Extreme Temperatures
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Ice Cube

Cold snap in Nepal kills 17 in 10 days

Cold wave has killed at least 17 people across the Terai plains of Nepal in the past 10 days, reports from across the country said Wednesday.

As of today, seven individuals have died in Mahottari, five in Siraha, four in Rautahat and one in Bara districts since Dec. 15. The number of people visiting hospitals due to weather-related disease is increasing.

"Around 25 patients are visiting the hospital every day," a report said quoting Dr Prabin Jha of Rautahat district hospital as saying.

The districts where the deaths have been reported are some of the poorest Terai districts of Nepal. "Those people are dying who have no quilt or blanket to sleep with during the nights," Basanta Khatiwada, a Bara-based journalist told Xinhua.

"It would be better if some organizations come forward and distribute warm quilts and blankets to the poor," he added.

Igloo

Cold snap in Northern India kills 25

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© AFPHeavy fog has disrupted train services
At least 25 people have died in a cold snap sweeping across northern India, state-run broadcaster All India Radio has said.

The majority of deaths were in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana are among the other northern states badly hit.

Most deaths were among homeless and elderly people.

Heavy fog has disrupted flights and train services out of the capital, Delhi, and neighbouring states.

The capital Delhi is also affected by the cold spell, with temperatures dipping to 7C and fog disrupting flight schedules.

Dense fog has also affected train services and flights in Rajasthan, where temperatures fell to 3.8C.

An official from the India Meteorological Department said the cold weather would continue for a number of days.

Snowflake

Snowboarder and ski patroller killed in California avalanches brought on by near-record snowfall

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A 49-year-old snowboarder was found dead in an avalanche of snow in the Lake Tahoe area Monday, officials said.
Because of deadly avalanches that killed a snowboarder and a ski patroller, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued a warning Tuesday about "considerable risk" of further slides. Two other skiers were injured in a separate avalanche.

Ski resorts, meanwhile, reported near-record snowfalls and brisk business.

The Avalanche Center advised skiers and hikers to choose their routes carefully, particularly on steep back-country terrain, said Marvin Boyd of the National Weather Service in Reno. He said the Sierra snowpack is weak and vulnerable to collapse after a snowfall of nearly 5 feet since Friday.

On Monday, the body of snowboarder Steven Mark Anderson, 49, a resident of Hirschdale near Truckee, was found by a Nevada County sheriff's search dog beneath 2 to 3 feet of snow at the Donner Ski Ranch.

Cloud Lightning

Severe U.S. snowstorm kills five

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© AP Photo/The Gleaner, Mike LawrenceTraffic moves in the U.S. 41 By-Pass in Henderson, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 as a snow storm moves through the area making travel treacherous.
A powerful winter storm that has claimed at least five lives pounded the US midwest and northeast and disrupted post-Christmas travel last night.

Heavy snow and high winds prompted National Weather Service blizzard and winter storm warnings for the Ohio River Valley and into the Northeast. Approximately 37cm of snow was recorded at New Baltimore, Michigan, as the storm headed north and east. An estimated 200,000 thousand people are without electricity.

About 1,500 US flights were cancelled yesterday, according to FlightAware.com, a site that tracks flights. Some 170 flights also have been called off today, and several airlines waived ticket change fees for affected customers.

All four runways at Philadelphia International Airport were open, but some travellers still faced some cancelled flights.

The National Weather Service warned that between 30 to 45cm of snow was expected in northern New England, with snow falling through until tomorrow morning. The storm was accompanied by freezing rain and sleet, making driving treacherous, it said.

Snowflake

'Pretty nasty' snow storm to hit Ontario, parts of Quebec and New Brunswick

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© Wayne Cuddington , Ottawa CitizenFile photo of a winter storm in Ottawa, Ontario.
Toronto - Environment Canada warned Wednesday that a dangerous winter storm was moving into the southern and eastern regions of Ontario as the weather system works its way up from the U.S.

The agency said in a special weather statement that much of the province will be walloped by snow starting Wednesday afternoon as the outer reaches of a weather system making its way north from Kentucky crosses the border.

Meteorologist Arnold Ashton said the system will move on to deliver snow to parts of southern Quebec and New Brunswick on Thursday.

"It's the combination of snow and blowing snow that makes this particularly nasty," Ashton said.

Environment Canada said the areas of Dunnville and Niagara in southwestern Ontario and the stretch between Kingston and Cornwall in the east will bear the worst of the storm, getting 15 to 20 centimetres of snow.

The weather agency said other communities in those regions can expect up to 15 cm of snow, while central Ontario residents should get their snow shovels ready for 5 to 10 cm.

Airplane

About 200 Philadelphia flights cancelled due to storm

Philadelphia - The winter storm has led to the cancellation of a couple hundred flights at Philadelphia International Airport as well as delays in departures and arrivals.

Airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said Wednesday evening that the airport had recorded about 200 cancelled flights due to the winter weather.

She said there have also been delays in arriving and departing flights, with arrivals delayed four hours or more.

The University Park airport in State College in central Pennsylvania said Wednesday night that it had closed due to the storm but planned to reopen Thursday.

Passengers and people coming to pick them up are urged to contact airlines to check on flight status, or check with the airport on its website (www.phl.org ) or toll-free flight information number (1-800-745-4283).

Source: The Associated Press

Igloo

Numerous Japanese cities reach record lows as freezing temperature persist

Heavy Snow
© The Japan Daily Press
As Japan continues to deal with a persisting cold front, Christmas Day brought record low temperatures to as many as 44 locations, mostly in the northern region and on the island of Hokkaido. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that cold temperatures would last throughout the week, with more heavy snowfall in the north and areas that face the Sea of Japan.

Tuesday saw temperatures setting a record low for the month of December, with Hokkaido's city of Furano reaching minus 28.4 degrees, the coldest ever recorded since monitoring began. Record lows were also made in Tokyo, at 6 degrees, and the prefectures of Tottori and Saitama with minus 8 degrees. Homes and offices in Japan very rarely have central heating systems, and windows are poorly insulated, making it sometimes difficult to keep warm in the winter. People instead rely on kerosene-powered space heaters, creating a high demand for oil. In areas where snowfall makes it difficult to drive, gasoline stations drive trucks around with tanks of fuel and long hoses, making deliveries so people don't even have to leave their homes.

The city of Monbetsu, also in Hokkaido, reported a meteorological phenomenon known as ice fog occurring on Tuesday. The meteorological agency says this takes place when the water vapors from the ocean rise and meet cold air on land to form thick, low-hanging clouds of very cold fog.

Cloud Precipitation

Freezing rain causes 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma

Oklahoma highway officials have re-opened Interstate 40 in downtown Oklahoma City after a 21-vehicle pileup at its intersection with Interstate 35.

The two cross-country interstates meet near downtown Oklahoma City. Freezing rain in advance of a snowstorm slickened the highway overnight, and a semi-trailer jackknifed on a bridge over the Oklahoma River.

Ice Cube

Cold as Christmas: Emergency in Siberia, chilliest night in Moscow

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© Reuters / Ilya NaymushinA woman walks past trees covered with heavy hoarfrost and snow on the bank of the Yenisei River, with the air temperature at about minus 26 degrees Celsius (minus 14.8 degrees Fahrenheit), outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, December 24, 2012.
The coldest ever December has rolled through Russia causing the evacuation of hundreds of people in Siberia, where temperature hit below -50C, and plunging Moscow into its coldest night in the season. Will Christmas lift the frosty spell?

­The cold weather that has Russia in its icy embrace has been causing all kinds of havoc. Flights and buses delayed and cancelled, many schools have been closed, and there have been power outages just when power is most needed.
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© RIA Novosti / Alexsey NichukchinPolice patrol in downtown Moscow on December 22, 2012.
In the town of Kyshtym, the Urals, 14,000 people are still waiting for the central heating to be restored. On Sunday a break in the central pipe left residents anxiously watching the red line on their home thermometers plunging as temperatures outside slid to -24C (-11F).

Just over the Urals, a state of emergency has been declared and over 2,800 people were evacuated from the village of Khovu-Aksy, the Republic of Tyva, temperatures there a lethal -38C (-36F). A helicopter was sent to pick up kids and women. Two days into the emergency, authorities are frantically repairing central heating pipes while most of the evacuees are staying with their relatives.

Snowflake

Half of the U.S. set for a white Christmas: huge winter storm expected to dump snow from Dallas to Maine . . . and wreak havoc for 87m travelers

More than 150million Americans are dreaming of a white Christmas. Meteorologists predict snowfall could blanket nearly half the nation on Tuesday - from Dallas to Maine - as a massive snowstorm moves from the Great Plains and up into the Northeast. Accuweather is now predicting that 'significant' snow will fall in Oklahoma and Arkansas, potentially giving Oklahoma City its first Christmas snowfall since 1914.

Little Rock Arkansas could get up to three inches. That last time more than an inch fell on Christmas Day was 1926.
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© Accuweather
Even Dallas, Texas, could see flurries for Christmas - though likely no accumulation. The last time Dallas saw snowfall on Christmas Day was 1997 - though a 2009 blizzard left several inches behind on Christmas Eve.

'Southern Oklahoma and Arkansas look like they're going to get slammed with some serious snow, strong winds -- four to eight inches in some places. It's a pretty powerful storm system,' Ted Ryan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, Texas, told MailOnline.