Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

Metre of snow in Pyrénées and floods hit south-east France

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Severe weather struck several parts of France at the weekend causing dramatic scenes, particularly in the south-east.

Heavy rain caused flooding in a number of towns and coastal gales brought down trees. Snow covered the lowest altitudes of the Alps and more than a metre fell in the Pyrénées.

A roadside assistance worker was killed near La Turbie, close to the French border with Monaco, after consecutive accidents on the A8.

The man was responding to an initial accident between two cars, caused by the rainfall, and was subsequently hit by a third vehicle driving too quickly in the heavy rain.

Four other people were injured, two severely, including another roadside assistance worker and two gendarmes.


Attention

Large ingenous events, cosmic impacts and crises in the history of life

Impact
© Randall Carlson Newsletter - March 2024
Last month, in the February 2024 issue of the Kosmographia Newsletter I reported on new research correlating a series of large-scale igneous events which produced the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) and the Siberian Traps with mass extinction episodes. On February 8 another paper was published in the journal Global and Planetary Change which further supports correlations between mass extinction episodes with gigantic volcanic eruptions and catastrophic cosmic impacts. The lead author of the paper is Michael Rampino, who has for decades been in the forefront of researching catastrophic events in Earth history. I have been following his work since the early 1980s and hold him in high regard as a scientist who is willing to think outside established paradigms of Earth history. The abstract to the paper begins:

"We find that Large Igneous Province (LIP) volcanism, mostly continental flood basalts (CFBs), along with the largest extraterrestrial impacts show significant correlations with mass-extinction events in the Phanerozoic geologic record. The ages of the 6 major marine mass extinctions (≥ 40% extinction of genera) of the last 541 MY ̶ the end-Ordovician (~444 Ma), late Devonian (~ 372 Ma), end-Guadalupian (~259 Ma), end-Permian (~ 252 Ma), end-Triassic (~201 Ma), and end-Cretaceous (66 Ma) extinctions are significantly correlated with high-quality U — Pb zircon and 40Ar/39Ar ages of 6 continental flood basalts (CFBs) ̶ the Cape St. Mary's, Viluy, Emeishan, Siberian, CAMP, and the Deccan Basalts.

U — Pb zircon dating (Uranium-lead) is a widely used method for dating metamorphic rocks typically employing a thermal ionization mass spectrometer. Zircon is used because it includes uranium and thorium atoms in its crystalline structure when forming but rejects lead, so any lead found in a zircon crystal is radiogenic, meaning it results from radioactive decay. Argon dating can measure Argon isotopes from a single mineral grain. The ratio of Argon 40 to Argon 39 yields the age of the sample.

The extinctions listed above are considered to be major events in the history of life on Earth. A number of less severe extinctions have taken place, although these events are somewhat more difficult to discern in the geologic/palaeontologic record. Nevertheless, a correlation can be discerned between these extinctions and both volcanic eruptions and cosmic impact.

Arrow Down

Avalanche blocks tunnel in Northern Italy: 6 thousand people isolated

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6 thousand people remained isolated after an avalanche in the Aosta Valley hit a tunnel in the municipality of Gaby, in the province of Aosta. The tunnel is located on regional road 44 in the Lys valley and, due to the fall of an impressive snow avalanche, it has been closed for a few hours now. The two municipalities further upstream are completely isolated from the rest of the region.

Italy is currently affected by a strong wave of bad weather. Cyclone Fedra gives no respite in the North, where, on Monday 4 March 2024, the orange alert has already been triggered, in particular in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna.


Cloud Precipitation

California and Nevada are battered by monster 'life-threatening' blizzard

california nevada blizzard
© GettyWorkers clear train tracks as snow falls north of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a powerful winter storm, March 2, 2024
145mph winds and tornado warnings force ski resorts to shut amid avalanche fears

California authorities shut down 100 miles of Interstate 80 on Friday as the biggest snow storm of the season bore down on the Sierra Nevada.

Residents were urged to take shelter and stay off roads as they prepared for up to 10 feet of snow in some areas and damaging winds up to 145mph.

'AAANNNDD WE'RE CLOSED!!' the California Highway Patrol posted on X, saying the closure was due to 'spin outs, high winds, and low visibility. No estimated time of reopening the freeway.'

Authorities closed the interstate in both directions after 5pm on a day when the majority of more than a dozen ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were closed, a tornado touched down in central California and visitors to Yosemite National Park were told to leave.

Snowflake Cold

Heavy snow kills 9 in Afghanistan as extreme weather blocks key highways

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At least nine people have died in Afghanistan and two have suffered injuries after the conflict-battered country was hit by heavy snowfall and storm, the Taliban's caretaker government said on Friday.

