Storms
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Snowflake

France: Heaviest Snowfall in 25 Years Leaves Paris Paralysed


The Telegraph, UK
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:43 UTC
paris snow
© Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesHeaviest snowfall in 25 years leaves Paris paralysed
The heaviest snowfall in almost 25 years left much of the Paris region paralysed, with drivers advised not to use their cars unless absolutely necessary.

Brice Hortefeux, the interior minister, asked drivers to leave their vehicles at home the day after more than four inches of snow fell on Paris, the most since 1987.

Thousands of passengers spent the night at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport after their flights were cancelled, and thousands more stranded motorists were put up in municipal halls and school sports halls around the Paris region.

In Velizy, southwest of Paris, between 7,000 and 8,000 people spent the night in company offices, at a shopping centre and in a sports hall.
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Cloud Lightning

Cold snap arrives in Turkey with a vengeance


Hurriyet Daily News
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:04 UTC
Turkey flooding
© Daily News / Hasan ALTINIŞIKBad weather has affected life in Istanbul, with increasing accidents and heavy traffic snarling the city’s motorways.
After weeks of unseasonably warm and sunny weather, a cold snap from the Balkans arrived in Turkey accompanied by rain, sleet and snow. The strong storms caused flooding in the Aegean province of Aydın that killed one person and left two others missing Friday.

Bad weather has affected life in Istanbul, with increasing accidents and heavy traffic snarling the city's motorways. Some airplane flights and ferries scheduled to operate Friday have been canceled as a consequence of the weather.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service, or DMİ, forecasts rainy weather for the western Marmara sea, Black sea, southern Aegean and Mediterranean regions of the country, while the eastern Marmara region, including Istanbul, Sakarya and Kocaeli provinces, the Aegean, Göller, Anatolian and western Black Sea regions are expected to receive snow.
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Snowman

Another Dose of Frigid Air for the US

Chris Dolce
The Weather Channel
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:41 UTC
weather map
Setup Next Week: Cold East, Mild West
Just like last week, we have a storm system which will move from the Midwest to the East Coast over the weekend with a dump of bitter cold air following close behind.

Pictured to the right is the incoming large dip in the jet stream that will follow this storm and setup shop in the East. This will allow temperatures to fall 10 to 30 degrees below average during the weekend and into next week.

The opposite reaction is a bulge northward in the jet stream over the West, resulting in mild temperatures and some possible record highs.

Map: Current temperatures | Current wind chills

The first signs of this new chilly blast can be seen on the maps below over the Upper Midwest this weekend. Some cities will struggle to make it above zero during the day, including Minneapolis/St. Paul by Sunday.

By Monday and Tuesday, afternoon temperatures will range from the single digits, teens and 20s over the Midwest and Northeast to the 30s and 40s over the Southeast. The southern half of Florida may not make it out of the 50s or low 60s. Gusty northwest winds will make it feel even colder
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No Entry

Snow, rain, wind cause havoc in Europe as the Eiffel Tower closes


News.com.au
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:46 UTC
eiffel Tower
© EPAThe tower was shut as salt cannot be used as it would damage the iron structure
Heavy snow blanketed Paris yesterday, forcing the closure of the Eiffel Tower and briefly shutting the city's main airport.

In Scotland sub-zero temperatures turned roads into deadly ice sheets.

In Spain and Portugal, cleaning-up has begun after floods and high winds. In Portugal, high winds blew away cars, uprooted trees, tore off roofs and knocked over power poles, leaving about 30 people injured. In Spain, a second body was recovered yesterday following flooding.

France's meteorological service said 11cm of snow fell in central Paris, the heaviest snowfall since 1987. About 100 flights were prevented from taking off or landing at Roissy airport during a temporary closure while workers cleared the runways.
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Igloo

Forecasters warn Christmas could be cancelled as cold weather grips UK


Metro.co.uk
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:34 UTC
snow,road
© ReutersForecasters warn Christmas could be cancelled as cold weather grips UK.
Christmas will have to be put on hold this year as the 'once in a lifetime' cold snap threatens to tighten its grip on ice-bound Britain, forecasters are warning.

