Storms
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Igloo

On the Footsteps of Climate Change: The Ice Age Cometh to Podgorica, Montenegro

Podgorica is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. Montenegro is situated on the southern Balkan Peninsula connected with the Adriatic Sea. In Podgorica, we have modified Mediterranean climate with warm dry summers and mild winters. Podgorica is particularly known for its exceptionally hot summers: temperatures above 40 ° C. The highest recorded temperature of 45.8 ° C measured on 16 August 2007. The snow is almost an unknown event in Podgorica. This winter the situation is completely different in Podgorica and especially the Northern part of Montenegro is blocked by snow, unprecedented in the last half century.


Cloud Lightning

13 killed as tornadoes rake Midwest states

US: Branson, Missouri - At least 13 people were killed overnight as a line of tornadoes marched across the Midwest, flattening areas in several towns, including the tourist hub of Branson. Forecasters warned more twisters could strike the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians through Wednesday evening.

Ten of the deaths occurred in Harrisburg, Ill., officials said in updating an earlier death toll of three. A possible tornado swept through the town around 5 a.m. local time, destroying 35-40 homes, according to local TV station KFVS12.

Three other deaths were reported in Missouri, where storms included a suspected tornado that hit a mobile home park outside the town of Buffalo. One person died there and around a dozen people were injured. Two others died in the Cassville and Puxico areas.

The rough weather also knocked out power to all of Buffalo's 3,000 residents.

At least 8 people were injured when a suspected tornado ripped through Harveyville, Kan., on Tuesday night, NBC News reported. At least three of the injured are in critical condition, according to weather.com, and 40 percent of the town suffered damage.

NBC affiliate KSHB TV reported that an apartment complex and a church were among the damaged buildings in the town of about 250 people.


Bizarro Earth

Deadly Nighttime Tornadoes in Winter

Night Tornadoes
© OurAmazingPlanet
As recent tornado outbreaks around the country have shown, severe weather is getting a jump on the spring season. The main tornado season may still be weeks away, but the twisters of winter pack an extra threat. The odds of a killer tornado are greatest at night, and the shorter daylight hours of winter increase the chance of nighttime tornadoes.

Nocturnal tornadoes are more than twice as likely to kill people than daytime tornadoes, researchers have found.

More severe weather, and tornadoes, are possible today (Feb. 28) as storms roll across the mid-South. So far, the largest tornado outbreak of the year - 45 twisters - came on Jan. 22. Last Friday (Feb. 24) was the second busiest day for severe weather of the year to date.

While the main tornado season runs from spring to early summer, this year's early outbreaks show that tornadoes can form under a variety of conditions and strike during fall and winter, too. During this period, when the days are short, nighttime tornadoes are a big risk.

Bizarro Earth

Flash floods set to soak Australia

Massive amounts of rain are set to soak large parts of NSW, southern and central Australia with falls of up to 100mm starting from later today amid warnings of widespread flooding .

The drenching will be "one of the biggest rain events in recent history'' according to The Weather Channel.


Tom Saunders, Senior Meteorologist at The Weather Channel said this morning that the rain will start today over Victoria, South Australia and southern NSW.

"Thunderstorms will drop up to 100mm of rain, enough to cause severe flash flooding,'' he said.

"The rain and storms will head north on Tuesday and stall over NSW and central Australia until at least Friday.

"Daily rain will exceed 50mm in some regions, enough to cause flash flooding.

"With rain continuing through the week, weekly totals should easily climb above 100mm across the Murray Basin, northern South Australia and the southern Northern Territory.

"Canberra and Sydney's wettest days should be Wednesday and Thursday.''

Snowflake

Winter Storm Slams US's Midwest; New York, New England Up Next

Image
© MSNBC
A winter storm left a "stripe of snow" across the Midwest before heading toward upstate New York and northern New England on Friday morning, weather.com reported.

Meteorologist Tim Ballisty predicted that Chicago could receive "a half foot or more" of snow.