The bad weather combined with snow and sub zero temperatures has hit provinces running from northern Afghanistan to southern parts of the country.

"Due to cold weather and rainfall in Kandahar, Helmand, Badghis, Sar-e-Pol, Badakhshan and Jawzjan, nine people have died and two have been injured," said Janan Saiq, the spokesperson for the Taliban-led ministry of state for disaster management, reported Afghan news channel Tolo news.

He added that the extreme weather destroyed residential houses and livestock.

Visuals shared by Afghan journalist in exile Bilal Sarwary showed extreme snowfall in western Afghanistan which led to a local losing his cattle.


Snowflake Cold

2.1 million animals dead as extreme winter weather hits Mongolia

This winter has been more severe than usual in Mongolia, with lower than normal temperatures and very heavy snowfall
© Byambasuren BYAMBA-OCHIR / AFPThis winter has been more severe than usual in Mongolia, with lower than normal temperatures and very heavy snowfall
The landlocked country is no stranger to severe weather from December to March, when temperatures plummet as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit) in some areas.

But this winter has been more severe than usual, with lower than normal temperatures and very heavy snowfall, the United Nations said in a recent report.

As of Monday, 2.1 million head of livestock had died from starvation and exhaustion, Gantulga Batsaikhan of the country's agriculture ministry said.

Mongolia had 64.7 million such animals, including sheep, goats, horses and cows, at the end of 2023, official statistics show.


Comment: Mongolia experiences largest winter snowfall in 49 years


Arrow Down

Massive avalanche in France kills 4 and injures 3 while 2 skiers remain missing

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On Sunday, February 25, a massive avalanche occurred around 12:30 p.m. in the Val d'Enfer valley, in the Sancy Massif in France. Local emergency services were deployed immediately but, unfortunately, four people have been confirmed dead and three others injured, while two are still missing. The seven rescued people were found thanks to several members carrying emergency beacons. One of the three injured was confirmed to have deployed her airbag.

A group of nine members of the Vichy French Alpine Clubs had set out on Sunday and were caught in an avalanche not far from Mont Dore. According to Sébastien Dubourg, mayor of Mont-Dore, the area where the avalanche occurred, known as Val d'Enfer, is known to be dangerous, "It's a funnel... the mountain is unfortunately stronger than us," he stated in a press conference.


Snowflake

Snow depth exceeds gauge limit for the first time at Gangwon site in South Korea at almost 63 inches

A water deer is stuck in the snow
© YonhapA water deer is stuck in the snow on a mountainous area in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, Thursday.
Many parts of Gangwon Province have recorded substantial snowfall, with some eastern mountainous regions setting new records, according to a weather agency Friday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration announced that its weather station on Hyangro Mountain in Goseong reached its snow measurement limit of 160 centimeters for the first time. By 11 p.m. on Wednesday, the station had recorded 146.4 centimeters of snow.

The accumulation of snow is impeding access to the gauge used to measure the snow, an official from the weather agency said.


Snowflake

Heavy snowfall in the Alps - 2 feet in 24 hours

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What is forecast to be the biggest snowfall of 2024 so far is getting underway in the Alps, with snow also falling in the Dolomites and Pyrenees.

The snow is expected to keep falling in many areas through the weekend but there have been reports of up to 60cm (two feet) already on high slopes for some areas during the last 24 hours.

Among the big winners so far are Italy's Cervinia posting 40cm (16") and Livigno with 32cm (13") as well as Passo Tonale, pictured below. In France Bonneval-sur-Arc posted 30cm (12") and Les Carroz 28cm (11"). Austria's Axamer Lizum has had 25cm (10"), Serfaus Fiss Ladis 20cm (8"), but Switzerland has seen the biggest falls with 60cm (2 feet) for Glacier 3000 near Gstaad (pictured above), which opened at 11am today to allow staff to dig out lifts and make runs safe.


Snowflake Cold

Mongolia experiences largest winter snowfall in 49 years - 668,000 livestock killed

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This winter saw the heaviest snowfall in Mongolia since 1975.

According to the Mongolian government's announcement on February 19, severe colds and blizzards have resulted in one fatality.

Meanwhile, nearly 668,000 livestock have perished in the harsh weather as of February 18.

In response to the situation, the Mongolian government has initiated disaster relief efforts, providing essential aid, such as food, fuel, and livestock feed, to the affected areas starting on February 19.


Comment: Bear in mind that Mongolia covers 1.56 million square kilometers, which is the size of the UK, France, Germany and Italy put together.