Festivities are facing a white-out with the return of snow next week and Arctic conditions set to continue beyond the 25th.

It means drivers are being warned not to travel in the run-up to Christmas, when millions hit the roads to visit relatives or to do last-minute shopping.

Chaos across the transport network could mean gifts sent through the post do not arrive in time and shops will run low on food and other essentials.
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Cloud Precipitation

Rains leave rising death toll in Colombia, Venezuela


Agence France-Presse
Sun, 05 Dec 2010 10:18 UTC
tachira river
© AFPResidents stand next to a buliding damaged by the overflowing of the Tachira River
The toll from weeks of heavy rains across Colombia has risen to 174 people dead and over 1.5 million homeless, the Colombian Red Cross said Saturday.

And in neighboring Venezuela to the east, driving rains have triggered flooding and cave-ins that have killed 34 people over the past week and left an estimated 73,000 people homeless nationwide, officials said.

In Colombia, 225 people have been injured and 19 were missing, Colombian Red Cross deputy director of operations Cesar Uruena told reporters. A total of 1,821 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
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Igloo

US: Monster storm predicted


UPI
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:10 UTC
Image
© Reed/Reuters
A huge storm followed by arctic cold threatened much of the upper quarter of the United States.

Forecasters predicted a monster storm this weekend -- possibly the worst of the season -- stretching from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians, dumping snow and rain coupled with high winds over a wide area with blizzard conditions possible. Accuweather.com predicted poor travel conditions through much of the area but it was unclear where the rain-snow divide would come.

The snow is expected to begin over Iowa Saturday and then spread east and north, dumping 6 to 12 inches with higher amounts expected in lake-effect regions, possibly as much as 3 feet.

The Buffalo, N.Y.-area already has four feet of snow on the ground and in Western Michigan, 12 to 18 inches of snow has fallen since Sunday.
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Igloo

Freeze brings Paris to a standstill


Agence France Presse
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:57 UTC
Paris snow Alexandre III bridge
© Agence France PresseA cyclist struggles over the snow-covered Alexandre III bridge in Paris.
Icy roads left much of the Paris region paralysed on Thursday after the heaviest snowfall in almost 25 years, with drivers advised not to use their cars unless absolutely necessary.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux asked drivers to leave their vehicles at home the day after 11 centimetres (more than four inches) of snow fell on Paris, the most since 1987.
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Snowman

French motorists camp out as snow smothers Paris

Patrick Vignal
Reuters
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:50 UTC
Paris snow
© Reuters/Benoit TessierCars drive in a snow-covered street in Paris as winter weather and sub-freezing temperatures continue in northern France.
Several thousand Parisians were forced to spend the night in emergency shelters or their cars, and transport remained chaotic on Thursday, after a blanket of snow fell on the French capital.

City authorities asked residents to avoid using their cars after the heaviest snowfall in nearly a quarter of a century covered city streets with ice and slush, causing traffic jams that prevented commuters getting home on Wednesday night.
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Igloo

US: Monster Storm Could Be Winter's Worst

Alex Sosnowski
accuweather.com
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:05 UTC
winter storm map
© AccuWeather.comGet your snow shovels and plows ready.
In areas hit by the monster snowstorm this weekend, these could be the worst conditions of the winter months, factoring in snow and returning wind, cold, and lake effect into next week.

The monster snowstorm slated for this weekend will hit portions of the Midwest, eastern Great Lakes, central Appalachians, Ontario and Quebec hardest.

The heaviest snow is most likely to begin over Iowa and surrounding areas Saturday. The snow will then encompass Michigan, western New York, southern and southwestern Ontario and southwestern and central Quebec for the remainder of the weekend.
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