Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Kashmir experiences record snowfall, 11-feet snow depth in avalanche-hit Gurez


The New Indian Express
Fri, 27 Jan 2017 09:47 UTC
Snowfall continued intermittently for the fourth consecutive day, virtually cutting of the Valley from rest of the country due to closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway
© Shuaib Masoodi Snowfall continued intermittently for the fourth consecutive day, virtually cutting of the Valley from rest of the country due to closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway
The snowfall in Kashmir in last few days has broken the record of over two decades.

A Meteorological department official said Kashmir has recorded heavy snowfall this year.

He said it was the heaviest snowfall recorded in the valley since 1992.

"We had witnessed major snowfall in 1992 and 2006 but the present snowfall has broken the record of last 25 years," the official said.
The upper reaches of the Valley including Keran, Karnah, Gurez, Machil, Tanghdar, Uri, Gulmarg, Yousmarg, Pahalgam, Sonarmarg have witnessed heavy snowfall. The ski resort of Gulmarg has recorded more than 7 ft of snowfall while Gurez, which has witnessed at least three snow avalanches in 72 hours, has experienced about 11 ft of snowfall.

The plains including Srinagar have also experienced heavy snowfall.
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Binoculars

Tiny seabirds from the Arctic battered by storm rescued in unprecedented numbers on Cape Cod

Steve Annear
Boston Globe
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 19:35 UTC
Dovekie
Dovekie
The Nerf football-sized birds were scattered around Cape Cod.

Someone had located one of the black-and-white critters wandering aimlessly in the parking lot of a Shaws grocery store, in Orleans. A second Dovekie — a waterborne bird and relative of the Puffin — was found nearby, at the Barley Neck Inn. Others were stranded in Brewster, and parts of Eastham.

They were far from home. Dovekies are arctic birds typically found miles offshore, not anywhere near Cape Cod or any big land mass. They had been blown in by powerful winds and large waves produced by Tuesday's Nor-easter, which battered much of the state coastline.

With the help of volunteers and staff from Wild Care, Inc., a non-profit in Eastham that takes in sick and injured wildlife for rehabilitation, many of the Dovekies found along the beaches and marshes and those discovered in backyards or parking lots, were returned to their ocean habitat unharmed Thursday.

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Binoculars

Unusually large influx of over 300 glaucous gulls from the Arctic hits the UK and Ireland

Andrew Forgrave
Daily Post (UK)
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 19:19 UTC
A juvenile Glaucous Gull announces its arrival
© AR Jones PhotographyA juvenile Glaucous Gull announces its arrival
From the edge of the Arctic, an influx of Glaucous Gulls has arrived this week, more than 300 recorded across Britain and Ireland.

These are big, beefy birds that spend the nesting season raiding colonies of other seabirds and frequently steal food from other gulls; I've seen one wrestle a fish from the bill of a Great Black-backed Gull, a slightly bigger bird.

Adult Glaucous Gulls are pale grey, with white wing feathers, but most arrivals here are immature birds the colour of slushy snow.

Most Glaucous Gull arrivals have been along North Sea coasts and in western Ireland, but a couple have made it into North Wales, the most showy in Holyhead Bay.

Thanks to the lettered ring on its leg, we know that this one comes from Svalbard (Spitsbergen), 2,000 miles to the north.
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Snowflake Cold

Heavy snowfall, freezing weather kills 27 children in Jawzjan, Afghanistan

Mazar-i-Sharif
Hindustan Times
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 09:39 UTC
A security officer walks through snow on the Nadir Khan Hill in Kabul, Afghanistan.
© APA security officer walks through snow on the Nadir Khan Hill in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Heavy snowfall and freezing weather has killed 27 children, all under the age of five, in a remote district in northern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday fearing that the toll could rise.

Roads in Darzaab in northern Jawzjan province were blocked by 50 centimetres (20 inches) of snow, cutting off access for villagers in the area to medical care as temperatures plunged to -10 degrees Celsius.

District governor Rahmatullah Hashar said the deaths had occurred over the last two or three days. All the children were under the age of five, he said, adding the blocked roads mean the toll could still increase.

The deaths were confirmed by the Jawzjan provincial governor's spokesman, Reza Ghafoori, who said aid will be delivered via emergency committees.

Heavy snowfall and avalanches kill scores of people in Afghanistan every winter.
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Snowflake Cold

Record snowfall in Japan causes travel chaos; more sea-effect snow, intense winds create rare Von Karman vortices in the East China Sea

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 07:54 UTC
snow storm in Japan
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
Japan blanketed by sea effect snow so intense that it is creating wind vortices off the islands in the East China Sea. Tottori Prefecture received a full years worth of snow in one day. Highways cut, millions of people stranded, power outages and in Hokkaido ski resorts closed due to too much snow. North Korea is upgrading its agriculture and Honey oranges out of China ripen six weeks late, no demand now that Chinese New Year is passing.

