Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Record snow and cold across Europe with another Arctic front on the way

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 07:37 UTC
Paraffin fire pots protecting the vines in Switzerland
© Arnd Wiegmann/ReutersParaffin fire pots protecting the vines against sub-zero temperatures at a vineyard in Switzerland.
Record snow and cold rip across Europe for the third time in three weeks. Another Arctic front is on the way next week as well which will have devastating effects on crops already in the fields. This front will create massive electrical storms in North Africa and Middle East of the likes rarely seen. Record cols in Switzerland & Italy. Record snows across Turkey, Italy, Austria with six feet, Poland over three feet and Norway police asking drivers to stay off the roads from so much snow.

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Ice Cube

Antarctica is melting faster than originally thought, new study finds


Sputnik International
Tue, 25 Apr 2017 03:03 UTC
Nansen Ice Shelf waterfall
© WONG SANG LEE/KOREA POLAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE VIA EARTH INSTITUTE/YOUTUBESeen from an aircraft, a 400-foot-wide waterfall drains off the Nansen Ice Shelf into the ocean.
Researchers at Columbia University's Earth Institute have discovered that the melting of the Antarctic ice is happening at a much faster rate than previously believed.

The researchers, who published in the journal Nature, found enormous amounts of meltwater in places where they didn't expect it, including a 400-foot-wide waterfall on the Nansen ice shelf.

Previously, meltwater was believed to have been confined to the northernmost reaches of Antarctica, the parts that are warming the fastest. The extensiveness of the ice melting could cause sea levels to raise much faster than previously projected, particularly as they increase the likelihood of chunks of the ice shelf breaking off entirely.

"This is not in the future - this is widespread now, and has been for decades," said lead author Jonathan Kingslake, a glaciologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "I think most polar scientists have considered water moving across the surface of Antarctica to be extremely rare. But we found a lot of it, over very large areas."


Comment: Scientists have also discovered a large crack on the Larsen C ice shelf and thousands of blue lakes of melt water have formed on the surface of Antarctica's glaciers over the past decade. Yet a recent study indicates that the Antarctic peninsula has actually been cooling not warming. See also:

Antarctica, is it melting or not? Man-made global warming can't explain this climate paradox

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Arrow Down

The 'March to Silence' - Shots fired at building housing leading climate skeptic scientists

Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.
Roy Spencer Blog
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 19:09 UTC
NSSTC
© Image via Google Maps Street ViewNational Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) building.
A total of seven shots were fired into our National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) building here at UAH over the weekend.

All bullets hit the 4th floor, which is where John Christy's office is (my office is in another part of the building).

Given that this was Earth Day weekend, with a March for Science passing right past our building on Saturday afternoon, I think this is more than coincidence. When some people cannot argue facts, they resort to violence to get their way. It doesn't matter that we don't "deny global warming"; the fact we disagree with its seriousness and the level of human involvement in warming is enough to send some radicals into a tizzy.

Our street is fairly quiet, so I doubt the shots were fired during Saturday's march here. It was probably late night Saturday or Sunday for the shooter to have a chance of being unnoticed.

Maybe the "March For Science" should have been called the "March To Silence".

Campus and city police say they believe the shots were fired from a passing car, based upon the angle of entry into one of the offices. Shell casings were recovered outside. The closest distance a passing car would have been is 70 yards away.

This is a developing story. I have no other details.
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Snowflake

Two meters of new snow in Austrian Alps, most ever in second half of April

Robert W. Felix
Ice Age Now
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 15:30 UTC
Austrian snow
© Foto Kuss
Record snowfall. The most snow EVER in the second half of April.

Severe winter weather led to chaos on Austrian roads, power failures, and panic among wine growers on Wednesday evening and Thursday. In the east of Austria came record snow. In the mountains there was as much snow as never before in the second half of April.

According to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), Lunz am See recorded 86 cm (almost 3 ft) of snow on Thursday. The west was partly covered in deep snow, but far from a record.

Up to 2 meters (6′-6″) of fresh snow (!) fell in the Lower Austrian Alps, mostly in the Ybbstaler and Türnitzer Alps. The avalanche danger is extremely high, warned the avalanche warning service of the country.

Also in Upper Austria there have been up to 150 cm (5 ft) of fresh snow - mostly in the Totengebirge, the Ennstal Alps and the Upper Austrian pre-Alps.

