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Snowfalls of 10-20cm (around 4-8 inches) were reported in the region's capital Urumqi and the cities of Shihezi and Changji on Saturday.
Residents found the surface of the snow was covered with a layer of dust but white underneath, a phenomenon some compared with tiramisu.
"Since last Friday, many places in Xinjiang have been hit by gales measured at force seven or above," He Qing, director of the Xinjiang Meteorological Administration, told the Xinhua news agency.
Snowfall totals across New York and New England have surpassed one to two feet in many areas, while some places in ski country and the snowbelts off the Great Lakes are pushing three to four feet or more.
This record and near-record November snowfall has been caused by the same general weather pattern that led to record rainfall in parts of the Mid-Atlantic into eastern New England. Basically, storm systems keep on coming, riding along the jet stream that has parked itself over the region.
In addition to a stream of coastal storms this cold season, other low-pressure systems have kept the precipitation coming, as well. There have now been eight significant low-pressure systems affecting the eastern United States over the past month:
© Mammoth Mountain
The National Weather Service says the most recent snowfall Thursday and early Friday totaled about 20 inches (45 cm) at Northstar, Squaw Valley and Mt. Rose on the highway connecting Reno to Lake Tahoe.
As much as 53 inches (134 centimeters) of snow was reported at Mammoth Mountain ski area three hours south of Tahoe.
Precipitation has been mostly in the form of rain in the valleys, including Reno where a record .61 inch of rain fell at the airport Thursday, breaking the old record of .32 set in 2000.
Comment: It looks very likely that the forecast made on the 29th of November for 5 feet of snow to have fallen over the area in the past 3 days (and before the weekend) will actually happen. Perhaps more tellingly this is also before meteorological winter officially starts on the 1st of December (Saturday).
Snow continued falling throughout the night
The mountain, located north of the Greek capital, was covered in snow from the early hours of Thursday evening, with the situation worsening throughout the night. Meteorologists say that the snowfall will continue into Friday as well.
According to forecasts, the temperatures will gradually begin to rise beginning on Saturday.
Snow at Mammoth Mountain on 28th November
10:05 a.m.
More than a foot (30 centimetres) of snow has fallen at some ski resorts around Lake Tahoe.
The National Weather Service in Reno reported more than 2 feet (61 cm) of snow was recorded on the ridgetops early Thursday in the southern Sierra south of the mountain lake where as much as 5 feet (1.5 metres) is possible by the weekend.
© Josh Bazan Snow in Perrysburg.
"[I] woke up this morning and it seemed like there was another foot which was just crazy, unbelievable," Craig Papiernik said. He spent most of the day clearing his and his neighbors' driveways with his stepson Christian.
Comment: 60 inches? It's not even December!
© The Weather Channel (screen capture)
According to the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (AWSSI) from the Midwest Regional Climate Center, 74 cities from New England to the Plains and Rockies have seen an extreme season-to-date of cold and snow as of Nov. 27.
This index takes into account the "intensity and persistence of cold weather, the frequency and amount of snow and the amount and persistence of snow on the ground," the Midwest Regional Climate Center says. Wind and mixed precipitation, such as freezing rain, are not a part of the index.
The index uses five categories - mild, moderate, average, severe and extreme - to rate the severity of winter weather in cities across the U.S.
For any given location, the start date of the winter season is defined as when the first measurable snowfall (at least 0.1 inches) occurs or when the first high temperature of 32 degrees or lower is recorded. The start date is Dec. 1 for any location that does not see either of those happen before that date.
"The spread among the categories is very narrow this early in the season," said Dr. Barbara Mayes Boustead, a co-creator of the index and an instructor at the National Weather Service's Warning Decision Training Division in Norman, Oklahoma.
© Donwahah Khiaddech
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© Babylon Bee
Every time the boy runs inside from playing, he leaves the front door open, and it looks like we're all going to pay the price from his carelessness.
Comment: Read also: Europe's Little Ice Age: 'All things which grew above the ground died and starved'