temperature on Monday will only be around 4C or 5C which is about the same as inside your fridge.

'And there is a further band of rain, sleet and snow coming in on Monday night which will see some snow in Western parts on Tuesday. It will be dry with sunny spells from Wednesday, but still very cold with some snow on the East Coast.

Airplane

Heavy snowfall closes down Bratislava international airport in Slovakia

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An official in Slovakia says heavy snow has forced the closure of the international airport in the capital.

Veronika Sevcikova, spokeswoman for Bratislava's M. R. Stefanik Airport, says all outgoing flights have been canceled, while the incoming flights have been diverted to airports in neighboring Austria and Hungary.

Sevcikova says one incoming flights have been diverted to Linz, Austria, and three others to Budapest, Hungary.

She says it is not clear when the airport might be reopened.

The snow has caused traffic disruption and road closures all across the country Friday.



Source: Associated Press