In the Styria region between the mountains of Gesäuse and Hochschwab, fresh snow fell to almost 2 meters. In the east, avalanche warning level 4 of the five-part scale applies.
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Snowflake Cold

Photos of April snow in Turkish cities


Daily Sabah
Sun, 23 Apr 2017 09:02 UTC
snow
Residents in the Turkish cities of Eskişehir, Ankara and Bolu were surprised to see their surroundings covered in white fluffy snow April 23.
snow
snow
snow
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Snowflake Cold

Evidence of Global Cooling: Eastern Europe still buried in snow during Spring


RT
Mon, 24 Apr 2017 04:10 UTC
winter, snow, ice age
© Maksim Bogodvid / SputnikA man walks in the street in Kazan, 20 April 2017.
Roads, houses, and even flowers covered in thick snow - though it's mid-April, winter won't loosen its grip on Russia and Eastern Europe, as abundant photos on social media clearly illustrate.

"April 22, It's St Petersburg, baby," was a widely-spread comment on Instagram from residents of Russia's northern capital on Saturday.Local emergency services warned of snowfall, slippery roads, and fog on Saturday.

"81st day of February in St. Petersburg," one person wrote.

"This eternal winter is driving me crazy. What kind of April is this?!"

Comment: Regular SOTT readers aren't surprised, what we're seeing is the onset of another ice age. The question is, how long and how severe will it be?

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Info

7 notable weather events observed across United States this April

Linda Lam
The Weather Channel
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:00 UTC
Sierra Nevada snowpack
© NASAThis photo composite shows the snow water equivalent-- water content of snow -- in the Tuolumne River Basin in 2015 and 2017. White and the lighter blue indicates less snow, while deeper blue represents more snow. NASA reports: "The 2017 snow water equivalent was 21 times greater than 2015, which was the lowest snowpack on record."
Spring can bring interesting weather conditions to the U.S. and this year is no exception, with several impressive records having already been set so far this April.

While not setting records, a few other unusual and notable weather occurrences have caught our eye this month.

1) California's Northern Sierra Nevada Set Record For All-Time Wettest 'Water Year'

On April 13, California's northern Sierra Nevada set a new record for its all-time wettest water year with an accumulated average of 89.7 inches of water. The previous record of 88.5 inches was set during the 1982-83 water year. To put it in perspective, the average water year sees 50 inches of precipitation.


The water year runs from October through September, but most precipitation falls from November through March. By April, the storm track typically shifts reducing the chance for additional precipitation. This year, however, has been different with rain and mountain snow continuing to fall this month, allowing records to topple.

Comment: According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) there have been 5,372 preliminary reports of severe weather across the United States in 2017 (up to April 8), which is more than double the average.

For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - March 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Snowflake Cold

Europe's late spring freeze in photos

Rob McElwee
Al Jazeera
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 15:42 UTC
Zakopane in deep late-spring snow in southern Poland on April 20, 2017.
© Grzegorz MomotZakopane in deep late-spring snow in southern Poland on April 20, 2017.
Over the past week, a mass of polar air has marched through Europe, from Germany to the shores of the Black Sea. It was fronted by an active band of cloud that brought with it strong winds, rain and snow.

Alpine skiers from France to Austria were happily surprised by what turned out to be deep-powder snow. This has given a brief boost to a closing season with anything up to one metre falling on the slopes.

For the most part, though, this weather was not welcome. Snow in Poland and Slovakia caused multiple road traffic accidents. Trees and electricity poles have been brought down in Romania as the weight of spring snow is greater than that of cold-winter snow.
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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall leaves 1000 homes without electricity in western Serbia; up to a meter deep


inserbia.info
Sat, 22 Apr 2017 15:10 UTC
snow
© Ren Junchuan
More than 1,000 homes in Ljubovija are without electricity on Friday after more than 500 utility poles in the area collapsed under snow.

The mayor of this municipality in western Serbia, Milovan Kovacevic, told Tanjug that Ljubovija was in urgent need of assistance, and expected to receive it from the towns of Valjevo and Loznica.

Up to one meter of snow in some higher lying areas has also "completely destroyed orchards", Kovacevic said.

The mayor added that he expected all first and second category roads to be cleared by the end of the day.
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Snowflake

50-foot snow drifts blocking route to Tioga Pass, California


The Record Courier
Fri, 21 Apr 2017 14:46 UTC
With reports of 50-foot drifts, there's still a lot of snow to remove before Tioga Pass can open.
© Florene Trainor With reports of 50-foot drifts, there's still a lot of snow to remove before Tioga Pass can open.
Crews clearing snow and debris from the Sierra passes between Gardnerville and Yosemite have a long way to go before they open.

As of Friday, crews reached the Blue Slide section of Highway 120 on the way to Tioga Pass. There is an estimated 8-15 feet of snow on the highway leading to the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, officials said. There are 50-foot snow drifts in some locations.

Snow removal on Sonora Pass is in progress, and crews have reached the 8,500 elevation mark. At this point there is still 8 feet of snow on the highway.

Crews have cleared Highway 89 from Highway 395 to the Alpine County line, and are now working on repairing road damage due to winter conditions. Snow removal operations are progressing in Alpine County to Monitor Pass.
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