Storms
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Snowflake

Snowiest February ever at Breckenridge, Colorado - already 7.5 feet by the 17th


Denver.cbslocal.com
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 12:36 UTC
snow
© CBS
It's February and more than 24 feet of snow has already fallen in Breckenridge. The ski resort says this is the snowiest month on record since they started keeping records in the 1980s.

Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs Ski Resort are racing to hit 300 inches of snow this season.

An active jet stream has been funneling that snow into Colorado's high country.

"I'm glad because the skiing is awesome," said one woman visiting from Florida.


Comment: 0uttherecolorado.com reports that by the 17th the snowfall total for the month was already 7.5 feet.

See in addition: Northwest Colorado records storm's highest snow total - 40 inches over weekend

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Cloud Lightning

Rare 'St. Elmo's Fire' captured by aircraft in North Atlantic

Isabella O'Malley
The Weather Network
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 20:56 UTC
St. Elmo's fire can be seen outside a
© NOAASt. Elmo's fire can be seen outside a "hurricane hunter' aircraft in the North Atlantic on Saturday.
A plane that is typically used for hunting hurricanes recently captured a rare weather phenomenon while flying above the North Atlantic.

The NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft was collecting winter storm data during its flight when what appeared to be lightning struck through the skies. While this discharge of atmospheric electricity looks similar to lightning, the aircraft actually encountered St. Elmo's Fire.

This phenomenon occurs because of a luminous plasma that is created between clouds and the ground in the vicinity of a thunderstorm's electric field, which rips molecules apart in a process called ionization.

St. Elmo's Fire has both audible and visual effects - a crackling or hissing noise can appear as well as a whitish-blue ghostly glow that is emitted near sharp objects. It is not necessarily dangerous to those on the ground, but it can be an indicator that thunderstorms are near.

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Snowflake

Northwest Colorado records storm's highest snow total - 40 inches over weekend

John F. Russell
Craig Daily Press
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 19:32 UTC
Colorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs
© John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & TodayColorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs employee Sean Derning said that shoveling snow off the stairways of Colorado Mountain College's local campus is starting to get a little old this winter especially after the past couple storms that have dumped several feet of snow in the area.
A snow monitoring site northeast of Steamboat Springs near the Routt and Jackson county border reported the highest amount of snowfall in the state over the weekend with close to 40 inches of snow.

But Steamboat residents didn't need to venture too far from their driveway to confirm that the latest winter storm had made its mark in the Yampa Valley.

"For the mountains in northern Colorado, we had generally 18 to 30 inches of snow with the highest amount being close to 40 inches estimated at the Tower Snotel site," said meteorologist Megan Stackhouse with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. "We had that atmospheric river and just that unsettled northwesterly flow, and that does really well for you guys up in Steamboat and the northern mountains — so yes, this is a pretty much a slam dunk for you guys."

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Windsock

Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Signals Earth's atmosphere is shifting into a new era


Adapt 2030
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 17:27 UTC
Storm Dennis
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
Incredible occurrences in our atmosphere leaning to rare and bizarre. New wind speed record set in California @ 209 MPH, breaking the old record set in 2017 of 199 MPH, near wind speed record in Iceland @255 KMH during bombogenesis Dennis. Triple peaks blanketed with snow Hawaii as we saw last year a repeat and some sort of light column phenomenon in Russia in a ski area. Add to this a new tear in the magnetic field and we are off to a GSM intensification start.


Comment: 209 mph wind gust recorded at California peak may have set record

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Snowflake

Winter of 2019-20 is 4th in a row with above average snowfall in Wisconsin

Matt Schaefer
wqow.com
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 12:23 UTC
Eau Claire
Believe it or not, but we're right about where we were last year to date in terms of winter snowfall. Both are not only above average, but above the average we see in an entire winter.

This winter now marks the 4th in a row snowier than average (we surpassed the annual 47" average on February 9). The last time that happened was a streak beginning with the winter of 1995-96 and ending 21 years ago with the winter of 1998-99.

The last time we had 5 consecutive winters with above average snowfall ended 34 years ago in the winter of 1985-86.
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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed swirling on the edge of Welsh coastline during Storm Dennis

Owen Evans
Wales on Line
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 12:26 UTC
waterspout
This is the dramatic moment a "tornado" was captured swirling on the edge of a Welsh coastline during Storm Dennis.

The footage shows the moment a rare phenomenon formed over the Menai Strait between Anglesey and Gwynedd in north Wales on Sunday as stormy weather brought strong winds.

