Storms
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Snowflake Cold

Snowbound drivers rescued after winter storm chaos recedes

Martin Wainwright
Guardian
Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:42 UTC
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© Luke Macgregor/ReutersAn abandoned caravan on the South Downs near Brighton.
The last of hundreds of tired and cold drivers were rescued from stranded cars on Tuesday after winter's late revival brought chaos to both sides of the Channel.

Major roads were blocked in southern England, northern France and Belgium, and Eurostar trains were halted by bad weather on the European mainland.

A man was taken in a critically ill condition to St George's hospital in Tooting, south London, after being hit by a telegraph pole that fell in high winds. The 27-year-old suffered head injuries and a cardiac arrest.

Two other people were freed with minor injuries from the debris of fallen trees, and a 19-year-old woman was treated for head injuries after a three-car pile-up on the M23 in Sussex. There were 771 road accidents, but no fatal injuries, in the county, which took the brunt of blizzards with neighbouring Kent on Monday night.
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Snowflake Cold

Record 'winter' storm in Europe: 100km/h winds, snowdrifts over 3 metres high and 10,000 motorway drivers stranded in Hungary alone


BBC
Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:57 UTC
Tanks have been deployed to reach snowbound motorists in Hungary as cold weather causes transport chaos across central Europe.

T-72 battle tanks trundled along icy roads, while thousands of people waited in cars on the M1 motorway from Budapest to Vienna.

Many had been stuck on the road since Thursday evening.

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Snowflake Cold

Worst 'winter' storm in 150 years hits Belarus, country grinds to halt

SOTT.net Editor
Sott.net
Sat, 16 Mar 2013 12:48 UTC
Here are some photos from Belarus showing the results of the strongest blizzard in at least 150 years (and it's not over yet). And don't forget that it's mid-March right now! Transportation was disrupted, so people had to spend hours in order to get home from work. Also, notice that one of the pictures shows flooded roads. It's Gomel. This city is located in the south of the country, so instead of low temperatures and the blizzard, they got +8C, heavy rains and floods.

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Windsock

Huge storm system brings record snow, flooding and Arctic cold to Spain (in March!)


BBC
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:30 UTC
BBC Weather's Tomasz Schafernaker has more on the recent snowy weather in central and northern parts of Spain.

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Ice Cube

Record-breaking cold spell sees rare 8ft-high snowdrifts in Guernsey, one of UK's warmest spots

Francesca Infante
Daily Mail UK
Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:06 UTC
It describes itself as the warmest corner of the British Isles ... not that you'd know it from this picture. The worst snow storms in 26 years have caused havoc on the Channel Islands this week, leaving drifts up to 8ft deep. The airport on Guernsey had to be shut for two days while more than 15,000 tons of snow were removed from the runway.

The islands caught the same storms that crippled northern France, where shoulder-deep drifts led to Channel Tunnel trains being cancelled and long queues on the M20 as lorries waited for delayed ferries. Although most of the Guernsey and Jersey snow is now melting, weather men predict another cold snap next week.

This picture was taken by Danielle Stonebridge, 21, a Guernsey resident and part- time photographer, of her father Dave, 61.
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Snowy: These pictures were taken by Danielle Stonebridge, 21, of her father Dave, 61
Additional images
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Igloo

Moscow braces for biggest March snowfall in 50 years


Vision.org
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:15 UTC

Residents of Moscow are surely used to wintry weather-- but the city is bracing itself for the biggest March snowfall on record in 50 years.

Heavy snowfall started early Wednesday morning, with forecasters predicting that up to 25 centimetres of snow will fall in the next three days.

Local authorities promised to use more than 15,000 snow-ploughs to clean up the roads. The mayor's office urged locals to keep their cars off the roads and use public transport instead.

Temperatures are expected to go below minus 20 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours. Even for Moscow,known for its harsh climate, the snowfall is unusual this time of the year.

This week, Russians traditionally mark the coming of spring with celebrations.
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Igloo

Thousands without electricity in France winter storm


France24
Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:29 UTC
French Snow
© France24Cars drive through the snow on March 11, 2013 in Honguemare-Guenouville, northwestern France. More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow.
More than 68,000 homes were without electricity in France and hundreds of people were trapped in their cars after a winter storm hit with heavy snow, officials and weather services said.

An accident near the northern city of Lille involving three cars that skidded in icy conditions on a motorway left 14 people injured, including six firefighters.

Twenty-six regions in northwest and northern France were put on orange alert because of heavy snowfalls, which Meteo France said were "remarkable for the season because of the expected quantity and length of time".

Conditions were forecast to improve early Wednesday.
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Bizarro Earth

Massive dust storm engulfs Tokyo


Herald Sun
Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:48 UTC

Visibility in the capital deteriorated quickly as dry dust particles whirled through the air.

Meteorologists said the phenomenon was caused by a sudden cold front, and was not linked with the suffocating pollution that hung over the Chinese capital Beijing last winter.

"A rapidly developing low pressure system in the north was moving down south. It was bringing a snow storm in the north, and strong winds in Tokyo and surrounding areas," said a meteorologist at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
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Windsock

Tornado hits Glascock, Georgia

Faye Ellison
The Augusta Chronicle
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:47 UTC
Baptist Church Glascock
© Parish Howard/ Morris News ServiceThe steeple of Magnolia Baptist Church in Glascock County points toward the damaged church this morning.
A Tuesday night tornado with wind speeds near 100 mph took the roof and steeple off a rural church, flattening nearby tombstones and downing trees.

No one was injured in the storm that struck about 7:30 p.m., but three residences were damaged and about 10 people displaced, authorities said.

Kent Frantz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Atlanta, was at the site Wednesday and said the destruction path was about 150 yards wide and about three-quarters of a mile long.
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Snowflake

Washington DC shuts down ahead of winter snow storm


BBC News
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:40 UTC
midwest snow
© Getty ImagesAs much as 10in (25cm) of snow fell on Chicago on Tuesday
US government offices are closed as the East Coast braces for a blizzard that dumped heavy snow on Midwestern states in recent days.

Schools are shut and more than 1,500 flights cancelled at Washington DC and Baltimore airports, with up to a foot (30cm) of snowfall predicted.

Officials have warned of power cuts in the mid-Atlantic region between New England and the south-eastern states.

On Tuesday, Chicago saw heavy snowfall with about 10in reported in some areas.
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