This season's strongest cold front brought heavy snowfall mainly on the Sea of Japan side of the country on Friday. The snow is expected to get heavier on Saturday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency is warning people to be careful about accidents and transportation disruptions caused by the heavy snow.
According to the agency, the amount of snow that fell in the 24 hours ending at 11 a.m. Friday was 73 centimeters in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, the largest snowfall in the city's recorded history. Even on Honshu, Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture, saw 58 centimeters; Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, saw 54 centimeters; and Ono, Fukui Prefecture, saw 53 centimeters.
Thousands of residents in Australia's eastern state of Queensland remained without power after a "very dangerous" storm swept through the region for the second time in 12 hours, local media reported on Sunday.
Storms are expected to continue along the entire Australian east coast until Boxing Day due to an unusual weather pattern, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said, citing the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
A storm cell that stretched from the Darling Downs to northern New South Wales brought heavy rain, strong winds, and hail.
Thunderstorms have downed 120 power lines, leaving approximately 57,000 customers without power, said a spokesman for Energex, a Queensland government-owned electricity company that serves 1.5 million homes and businesses in the southeastern part of the state.
As winter tightens its grip across the globe, South Korea has found itself in the throes of its most intense cold wave of the season. On December 22, 2023, the nation was plunged into a deep freeze, with temperatures plummeting to perilous lows and snow blanketing the landscape in a scene as disruptive as it was picturesque. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) recorded some of the season's harshest conditions, with mercury levels dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius in areas of Gangwon Province and the nation's capital, Seoul, witnessing a chilling minus 14.7 degrees Celsius.
In an extraordinary turn of events, the frigid weather forced Jeju International Airport to suspend runway operations for over seven hours, leaving thousands of travelers in limbo as 286 flights were canceled. The heavy snowfall, which reached more than 30 centimeters on Jeju Island and up to 60 centimeters in western coastal regions, created an almost standstill condition, affecting daily life and mobility significantly.
Patrick Thorne Inthesnow.com Sat, 23 Dec 2023 12:43 UTC
Stormy weather has brought hurricane force winds and some huge snow accumulations to the Alps, with ski areas in Austria appearing to see some of the most extreme weather.
The Zillertal Arena (pictured) reports it has had a metre of snowfall in 24 hours, while other ski res including Kitzbuhel and Obergurgl largely closed by hurricane force winds giving blizzard conditions.
The heavy snowfall is expected to be short lived with the forecast now for clear skies and sunny week through the Christmas Holidays and up to New Year.
In a rare and extreme weather event, Yantai and Weihai cities in East China's Shandong province experienced a severe cold wave accompanied by heavy snowfall this week.
The snowfall created a unique and picturesque landscape, with netizens likening it to an Arctic expedition.
From Tuesday to Thursday, Yantai weather station received a snowfall of 28.6 millimeters, with a snow depth of 52 centimeters, breaking historical records since meteorological documentation began in 1951.
As of Friday, Wendeng district in Weihai reported a snow depth of 74 centimeters, setting a record for the deepest snow accumulation in Shandong province.
Tragedy struck the rural community of Jorong Bungo Pinang, Nagari Muaro Bodi, in the Sijunjung district of West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Thursday, 21 December 2023. Five farm workers were killed when they were struck by lightning. The deceased have been identified as Bruri (44), Ade Kurniawan (35), Ilham Mardatila (20), Hariyanto (37), and Hendra Putra (40), all of whom were residents of Jorong Koto Tuo, Nagari Muaro Bodi.
Caught in the Storm
The group of seven had been returning from their fields when they sought shelter from a heavy downpour in a hut. In the dimly lit structure, one of them turned on a mobile phone flashlight, moments before the deadly lightning strike. Two of the group, Farel and Arbi, survived the incident and rushed to get help.
The combination of high tides and strong winds brought by storm Pia led to overnight flooding in several parts of the Netherlands on Thursday night, and storm surge barriers all along the coast were closed.
The Maeslantkering, the 420 metre flood defence barrier at Hoek van Holland closed automatically for the first time because of the high water but opened again in the early hours of the morning.
In Oudeschild, on the Wadden island of Texel, the water level reached 2.7 metres above NAP, or Normaal Amsterdams Peil. NAP is equivalent to the average level of the North Sea and is the standard for measuring water levels in rivers and canals in the Netherlands.
Divya Chandrababu Hindustan Times Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:33 UTC
The Indian Air Force, the army, and other rescue teams are conducting relief operations.
Extremely heavy rains lashed several parts of Tamil Nadu over the past 24 hours, inundating vast swathes in at least four southern districts, including Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, where villages and towns resembled rivers, prompting authorities to shift at least 7,500 people marooned in residential colonies to relief camps, officials said.
At least four people were killed in rain-related incidents on Monday, officials said and added that details regarding the incidents have been sought from local authorities.
Intense rainfall and heavy inundation have wreaked havoc in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi districts in southern Tamil Nadu, with several parts witnessing their highest-ever downpour in a day. Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi registered 96 cm rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Monday, according to the Met department.
At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Friday, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters.
Heavy rains have paralyzed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighborhoods, roads and railway tracks, days after a cyclone hit India's south-eastern coast, causing widespread damage.
"The (toll) number could change," federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman told reporters, adding that more than 40,000 people have been rescued so far and efforts are underway to reach those still stranded.
The state is one of the major electronics and manufacturing hubs in India. Some southern neighborhoods remained waterlogged on Friday.
"We're struggling to get tractors and boats with food and essentials through water in the worst-affected areas," said M. Balamurugan, who along with other volunteers have been distributing foods and essentials.
Tamil Nadu recorded over 64 mm of rainfall this week, more than triple the 20 mm that would be normal at this time of year, the weather department said, predicting more rainfall in parts of the state over the next five days.
For some the floods are reminiscent of rains eight years ago in state capital Chennai that killed 290 people and inundated large swathes of the city.
Comment: Just across the Yellow Sea recently: Rare, extreme snowfall hits Shandong cities in east China