Extreme Temperatures
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Temperatures drop to record low as arctic blast sweeps Canada, U.S.

Michel Comte
AlterNet
Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:16 UTC

Arctic air sweeping through Canada and parts of the United States sent temperatures plunging to record lows on Wednesday with a wind chill of minus 40 degrees (Celsius and Fahrenheit).

Canada was the coldest nation in the world at the start of the day with with temperatures as low as minus 43.1 degrees Celsius (-45.6 Fahrenheit) in the Northwest Territories, according to public broadcaster CBC.

In Ottawa, buildings cracked in the cold, making sounds like the crash of a wrecking ball.

The Big Chill: Unusual stratospheric phenomenon is bringing frigid cold to U.S.

ClimateCentral.org
Wed, 23 Jan 2013 07:32 UTC

An unusual event playing out high in the atmosphere above the Arctic Circle is setting the stage for what could be weeks upon weeks of frigid cold across wide swaths of the U.S., having already helped to bring cold and snowy weather to parts of Europe.This phenomenon, known as a "sudden stratospheric warming event," started on Jan. 6, but is something that is just beginning to have an effect on weather patterns across North America and Europe.

While the physics behind sudden stratospheric warming events are complicated, their implications are not: such events are often harbingers of colder weather in North America and Eurasia. The ongoing event favors colder and possibly stormier weather for as long as four to eight weeks after the event, meaning that after a mild start to the winter, the rest of this month and February could bring the coldest weather of the winter season to parts of the U.S., along with a heightened chance of snow.

Why should we be concerned about the next cold climate era?

Space and Science Research Corporation
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:27 UTC

This new era called a 'solar hibernation' or 'grand minimum' is caused by a repeating 206 year cycle of the Sun. These hibernations are accompanied by historic reductions in the energy output of the Sun. SSRC research shows the next solar hibernation will bring a long period of cold just as it has done before every time this cycle 'turns over' from its global warming phase to its global cooling phase. In addition, SSRC research backed by that of other researchers has shown a high degree of correlation between solar hibernations and the world's largest earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.Mr. Casey, President of the SSRC was the first authority to notify the White House and other government agencies of this coming solar hibernation in early 2007. Numerous other scientists discovered the same cycles of the Sun. Their findings have been ignored or buried in science journals and thus essentially unknown to the public.During the first six months of 2011, NASA, The US Air Force, and the National Solar Observatory all confirmed the coming solar grand minimum. The next solar hibernation and according to the SSRC and many other scientists, the next climate change to decades of record cold has begun.

This cold era is expected to last for approximately 22 to 33 years with the coldest temperatures to be seen during the 2020's and 2030's either side of the bottom year of the cycle in 2031, and have temperatures on the order of that observed during the Dalton Minimum (1793-1830). We have already seen the early signs of the new climate with record cold winters globally for some of the past four years. During the winter of 2011-2012, while the central and eastern USA experienced a relatively warm winter, Europe and Asia had a difficult winter. We have entered a period of record temperature setting both hot and cold. This trend of highly variable extremes of both hot and cold within a general trend of globally declining temperatures is fully characteristic of the transition between climate changes.

Snow grounds hundreds of flights across Europe

Guy Jackson
Agence France-Presse
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:09 UTC

London - Hundreds of flights were cancelled and hazardous roads and railways disrupted traffic and caused countless accidents across Europe on Monday as heavy snow and freezing weather gripped the continent.

Frankfurt airport, Germany's main air hub, cancelled around 500 departing and arriving flights, representing 40 percent of its daily schedule.

The busiest airport in Europe, London Heathrow, scrapped more than 200 flights.

Heathrow said a decision was taken 24 hours in advance to cancel 130 flights due to predicted poor visibility, but problems elsewhere in Europe were having an impact too.

"The additional cancellations are because a number of airports elsewhere in Europe are experiencing problems so that has a knock-on effect for us," an airport spokesman said.

Heathrow has spent 36 million pounds ($57 million) on upgrading its snow-clearing equipment since 2010, when freezing temperatures and snow almost brought the airport to a halt in the approach to Christmas.

Freezing rain and snow also led to treacherous conditions on railways and roads, triggering numerous accidents.

England: 'Snowman cars' add to travel headaches as cold snap spreads north and east

Martin Wainwright
Guardian
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:36 UTC

More flights cancelled, trains delayed and roads closed, and AA warns over drivers failing to clear snow from car roof.

Heavy snow brought its usual mixture of beauty, fun and serious disruption to most of the country on Monday as the cold front that turned southern England white on Sunday moved east and north.

Hundreds of schools were closed, disrupting some GCSE and AS-level exams, and there were cancellations and delays on roads, rail and in the air as bitterly cold winds added drifting to already deep falls and widespread ice.