"On Thursday into Friday, look for a stripe of snow to lay down from the Dakotas into Iowa, northern Illinois, far northern Indiana and lower Michigan," he added. "The bulk of the heaviest snow will fall south of Milwaukee -- closer to the Wisconsin/Illinois border."

Appearing on NBC's Today on Friday, weather.com's Mike Seidel reported that at least 130 flights had been delayed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. He added that prior to Thursday, Chicago had received only 16 inches of snow all winter.

Cloud Lightning

US: Hurricane Force Wind Gusts Rock Colorado

Strong winds and blowing snow are wreaking havoc in Denver. This morning, Interstate 70 from Vail to the Eisenhower Tunnel closed due to heavy snow. There's no estimated reopening time. Strong gusts Wednesday delayed flights arriving in Denver for part of the day, downed power lines and trees, and fueled two wildland fires in Boulder County.


Igloo

US: Hawaii - Winter storm warning for Big Island summits, Snow at Mauna Loa's summit caldera

The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued a winter storm warning for the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa until 6 a.m. Wednesday (Feb 22) for elevations above 8,000 feet. A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected or is occuring. Strong winds are also possible.

Sleet, snow and freezing rain will make for hazardous conditions for drivers and hikers. An additional three to four inches of snowfall is expected this afternoon and evening.

Time-lapse movie of Mauna Loa. This panorama is a composite of a five images from a temporary research camera positioned on the north rim of Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa volcano. If you look carefully around early morning or late evening, you may see a few thermal areas emitting steam. Images courtesy of USGS


Snowflake

US: Winter storm dumps snow on South, knocks out power

Crews work to restore electricity to tens of thousands of households. Following highs in the 60s on Saturday, parts of Virginia saw more snow Sunday than all season.

Image
© Eli Van Zoeren
Richmond, Virginia. - A winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across parts of the South, causing power outages, slippery roads and numerous accidents, moved out to sea Monday.

Crews were working to restore power to tens of thousands of households that lost electricity as a result of the storm.

The storm brought as much as 9 inches of snow to some areas on Sunday as it powered its way from Kentucky and Tennessee to West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

The storm system was expected to push off the coast during Monday morning, with the nation's capital getting only snow flurries, according to the National Weather Service.

Igloo

Cold Winter Kills at Least 40 in Afghanistan

Kabul Snow Storm
© AP Photo/Musadeq SadeqAn Afghan man, his head covered with his scarf, walks down the street during a snowstorm in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.
Kabul - More than 40 people, most of them children, have frozen to death in what has been Afghanistan's coldest winter in years, an Afghan health official said Monday.

The government has recorded 41 deaths from freezing in three provinces - Kabul, Ghor and Badakhshan, said Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Sakhi Kargar.

All but three or four of those deaths were children, he said. Twenty-four of the deaths were in the capital of Kabul, mostly in camps for people who have fled fighting elsewhere in the country.

Kabul has been experiencing its worst cold snap and heaviest snowfall in 15 years, according to the National Weather Center.

Snowflake

US: Winter Storm Dumps Snow on Parts of South; Crashes, Power Outages Reported

Image
© Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo / The Associated Press After a day of teasing, the snow finally starts to accumulate along Broad Street in downtown Richmond, Va., on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.
A winter storm on Sunday dumped several inches of snow on a band of southern states, triggering accidents on slippery roads and knocking out power to tens of thousands.

The storm brought wet snow to parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

In northern Tennessee, about 20 vehicles were involved in crashes along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 75 near the Kentucky border on Sunday afternoon.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Stacy Heatherly said the crashes were reported shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday in near "white-out" conditions caused by heavy snowfall and fog. Police said a juvenile was seriously injured. All lanes of Interstate 75 had reopened by early evening.

Dozens of wrecks were also reported in North Carolina as snow, sleet and rain fell with little accumulation, according to The Winston-Salem Journal.