The waterspout - the name given to tornadoes when they form over water - was formed at around 12pm on Sunday, reports NorthWalesLive.

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 5 family members in Zimbabwe

Walter Nyamukondiwa
PaZimbabwe.
Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:48 UTC
lightning
Five family members were struck to death by lightning in the Muzvezve area of Sanyati district.

Tragedy struck when the family, which was tending their maize field, sought refuge under a tree when it started raining yesterday afternoon in Village 6, Muzvezve 1. A lightning bolt hit the tree. The five who died went under one tree while three other family members who survived went under another nearby tree.

Sanyati district civil protection unit Mr Amigo Mhlanga confirmed the development saying the unit has since been activated to offer assistance.

"Five members of the same family have died after being struck by lightning while being sheltered under a tree. The district CPU has been activated and we are going to the area to assess the situation while also looking at how the family can be assisted because of the magnitude of the tragedy," said Mr Mhlanga.
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Cloud Precipitation

Storm Dennis, 2nd-strongest bomb cyclone on record in North Atlantic, causes severe flooding in UK

Andrew Freedman
Washington Post
Sun, 16 Feb 2020 21:33 UTC
Submerged cars are swept away by flooding in the town of Hay-on-Wye as Storm Dennis brought heavy rain and winds to the UK
© Sky NewsSubmerged cars are swept away by flooding in the town of Hay-on-Wye as Storm Dennis brought heavy rain and winds to the UK.
Storm Dennis, the second-strongest nontropical storm on record in the North Atlantic Ocean, caused widespread flooding across parts of the United Kingdom on Sunday, along with winds exceeding hurricane force.

The storm, which is producing waves up to 80 feet tall west of the United Kingdom, dumped more than five inches of rain in South Wales, almost an inch more than the area typically receives for the entire month of February. The resulting flooding has prompted numerous evacuations and even cut off some communities.

The U.K. Met Office, which named the storm, issued its first "red" warning for heavy rainfall since 2015, its highest warning category. The country's Environment Agency issued a record number of flood warnings, 594, for a single day, according to John Curtin, executive director of flood and coastal risk management at the Environment Agency.


Comment: UK braced for record flooding as Storm Dennis dumps month's worth of rain in 24 hours

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Snowflake

Six-meter-high snow blankets northwestern Iran


Iran Daily
Tue, 11 Feb 2020 20:15 UTC
The photo shows a snow blockade on the Mahabad-Bokan road in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, on February 10, 2020.
© IRNAThe photo shows a snow blockade on the Mahabad-Bokan road in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, on February 10, 2020.
Six-meter snow covered the Qarah Bolagh district in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan of Iran, a provincial official said Monday.

The heavy snowfall blocked the Mahabad-Bukan road in the northwestern province for the third day on Monday, Head of Mahabad's Road Maintenance and Transportation Office Mohsen Khademi said, IRNA reported.

The heavy snowfall, which began on Saturday in Iran's western and northwestern provinces, caused some roadblocks in the region.

The snow storm has been unprecedented in the region for the past few years, the official said.

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Boat

UK braced for record flooding as Storm Dennis dumps month's worth of rain in 24 hours

Pan Pylas
thepublicsradio.org
Sun, 16 Feb 2020 12:47 UTC
A member of the public is rescued after flooding in Nantgarw, Wales, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020.
A member of the public is rescued after flooding in Nantgarw, Wales, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020.
Storm Dennis is roaring across Britain with high winds and heavy rains, prompting authorities to issue 350 flood warnings, including a "red warning" alert for life-threatening flooding in south Wales. The Met Office, Britain's meteorological service, only issues its highest warning when it thinks the weather will be so bad there's a "danger to life." It's the first time it has issued a red warning since December 2015.

The Met is predicting that up to 140 mm (5 1/2 inches) of rain could fall in south Wales. The River Taff has already burst its banks. Flood warnings are also in place from northern Scotland through to Cornwall in southwest England.

Storm Dennis roared across Britain with high winds and heavy rains Sunday, prompting authorities to issue some 350 flood warnings, including a "red warning" alert for life-threatening flooding in south Wales.

The Met Office, Britain's meteorological service, only issues its highest warning when it thinks the weather will be so bad there's a "danger to life." It's the first time the service has issued such a warning since December 2015. Hours later, the alert level was downgraded to "amber," which still warns of significant impact from flooding.


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