Heathrow airport suffered worse disruption than expected with 175 flights cancelled by midday, well over the figure of 130 predicted earlier. Sunshine brought a rapid thaw but the total later crept close to the 260 cancellations of Sunday. The airport blamed poor visibility.

Gatwick and Birmingham airports were also badly disrupted and East Midlands and Robin Hood airports were closed to flights.

More flight disruptions across Europe, as heavy snow causes chaos

The Extinction Protocol
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:44 UTC

Hundreds of flights were cancelled and road and rail traffic was severely disrupted across much of Europe on Monday, as heavy snow and freezing weather gripped the continent. Frankfurt airport, Germany's main air hub, cancelled around 500 departing and arriving flights, representing 40 percent of its daily schedule. The busiest airport in Europe, London Heathrow, scrapped nearly 200 flights. Heathrow said a decision was taken 24 hours in advance to cancel 130 flights because visibility was expected to deteriorate as the day wore on, but problems elsewhere in Europe were having an impact too. "The additional cancellations are because a number of airports elsewhere in Europe are experiencing problems so that has a knock-on effect for us," an airport spokesman said.

Heathrow has spent 36 million pounds ($57 million) on upgrading its snow-clearing equipment since 2010, when freezing temperatures and snow almost brought the airport to a halt in the approach to Christmas. Europe's number three airport, Paris's Charles de Gaulle, was also hit. France's civil aviation authority DGAC said it expected to scrap 40 percent of flights to and from Charles de Gaulle and Paris's other main airport, Orly, in a precautionary measure following heavy snowfall on Sunday. Even Munich, a city usually accustomed to taking snow in its stride, cancelled 161 flights at its airport as it grappled with the exceptional conditions.

Spot gas prices in Europe skyrocket with temperatures fall

RT.com
Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:11 UTC

Cold weather in Europe has caused this season's record-high spot prices for gas, crossing the $400 mark. But even this does not make stable but higher long-term contract prices more attractive to European customers.

Over the weekend extreme weather has swept across Europe from the UK to Spain, claiming lives and causing flight cancelations and power outages. The freezing temperatures have forced Europe to consume more gas prompting the spot price to reach $406 per 1000 cubic meter. Gas at Britain's National Balancing Point traded at $398.7 last week which was 8.5% higher than in first week of January.

However, Russia's Gazprom, which in 2011 provided 32% of total gas supplies to Europe, will not benefit much from the rise. Only 20% of Gazprom's gas exports to the EU were spot deals, Sergey Vakhrameev, analyst at Metropol told Vedomosti daily. Long-term contracts make up the majority of Gazprom deliveries, while spot supplies are only 7% of total exports, Vakhrameev added.

Record snowfall closes lifts and roads in the Pyrenees

meteo morris
Wepowder
Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:39 UTC

The Pyrenees are experiencing historic, but also terrifying moments right now. Around 200 centimeters of freshies came down in the ski resorts on the French side of the Pyrenees since Sunday. All the lifts in the resorts are closed since Tuesday morning as a precaution.

The combination of a stormy wind (100 km/h), the huge and intense snowfall and the fact that warmer air is coming in this afternoon is causing a very critical situation. Around 200 centimeters came down since Sunday and you can expect another 40-70 centimeters today.

Heavy snow sends Northern Mexico into state of emergency

HispanicallySpeakingnews.com
Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:33 UTC

The Mexican government declared a emergency in 21 municipalities in the northern state of Chihuahua due to heavy snow and a cold wave blamed for six deaths there.

Federal officials said that the measure, which was requested by the Chihuahua government, will allow authorities to access resources within the national emergency fund to cover food, clothing and health care needs among the affected population. Salvador Echavarria Campos, a meteorologist with Chihuahua's UEPC civil defense agency, said that the lowest temperature registered Thursday morning was minus 11 C (12 F) in the municipality of Bocoyna, in the state's mountainous region.

On Tuesday, UEPC director Luis Lujan Peña confirmed that the snow had cut off some 150 communities in the Sierra Tarahumara mountains. So far, official figures are that six people have died in Chihuahua and two others in the western state of Michoacan from causes linked to the low temperatures.

Snowpocalypse Russia: 'Snow tsunami' swallows streets, cars, buildings

RT
Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:21 UTC

On Friday, Moscow was on a verge of traffic collapse as more than 10 inches of snow fell on the city, which is more than half of January's average. Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight in the capital's major airports, as several dozen flights were delayed.

Muscovites woke up and found their cars, driveways and houses buried under a thick layer of snow, with city workers unable to get to smaller streets. Moscow's Yandex app showed traffic at level 10, the highest possible, as strong winds created blizzard conditions and built imposing snow drifts.

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