Storms
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Snowflake

Record-shattering 53 inches of snow in 30 hours for Erie, Pennsylvania

snow
© Jill McCormick
OK, this is taking "White Christmas" a bit too far.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported the lake-effect snowfall that inundated Erie over the weekend and Christmas โ€” and continues to fall โ€” can now count itself as the most intense in Pennsylvania history.

Erie received 34 inches of snow on Christmas Day, not only breaking the all-time city Christmas record of 11 inches but also breaking the all-time daily snowfall record, which was 20 inches on Nov. 22, 1956.


Snowflake

Upwards of 20 inches of overnight snow slams Petoskey, Michigan

snow
Emmet County, specifically Petoskey, is continuing to deal with the winter storm.

Downtown Petoskey saw near whiteout conditions all day.

Some that live in the area woke up to upwards of 20 inches of snow overnight.

It was a lot more than many wanted to deal with, others are excited to see the snow piling up.


Cloud Lightning

Thundersnow reported around Boston

Thundersnow
The National Weather Service has confirmed that today's snowstorm has featured thunder and isolated lightning strikes in the Boston area.

"Thanks for all your reports of thunder snow this morning," the NWS said on Twitter. "We have seen the lightning on lightning detection, mainly in clouds but a few cloud to ground near and W/NW of Boston."

WCVB reported that multiple lightning strikes were detected on radar around. 9:30 a.m. near Needham, Wellesley and Newton.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning kills 80 people in Cambodia during 2017

lightning
Eighty Cambodians, mostly rural residents, were killed by lightning strikes in 2017, down 26 percent from the 108 deaths in 2016, a disaster control spokesman said on Monday.

Besides the fatalities, thunderbolts also injured 63 others this year, down 40 percent from the 105 injuries last year, said Keo Vy, the spokesman for the National Committee for Disaster Management.

He said although the fatal numbers from lightning strikes had declined, lightning was still the leading cause of deaths among fatalities from natural disasters.

"The weather this year was much better than that of last year," he told Xinhua.

Windsock

Severe weather and high winds leave over 72K in Poland without power on Christmas Eve

Wind sock
© Global Look Press
A seven-year-old child was killed and over 70,000 people were left without electricity on Christmas Eve in Poland, which was hit by winds of up to 95kph early on Sunday.

A tree fell on a moving car in Koscierzyna County on Poland's Baltic Sea coast. A seven-year-old boy was killed in the accident. His father, who was driving the vehicle, was hospitalized, Fakt24 website reports.

The severe weather has affected 10 out of 16 voivodeships in Poland, with strong winds bringing down trees, damaging buildings, and crippling power lines. As a result, over 72,000 Poles were left without electricity on Christmas Eve, the Government Security Center said. The worst situation is currently in Pomeranian Voivodship, where 53,000 were affected by the blackout.

Cloud Precipitation

Massive flooding hits Cagayan de Oro, Philippines following Storm Vinta (UPDATE: More than 130 dead)

Flood in Cagayan de Oro
Flood in Cagayan de Oro
Massive flooding, reminiscent of the deadly 2011 Tropical Storm Sendong, hit this city Friday morning, December 22, after Tropical Storm Vinta (international codename: Tembin) battered Mindanao Thursday night.

The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department (CDRRMD) placed the city on red alert Friday morning as the Cagayan River reached its critical level.

"It was like Sendong all over again, but only this happened in the morning," a resident said.

Sendong (international codename: Washi) ravaged Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions on the night of December 16, 2011, leaving more than 1,200 people dead -- at least 900 bodies were found in Cagayan de Oro.


Comment: UPDATE 12/23/2017:
Philippines tropical storm: More than 130 dead after flooding

Dozens of people are said to be missing, while power and communication lines are down, complicating rescue efforts.

Mudslides and flooding triggered by a tropical storm in the Philippines have killed 133 people, officials have said. [...]

Most of the deaths were in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, and on the Zamboanga Peninsula, Romina Marasigan from the government's disaster response agency said.

In the fishing village of Anungan, more than 30 people were swept away by flash floods. Sibuco town mayor Bong Edding said five bodies had been recovered so far.

"The floodwaters from the mountain came down so fast and swept away people and houses," Mr Edding said.

"It's really sad because Christmas is just a few days away. But these things happen beyond our control."

Mr Edding blamed the tragedy on years of logging in the mountains near Anungan.



Snowflake Cold

Tropopause freeze anomaly & sparkler electrical storms in South Australia

Tropopause anomaly
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
Serious disturbance in the Tropopause where a segment of the atmosphere has dropped super cooled air to the surface of our planet. USA set for all time record cold of -21C in Louisiana and on into Mexico and across the SE USA. Arctic sea ice recovering to nearly the baseline of 1981. Also temperature measurements are being used to still push the CO2 global warming narrative.


Comment: Spectacular 'spider lightning' display turns Adelaide sky pink (VIDEO)


Snowflake

Record snowfall for Calgary, Canada

Road conditions worsen in Calgary
Road conditions worsen in Calgary
As much as 31 centimetres of snow fell across Calgary since Tuesday afternoon, creating commuter headaches and leaving roads and sidewalks dangerously icy.

Data released by Environment Canada indicate southern portions of the city bore the heaviest brunt of the storm, receiving almost twice as much snow as Calgary's northern areas before it tapered off late Wednesday morning.

The storm also broke the day's previous snowfall record of 11.7 cm set in 1953.

Calgary's snowfall was part of a larger system that blanketed much of southwestern Alberta in snow, with the hamlet of Beaver Mines west of Pincher Creek getting as much as 60 cm of precipitation.


Attention

Killer whale calf is found dead after being blown 25 yards onto land after Storm Caroline on Shetland, Scotland

A killer whale calf is believed to have died in agony after being blown ashore by the ferocious 90mph gales of Storm Caroline
A killer whale calf is believed to have died in agony after being blown ashore by the ferocious 90mph gales of Storm Caroline
A killer whale calf is believed to have died in agony after being blown ashore by the ferocious 90mph gales of Storm Caroline.

Tragic images show the young orca's body on a grassy Shetland shoreline almost three weeks after the storm hit.

The three-metre long whale is thought to have died of dehydration or been crushed by its own body weight after becoming stranded.

It was discovered by a member of the public on the west coast of Shetland's main island at least 25 metres from the shoreline

The orca was probably separated from its mother by the weather, according to the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary

Hillswick, the island's only wild animal rehabilitation centre, reported the beaching to the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMAS) who have carried out a post-mortem.

Cloud Lightning

Spectacular 'spider lightning' display turns Adelaide sky pink (VIDEO)

Adelaide spider lightning
© YouTube/Storyful (screen capture)
If you needed proof that nothing quite manages to compare with the power of nature, one Adelaide local has provided it, capturing dazzling footage of so-called "spider lightning" over a suburban beach.

The video - shot by Adelaide man Caleb Travis and uploaded to YouTube - shows lightning illuminating the sky over Glenelg.

The lightning leaves a lasting trace as it forks and snakes across the sky, and was filmed during Monday night's thunderstorms over the city.

The Bureau of Meteorology said two lines of thunderstorms moved across Adelaide on Monday night, and more than 280,000 lightning strikes were recorded over 24 hours around the state and over coastal waters.

"We wouldn't see that very often. It was a pretty dynamic system as it moved across so it was electrically active for a long period of time," senior forecaster Vince Rowlands said.


Comment: See also: Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing and Picket fence auroras and plasma ropes, electrical phenomenon in Earth's skies intensifies

The Electric Universe model is clearly explained, with a lot more relevant information, in the book Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.