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Residents of a sleepy town on the southern coast of NSW were treated to scenes resembling a winter wonderland after a freak hail storm blanketed a popular beach in snow only a day after the mercury soared above 30 degrees.
Local Allen Coulthard, 27, captured some of the spectacular scenes at Malua Bay Beach last night as his children used a body board to glide along the seemingly snow-blanketed shore.
© Lacey WeissA dead cow is lifted from flooding in the aftermath of winter storm Atlas in South Dakota.
For some reason the news stations aren't covering this story. I don't understand why they wouldn't. This story has heartbreak, tragedy and even a convenient tie into the current government shutdown. Isn't that what the news is all about these days?
But the news isn't covering this story. Instead, it is spreading around on social media, and bloggers are writing from their ranches in South Dakota. Bloggers are trying to explain how the horrible happened. And now I am going to join them to tell you the part of the story that I know, and I am going to ask you to help these people, because if you are here reading this, I know you give a crap about these people.
Last weekend western South Dakota and parts of the surrounding states got their butts handed to them by Mother Nature. A blizzard isn't unusual in South Dakota, the cattle are tough and can handle some snow. They have for hundreds of years.
Unlike on our dairy farm in Wisconsin, beef cattle don't live in climate controlled barns. Beef cows and calves spend the majority of their lives out on pasture. They graze the grass in the spring, summer and fall and eat baled hay in the winter.
First snowfall causes chaos in the streets of Salzburg.
The Tauernautobahn was closed for several hours. Also the Rundwanderweg am Gaisberg was blocked by fresh snow.
The road leading to the Tauerntunnel was mostly covered with snow, countless trucks and cars were stranded, especially in the direction to Villach in front of the tunnel.
In the night to Friday and on Friday many trees have fallen down, causing disruption on road traffic. Fresh snowfall mounted up to 20 cm.
In Innsbruck there was 10 cm (4 inches) of snow, in Stubaital 50 cm (19 inches). The Tirol province was surprised by this snowfall.
Also here countless trees have fallen down, 40,000 households saw their electricity power cut off.
(Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for these links )
The Tauernautobahn was closed for several hours. Also the Rundwanderweg am Gaisberg was blocked by fresh snow.
The road leading to the Tauerntunnel was mostly covered with snow, countless trucks and cars were stranded, especially in the direction to Villach in front of the tunnel.
In the night to Friday and on Friday many trees have fallen down, causing disruption on road traffic. Fresh snowfall mounted up to 20 cm.
In Innsbruck there was 10 cm (4 inches) of snow, in Stubaital 50 cm (19 inches). The Tirol province was surprised by this snowfall.
Also here countless trees have fallen down, 40,000 households saw their electricity power cut off.
(Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for these links )
Snow in the Alps whitewashes Cortina and Madonna di Campiglio, says reader Mirco Poletto.
During the night in Cortina d'Ampezzo, white flakes descended to the valley floor, leaving the Ampezzo valley all white.
At 6 in the morning the snow measured a few inches deep at 1300 meters above sea level.
Snow also in Madonna di Campiglio and a great part of the Dolomites.
During the night in Cortina d'Ampezzo, white flakes descended to the valley floor, leaving the Ampezzo valley all white.
At 6 in the morning the snow measured a few inches deep at 1300 meters above sea level.
Snow also in Madonna di Campiglio and a great part of the Dolomites.
Next Wednesday I'll hold a conference about climate change ad I surely will focus on global cooling," says Dr Poletto. "These facts will help a lot."
It's not a secret that scientists and politicians have been deeply disappointed by the spectacular failure of climate models. 98% of the long-term climate models failed to project the 16-year warming stop, all having overstated the warming.
So maybe it should not come as surprise that recently the German government quietly put out a bulletin describing a midterm climate forecasting system that is raising some eyebrows.
The first 4 pages of the bulletin discuss and extol the then-upcoming IPCC AR5. Pages 5 - 7 then describe three projects that aim to answer some open climate questions.
So maybe it should not come as surprise that recently the German government quietly put out a bulletin describing a midterm climate forecasting system that is raising some eyebrows.
© Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyCaption translation at end of post.
Britain is braced for the "worst winter in decades" with the first major snowfall expected in weeks.
Forecasters last night warned the entire country is set for a horror freeze which will bring brutal winds and fierce blizzards.
Temperatures have already started to plunge as a swathe of cold air from the Arctic has swept across the UK in the past few days.
The first long-range forecasts warn of "recordbreaking snowfall" next month.
Heavy wintry showers are expected to cause widespread chaos with below-average temperatures possibly lingering until February.
Long-range forecasters blamed the position of a fast-flowing band of air known as the jet stream near to Britain and high pressure for the extreme conditions. Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: 'We are looking at a potentially paralysing winter, the worst for decades, which could at times grind the nation to a halt.
© GETTYSnow last year caused havoc on Britain's roads
Temperatures have already started to plunge as a swathe of cold air from the Arctic has swept across the UK in the past few days.
The first long-range forecasts warn of "recordbreaking snowfall" next month.
Heavy wintry showers are expected to cause widespread chaos with below-average temperatures possibly lingering until February.
Long-range forecasters blamed the position of a fast-flowing band of air known as the jet stream near to Britain and high pressure for the extreme conditions. Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said: 'We are looking at a potentially paralysing winter, the worst for decades, which could at times grind the nation to a halt.
© wikipedia.org
German RTL television last night here (starting at 4:30) called it the "most severe start of winter in 200 years!", saying many meteorologists were caught by surprise. Up to half a meter of snow fell at some locations.
Gone are the mild winters of the sort Europe seen in the 1990s and early 2000s. Indeed for central Europe the last 5 consecutive winters have all been colder than normal - a record!
These days are blockbuster times for German road salt manufacturers. In Europe municipalities have learned their lesson: ignore foolish predictions of warm winters, order huge quantities of salt, and do it early!
© P Gosselin
No one knows if it's really going to be such a winter, but one thing is sure: it sure is starting out like one! At least in parts of Central Europe.
Wetteronline.de has put up a video (Schneefall auch in München) of snow falling in Munich this morning, October 11, 2013. Normally the first snow arrives in the Bavarian capital weeks later.
© KNBN-TVRapid City and many other parts of South Dakota recorded record snowfall totals for the entire month of October in just three days over the weekend.
As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.
Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet, The Weather Channel reported.
The South Dakota Stock Growers Association estimated that 15 percent to 20 percent of all cattle were killed in some parts of the state. Some ranchers reported that they lost half or more of their herds.
Currently solar activity is especially low. Solar sunspot number (SSN) in September was at 36.9, and thus was just 36% of the usual mean value 58 months into the cycle. The sun continues to remain in an unusually weak cycle 24, which was characterized by a 1-2 year delayed start in November 2008. The following graphic shows the mean value (blue) and the current cycle (red) and the very similar sunspot cycle SC5 (light gray) which occurred during the Dalton Minimum of the early 19th century:
© Frank Bosse and Fritz Vahrenholt Dark blue shows average sunspot cycle; red shows current cycle 24 and light gray shows SC5. Horizontal axis is the number of months after the start of cycle. -
