Extreme Temperatures
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No one talks about it: Solar System 'climate change'... happening beyond planet Earth

Mysteriously, warming is happening across the solar system. The one common factor is at the center of it all: the sun.
solar storm hitting Mars
© NASAThe solar system’s powerful sun. Artist’s image of a solar storm hitting Mars, stripping ions from the planet’s upper atmosphere.
Because man is burning fossil fuels, our planet is allegedly becoming increasingly covered by a blanket of "heat-trapping" greenhouse gases, scientists like to make people believe. The recent global warming simply couldn't have anything to do with the sun, they insist.

They're likely way off the mark.

Today German Prof. Stefan Homburg tweeted a summary of warming that's happening at other places within our solar system, suggesting the sun is behind it.

"Global warming isn't only happening on earth," he tweets.

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Pikes Peak in Colorado gets buried with a few inches of September snow

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© CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS
Many Colorado peaks have picked up the first measurable snow of the season from our September cold wave that pushed through over the weekend into Monday morning.

While most of the Front Range and eastern plains had a steady soaking rain overnight Sunday into Monday morning, many higher peaks of the state above 11,000 to 12,000 feet were treated to early September snow.

Pikes Peak woke up with measurable snow to start the week. While the peak can see snow during the Summer months at over 14,000 feet, most of those storms only provide a dusting. Workers had to do a little early season shoveling.


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Extreme avalanche danger in Las Leñas, Argentina after resort sees over 3 feet of snow in 24 hours

Much of Las Leñas’ terrain is closed today due to avalanche hazard.
© Las LeñasMuch of Las Leñas’ terrain is closed today due to avalanche hazard.
1 meter of snow in 24 hours. That's approximately 3.2 feet in a day—roughly 39 inches in only one full rotation of the Earth. And now the people of Las Leñas have to deal with it.

At this time the exact snowfall total from the monstrous 24-hour storm cycle at the Argentinian ski area has yet to be confirmed because it's been too deep for staff to efficiently walk outside and measure it. What is known with precision, however, is that the avalanche danger in Las Leñas right now is extreme, with the probability of a slide considered to be certain.


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Brrrrr! Spring snow for parts of South Africa

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Very cold, windy and wet conditions and light snowfall are expected on Monday over parts of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and interior of the Western Cape.

The South Africa Weather Service issued a yellow level 1 alert for damaging wind between Plettenberg Bay and Maputo and along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline.


Igloo

Antarctica suffers coldest August since 2002, planes grounded due to extreme freeze

Boeing C-17 Antarctica
© USAF/Maj Tyler Boyd
August was a frigid month across the bottom of the world, particularly at Russia's research station Vostok.

The preliminary monthly average for August 2023 at Vostok Station has come in at -71.2C (-96.2F).

This makes for the coldest August since 2002, -71.5C (-96.7F), and also the coldest month since July 2016, -71.8C (-97.2F).

Vostok's chill has now spilled into September, too.

On Friday, Sept 1 an anomalous minimum of -77.9C (108.2F) was reached.

Note, this reading likely won't represent the true daily minimum. At 12Z the temperature was -77.8C (chart below). It was almost certainly colder earlier but due to a quirk of the Russian algorithm, extremes are only documented during the second half of the day.

Snowflake

Snow falls in August as northern Italy hit by storms

lle dell'Agnello Alpine pass between Italy and France on Monday as the area was hit by unexpected summer snowfall.
© Vigili del Fuocolle dell'Agnello Alpine pass between Italy and France on Monday as the area was hit by unexpected summer snowfall.
A town in the Italian Alps woke up to unusual summer snowfall on Monday, as storms, flooding, and even tornadoes hit the north of the country.

Snow has come exceptionally early to one part of the Alps this year after temperatures in the area reportedly plunged by around 20 degrees within just 48 hours.

A cold air front moving in from northern Europe brought the heatwave to an abrupt end in northern Italy over the weekend, and authorities issued weather warnings as the sudden change in temperature brought with it heavy rainfall, storms, flash floods, and even mini tornadoes.

In the Alpine resort town of Sestriere, residents and holidaymakers woke up to several centimetres of snow on Monday morning - just days after the area had recorded normal summer temperatures.


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Summer snow blankets the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland & Cervinia, Italy

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The iconic Matterhorn mountain and surrounding ski area awoke to a beautiful dump of snow this morning, as fresh snow coated the area.

The dumped snow fell overnight across the Matterhorn Ski Paradise area, a unique cross-border ski resort encompassing Zermatt in Switzerland and Cervinia in Italy. Webcam footage showed accumulations of 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) of snow at the summit and ski area base, turning the whole area into a beautiful white.

While summer snowfalls do occasionally happen in the Alps, it's still unusual in August and exciting to get snow at that time of year.

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Best of the Web: Las Leñas Resort, Argentina, reports storm snowfall total of over 11 FEET in 4 days

Las Leñas base area on the morning of August 23rd, 2023. Captured by PowderQuest.
Las Leñas base area on the morning of August 23rd, 2023.
In the latest SnowBrains Forecast, we knew it was going to be a busy week for South America. A powerful storm was coming in with the possibility of many resorts seeing 3-6 feet of snow with some seeing as much as 9-12 feet or more.

The forecast may have materialized the most at Las Leñas Resort in Argentina when it reported over 11 feet of new snow at mid-mountain over the last four days. You can tell they were excited when they posted on their Instagram page earlier this week with the caption "This is how we are today August 22. It's the moment!"


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Eastern Bolivia battles raging wildfires, western Bolivia faces unexpected snowfall

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Bolivia is facing weather extremes on both ends. the eastern part of the South American nation is battling with raging wildfires. While the western part is under a cold spell, experiencing unexpected snowfall.


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Summer snow on the Alps in Germany and Austria

Webcam screen capture obtained August 8th  Zugspitze Webcams
© Zugspitze WebcamsWebcam screen capture obtained August 8th.
Snow in August? Ja!

Yesterday evening, Zugspitze ski area, a German resort located on the flanks of the nation's highest mountain -- also called Zugspitze -- shared on Facebook that it'd received roughly four inches at its summit area.

While I wouldn't count on Zugspitze opening to skiers any time soon, the photos the resort posted are worth checking out and indicate that ski season, with a bit of luck, is just around the corner.