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Igloo

With Arctic sea ice disappearing, who needs icebreakers!

Paul Homewood
Not a lot of people know that
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 19:14 UTC
As we know, Arctic sea ice is rapidly disappearing. That is why China is building a new icebreaker.
China Building Icebreakers
© The DiplomatChina Begins Construction of Polar Icebreaker
This will join at least 14 new Russian ones:

Russia's New Icebreakers
© The Barants ObserverThese are Russia’s new icebreakers

Comment: Mini Ice Age Took Hold Of Europe In Just Months

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Arrow Down

10 soldiers dead in 2 avalanches in Gurez, India after heavy snowfall

Peerzada Ashiq
The Hindu
Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:58 UTC
Representative image
© ReutersRepresentative image
The Army has retrieved ten bodies of the soldiers who went missing after being hit by two avalanches at separate locations in Bandipora's Gurez valley, 200 km from Srinagar. Seven soldiers have been rescued so far.

"The avalanches had hit an Army camp and an Army patrol in two separate locations between January 25 and 26 in Gurez," said an Udhampur-based Army spokesman.

He said ten bodies have been recovered so far.

"The Army is working in extreme bad weather and heavy snowfall. The rescue operations were on immediately after the avalanches were reported," said the spokesman, without identifying the exact location.
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Binoculars

Heavy snowfall in Europe and Asia brings 60% increase in winged visitors to bird sanctuary in India

Aakanksha Mathur
Meri News
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 08:22 UTC
ducks
Sultanpur National Park in Gurugram has lately been receiving an unprecedented number of winged visitors from all over the world.

Owing to heavy snowfall in Siberia, eastern Europe, Mongolia, and northern China, migratory birds have been flocking at the sanctuary in large numbers. Gurugram's wildlife department has recorded a 60 per cent increase in number of these long-distance fliers, including rare varieties which have been spotted for the first time.

This year the national park has broken all records in terms of the number of domestic and migratory birds. The previous highest recorded figure was of 60,000, while this year the count has more than doubled with at least 1.25 lakh birds visiting, including the 40,000 that have flown in from abroad.

In an interview to Mail Today, Shyam Sundar Kaushik, divisional forest officer (DFO) of wildlife Gurugram range said that migratory birds have been flocking at the park since the onset of the winter season and arrivals will continue if the chill in the air remains the same for the next few days.

He was quoted as saying, "We had registered 25,000 migratory pelicans of 40 varieties last season and the figure in this category has reached 40,000 already with at least 35 more varieties of birds this season. This is an encouraging sign for us and it is also an indication of good air quality in the region."
kINGFISHER
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Snowflake Cold

New Zealand 'weather bomb' brings snow during height of summer


The Guardian / The Irish Times
Mon, 23 Jan 2017 22:45 UTC
Whakpapa Ski Area snow in summer
© Great Lake Taupo, NZ / TwitterWhakpapa Ski Area in summer.
South Island hit with snow and flooding while parts of North experience record highs.

A powerful "weather bomb" has hit New Zealand, cutting off rural towns, flooding major roads and dumping snow on to bare alpine ski fields at what should be the height of the southern hemisphere summer.

The significant low edged over the South Island late on Thursday afternoon, causing landslips and snow, and went on to lash the country throughout the weekend.
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Snowflake

Heavy snowfall in Oregon, Idaho, Alaska is collapsing buildings

Keith Ridler
The Seattle Times
Wed, 25 Jan 2017 21:17 UTC
The Partners Produce facility in Payette, Idaho, collapsed under the weight of snow.
© Jason BrainerdThe Partners Produce facility in Payette, Idaho, collapsed under the weight of snow.
The accumulated weight of snow has crushed a lumber mill in Oregon, the grocery store in a small Idaho town, a sports complex in Alaska and a conference center in Colorado, among others.

For buildings in parts of the snow-covered U.S. West, it has become a winter where the weak do not survive.

The accumulated weight of snow has crushed an old lumber mill in Oregon, the main grocery store in a small Idaho town, a sports complex in Alaska and a conference center in Colorado, among others.

The snow has led to some injuries and at least one death, when the roof of a woman's snow-laden porch in northern Idaho fell while she was underneath it, officials say. Authorities fear more collapses will come.

Storms this month have blanketed the West and kept dumping more snow on top of it. Experts say the rare combination of greater snowfall at lower elevations and prolonged cold temperatures that allowed the snow to accumulate without melting away is partly to blame for the collapses.
Snow sits on the collapsed roof of The Dome, a 180,000-square foot indoor sports facility in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday after the roof collapsed in a snowstorm.
© Mark ThiessenSnow sits on the collapsed roof of The Dome, a 180,000-square foot indoor sports facility in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday after the roof collapsed in a snowstorm.
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