Storms
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'This is hell like': Rare winter thunderstorm & blizzard conditions hits Moscow

RT
Sat, 19 Jan 2019 14:53 UTC

Thunder and lightning amid heavy snowfall stunned people in the Russian capital on Saturday night. Videos show surreal combinations of light, darkness, and blizzard.

Videos shared by Moscow residents show heavy snowstorm coupled with occasional streaks of lightning, while growls of thunder are also heard.

At least four dead in Lebanon as severe weather sweeps through region

The National
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 12:34 UTC

An aerial view shows an informal tent settlement housing Syrian refugees in the area of Delhamiyeh, in the central Bekaa Valley.

At least four people have been killed in Lebanon, including a Syrian girl and her brother, after heavy rain and snow battered the country.

Storm Miriam - also referred to by some Lebanese officials as Storm Tracy - is the second to hit the Eastern Mediterranean country this month after Norma, which struck on January 6.

One person was killed and 10 injured on Tuesday in a vehicle collision caused by poor visibility, the Daily Star said.

The first storm had a devastating effect on more than 20,000 refugees living in tents in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and areas in the country's north, displacing many whose shelters were either flooded or destroyed by snow.

Comment: Details of the earlier storm referred to above: Storm packing snow and rain paralyzes parts of Lebanon

At least six dead as intense storms slam California

Amanda Schmidt
AccuWeather.com
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 09:29 UTC

Amid a relentless series of storms, a powerful storm has been wreaking havoc in California from Wednesday into Thursday, further raising concerns of flooding, mudslides and avalanches.

On Monday and Tuesday, Los Angeles received over 1.75 inches of rain, and San Diego picked up just over 0.55 of an inch of rain. On Wednesday, they received two-thirds of an inch and 0.11 of an inch, respectively, AccuWeather meteorologists reported.

The series of storms prompted officials to put communities on alert for mudslides and flooding, as well as creating dangerous travel conditions.

Toppled trees, snarled roads and downed power lines could be found all around Northern California on Wednesday, sometimes with deadly consequences, Associated Press (AP) News reports.

At least six deaths have been reported during this week, as storms pass through the region.

Over 20,000 people were without power Wednesday night, according to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Severe sandstorm in Egypt leaves at least five people dead

Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg
Anadolu Agency
Wed, 16 Jan 2019 08:05 UTC

At least five people were killed in Egypt by a severe sandstorm that struck several parts of the country on Wednesday.

According to local media reports, one person was killed and two others injured when a building partially collapsed in the northeastern Port Said province.

Another four people reportedly lost their lives when a bus overturned in the northern Kafr al-Sheikh province.

The Egyptian authorities have suspended activity at four of the country's seaports due to inclement weather, while several roads in capital Cairo have been shut until further notice.

Egypt's official meteorological agency has predicted "several days" of heavy winds, which, it warned, may disrupt maritime navigation in the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

Storms bring 4 feet of snow in 48 hours to Sierra Nevada resorts

Paul Rogers
The Mercury News
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 19:05 UTC

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows

Snowpack up to 103 percent of normal after slow winter start

A wave of steady storms this week, capped off Wednesday night by a powerful atmospheric river event that caused the National Weather Service to issue a rare blizzard warning, brought more than four feet of snow to some Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts.

The huge snowfall boosted the statewide Sierra snowpack to 103 percent of normal on Thursday, up from just 69 percent on Jan. 1.

It also comes ahead of one of the biggest California ski weekends of the year, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday weekend.

Snow covers Amman as winter storm sweeps across Jordan

Hana Namrouqa
Jordan Times
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 18:27 UTC

Heavy snowfall created traffic problems in areas of the Kingdom on Wednesday night

Authorities evacuated, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, 131 snowbound people, after a deep, fast-moving polar front brought heavy snow to the northern and central parts of the Kingdom, according to authorities.

Snow started falling over the mountainous areas of the northern region on Wednesday afternoon, and by evening, the central parts, including the capital, also received heavy snow that quickly blocked streets in areas located 900 metres above sea level.

By Thursday noon, all of the country's roads were open to traffic, according to the Public Security Department.

Ras Munif in Ajloun Governorate, 76 kilometres northwest of Amman, recorded the highest snow accumulation at 15cm, according to Raed Rafid Al Khattab, head of the weather forecast section at the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

California mountain blizzard may bring up to 100 inches of snow

Jonathan Kegges
10 News
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 18:26 UTC

A large storm is coming ashore on the California coast and it's bringing flooding rains and heavy mountain snow. Above 5,000 feet, the snow is being measured in feet. Multiple feet.

Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for those areas expected to receive 80-100" of snow from the time the snow started yesterday through Thursday evening. That's more than 8 feet of snow in just a days of days. To put that in perspective, that is more snow than Roanoke has seen in 5 years.

Environment Canada issues rare special weather statement for Montreal

Daily Hive
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 14:04 UTC

Environment Canada has been busy with weather alerts and special statements throughout Montreal's cold and snowy week, and the website was back at it again this morning in a rare alert.

This morning, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for this coming Monday - a rare release this far ahead of a storm.

"An intense winter storm is forecast to move across New England Sunday, then the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Monday," reads the alert. "It will bring significant amounts of snow and will generate very strong and frigid northerly winds that will generate blowing snow considerably reducing visibilities and making roads very slippery."

Monday's storm should invade the province of Quebec and the most affected areas should be those located near the American Border and Atlantic Canada.

The expected weather however, still depends greatly on the exact track of the storm which is "still volatile," according to Environment Canada. A track a little further north could mean that Southern Quebec may deal with a "major winter storm."

Sierra resorts can count snowfall totals in feet - here's what they look like on Thursday, January 17

Alix Martichoux
SF Gate
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 20:07 UTC

Heavenly Mountain reported 12 inches of snow in 24 hours Thursday morning.

Several ski resorts in the Tahoe area, including Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and Northstar California, reported receiving two feet of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday — and that's before the brunt of the storm hit.

The snow continued to pile up Wednesday night into Thursday morning, as the storm dumped wet, heavy 'Sierra cement' in the Tahoe basin.

The resorts started to boast about how much snow fell in their neck of the woods and the numbers were impressive all around. Sugar Bowl had received 15 inches of snow just overnight. Squaw Valley reported 28 inches of snow in the past 24 hours, Northstar had 26 inches, Kirkwood had 16 inches, and Heavenly had a foot. June Mountain Ski Area reported a 24-hour total of 36 inches at 7 a.m. Thursday.

Farmers reeling after record rain in 2018 destroys crops

Annie Blanks
Washington Times
Sun, 13 Jan 2019 15:39 UTC

In this undated photo farmer Rodney Helton holds the stem of a cotton plant in his rain soaked field in Atmore, Ala.

Rodney Helton stood in a cotton field in Atmore, Alabama, on a Thursday morning, just over the Florida state line, with puddles of wet, mushy soil and water gathering over his dirty boots.

He reached out and plucked a sopping wet cotton boll off of a brown, rotting stem and held it between his fingers, shaking his head.

"See this?" he said, peeling the wet cotton apart like an orange. "That's not how it's supposed to be. It's supposed to be fluffy, it's cotton. That's no good. No good."

Like almost all farmers in the northern ends of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, 2018 was one for the record books, and not in a good way. The Pensacola area saw just over 90 inches of rain total last year, which is 2 feet more than it normally does. Mickey Diamond, a cotton and peanut farmer in Jay, said his town saw over 100 inches of rain.

Comment: View also this video: Ice Age Farmer Report: "Death Sentence" for food production: Grand Solar Minimum