Storms
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Bizarro Earth

China cancels flights during worst sandstorm in a decade


New York Post
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:45 UTC
Beijing sandstorm March 2021
© Associated PressThe National Meteorological Center said Monday’s storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools had been advised to close and bus service added to reduce residents’ exposure to the harsh conditions.
China's capital and a wide swath of the country's north were enveloped Monday in the worst sandstorm in a decade, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights.

Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand. Traffic was snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital's two main airports were canceled amid high winds and low visibility.

The National Meteorological Center said Monday's storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools had been advised to close and bus service added to reduce residents' exposure to the harsh conditions.

Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew eastwards, affecting areas as far as northern Japan.

Comment: Six killed, over 80 missing after heavy dust storm hits Mongolia

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Snowflake

Colorado snowfall weekend totals: March 15 - reaching depth of over 3 feet


Denver7 - The Denver Channel
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 14:24 UTC
snow
Colorado snowfall weekend totals: March 15, 2021


Comment:

From 9NEWS on March 15 of overnight video footage taken in Fort Collins:
RAW: Time-lapse of snow building up on a table in Colorado

Blizzard Warnings are now in effect until midnight for the Front Range and foothills. Look for an additional 2-6" of snow and gusty winds near 45mph.


Credit: Eric Frazier, Fort Collins


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Windsock

Six killed, over 80 missing after heavy dust storm hits Mongolia


CGTN
Mon, 15 Mar 2021 05:33 UTC
Mongolia dust storm
© YouTube/CGTN (screen capture)
Six people, including five herdsmen and one child, were found dead after a heavy dust storm hit Mongolia, the country's emergency management department said on Monday.

In a statement, the department said it had received reports of 548 missing people from nine provinces across the country between Saturday night and Monday morning.

So far, 467 people have been found and rescuers were trying to locate 81 who were still unaccounted for, it said.

Meanwhile, local media reported that some areas in western Mongolia experienced large-scale power cuts over the weekend due to the storm.

Neighboring China was also affected by the dust storm with large areas in the north, including the capital Beijing, experiencing the largest sandstorms in a decade on Monday.

Comment: The sandstorm created surreal scenes in Beijing, with thick dust turning the sky orange over the Chinese capital. The storm caused an unprecedented spike in air pollution measurements with Beijing's air quality index showed a reading of 999, a level described as "hazardous," the worst possible tier.

Beijing sandstorm
© REUTERS/Thomas PeterA woman walks past Drum Tower during morning rush hour as Beijing, China, is hit by a sandstorm, March 15, 2021.


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Snowflake

2,000+ flights canceled in Denver due to Winter Storm Xylia - Interstates closed

Jan Wesner Childs
The Weather Channel
Sun, 14 Mar 2021 14:55 UTC
snow
More than a dozen roads in Colorado are shut down due to Winter Storm Xylia, including portions of two interstates.

The closures include Interstate 70 in both directions between Burlington and Limon and I25 in both directions from Wellington to the state line.

Other roads affected include several U.S. and state highways.

Air travel is being snarled, too. More than 2,000 flights were canceled this weekend at Denver International Airport.

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Windsock

Massive sandstorms hit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq

Alpha
YouTube
Sat, 13 Mar 2021 13:11 UTC
storm
Massive sandstorms hit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq - March 12, 2021.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 1, injures 3 in Gurugram, India - caught on camera

Leena Dhankhar
Hindustan Times
Sat, 13 Mar 2021 10:43 UTC
lightning
CCTV footage of the incident, which went viral, showed the four men falling to the ground moments after the lightning strike.

One of the four men, who were injured when lightning struck a tree under which they were taking shelter from the rain in Gurugram's sector 82, died late Friday. CCTV footage of the incident, which went viral, showed the four men falling to the ground moments after the lightning strike.

The incident happened in the residential township Vatika India Next and the four men were attached with its horticulture department. All four of them were rushed to the hospital where the condition of Ram Prasad (38) was reported to be critical. He later succumbed to his injuries. The rest, Shiv Dutt (43), Lali (32), and Anil Kumar (32), were stable and recovering.

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Snowflake

Anchorage's overnight surprise: 18 inches of snow


Yahoo! News
Fri, 12 Mar 2021 13:59 UTC
SNOW
Residents in some parts of Alaska's largest city woke Thursday morning to a surprise: up to 18 new inches of snow fell overnight. The snowfall in Anchorage caused few headaches in a city accustomed to sizeable snowfalls. (March 11)

Video Transcript

JUDI WESTFALL: It was a little bit of a shock. It was snowing when I got home last night, but I didn't expect it to be over a foot of snow today. So a little bit of a shocker for us.

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Snowflake Cold

Gulmarg gets over 13 inches of fresh snow overnight as Kashmir weather remains erratic

Mir Ehsan
Hindustan Times
Fri, 12 Mar 2021 13:45 UTC
snow
© Getty
The upper reaches of Kashmir are receiving fresh snowfall, while rains lash many other parts of the region. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted erratic weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir till March 15. Tourist resort of Gulmarg has received more than 13 inches of snow during the night.

Snowfall was recorded in several north Kashmir towns including Kupwara and Baramulla. Srinagar city and south Kashmir witnessed heavy snowfall through the night, bringing down the temperature.


Comment: Just 5 days earlier: Up to 2 feet of March snowfall in upper reaches of Kashmir - temperature drops 7 degrees Celsius below normal

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Tornado2

Waterspout seen spiraling off Woolgoolga, New South Wales, Australia


Yahoo! News
Fri, 12 Mar 2021 12:03 UTC
waterspout
A waterspout was seen over the sea near the New South Wales town of Woolgoolga on March 11. Footage posted to Facebook by Shane Panton showed the weather phenomenon approaching the coastline.

The New South Wales Bureau of Meteorology said the area was likely to experience heavy rain and gusty winds on March 11.


Credit: Shane Panton via Storyful
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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain triggers flooding and deadly landslide in Cali, Colombia - 60% of normal March rainfall in just 90 minutes

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 12 Mar 2021 11:46 UTC
Landslide in Cali, Colombia, March 2021.
© Government of CaliLandslide in Cali, Colombia, March 2021.
Two people have died after heavy rain triggered a landslide in the city of Santiago de Cali, capital of Valle del Cauca Department in Colombia.

Heavy rain fell overnight 10-11 March, 2021. Secretary of Risk Management in Cali, Rodrigo Zamorano, described the rainfall as "extraordinary and unusual". Local media said in the space of around 90 minutes the city saw 60% of the rain it would normally see for the whole month of March. Average rainfall for March in Cali is around 150mm.

Central areas of the city were flooded after the Cañaveralejo river broke its banks. The Cauca river is also high and a Yellow Alert has been issued.

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