The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Early September blizzard in Alaska (Ice Age Now, Sep 3, 2014):
“Whiteout conditions should be expected.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK – 2 SEP 2014
NORTHEASTERN BROOKS RANGE- INCLUDING…ANAKTUVUK PASS…ATIGUN PASS…GALBRAITH LAKE… SAGWON…FRANKLIN BLUFFS …
BLIZZARD WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (last night) TO MIDNIGHT AKDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT…
– Thursday Snowstorm to Affect More Than 70 Million (The Epoch Times, Jan 1, 2014):
A pair of major snowstorms will join forces to affect about 70 million people in the Midwest and the Northeast, AccuWeather predicted.
Arctic air will push into the Midwest and the Northeast, bringing dangerously low, subzero temperatures in places, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted.
“Bitter cold will continue over the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest with temperatures running as much as 20 to 30 degrees below normal,” according to NWS.
Read moreThursday Snowstorm To Affect More Than 70 Million Americans
– Mighty winter storm ‘Hercules’ heads to Northeast (USA Today, Jan 2, 2014):
A major winter storm could complicate the first post-New Year’s Day back to work and school for millions in New England and beyond.
The storm, predicted to affect the USA from the upper Midwest to the East Coast, is expected to bring the heaviest snow across southern New England on Thursday and early Friday.
Read moreUS: Mighty Winter Storm ‘Hercules’ Heads To Northeast (Video)
Rapid City and many other parts of South Dakota recorded record snowfall totals for the entire month of October in just three days over the weekend.
– Shutdown worsens historic blizzard that killed tens of thousands of South Dakota cattle (NBC News, Oct 9, 2013):
An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state’s $7 billion industry — an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.
As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.
Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet, The Weather Channel reported.
The South Dakota Stock Growers Association estimated that 15 percent to 20 percent of all cattle were killed in some parts of the state. Some ranchers reported that they lost half or more of their herds.
Read moreHistoric Blizzard Kills 75,000 Cattle In South Dakota
– Blizzard kills one, leaves thousands without power (Reuters, Feb 9, 2013):
A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds pummeled the northeastern United States on Saturday, killing at least one person, leaving about 600,000 customers without power and disrupting thousands of flights.
Blizzard warnings were in effect for the northeastern coast, including the New York metropolitan area, the National Weather Service said.
“Travel conditions will continue to be extremely hazardous if not impossible,” it said.
– Traveling nightmare as ‘Nemo’ targets Northeast (USA Today, Feb 8, 2013):
Tens of millions of people face travel nightmares,widespread power outages and potentially record snowfall from the fierce blizzard on track to batter the Northeast this weekend.
New England and New York are forecast to take the hardest hit, but others around the country could feel the ripple effect from canceled flights out of New York and other airports along the Eastern Seaboard.
As of Friday morning, more than 3,000 flights have been canceled.
As part of its new process of naming storms, the Weather Channel has dubbed the blizzard “Nemo.”
Read moreTraveling Nightmare As Blizzard ‘Nemo’ Targets Northeast
– Emergency food flown into stranded European towns (Idaho Statesman, Feb. 13, 2012):
BUCHAREST, Romania — Military planes and police helicopters flew in tons of emergency food to snowbound villages and ships in the Balkans on Monday, after blizzards so fierce that some people had to cut tunnels through 15 feet (4 meters) of snow to get out of their homes.Since the end of January, Eastern Europe has been pummeled by a record-breaking cold snap and the heaviest snowfall in recent memory. Hundreds of people, many of them homeless, have died in the bitter cold and tens of thousands have been trapped by blocked roads inside homes with little heat.
Authorities declared a state of emergency Monday in eastern Romania, where 6,000 people have been cut off for days. About a dozen major roads were closed, 300 trains canceled and more than 1,000 schools shut down.
Google translation (Original article in Italian below.):
– Bad weather: Coldiretti, code red for agriculture in Tuscany (Libero, Feb. 9, 2012):
Florence, February 9 – (Adnkronos) – blizzard comes and farmers tremble. Sale in Tuscany concern for agricultural production already ‘put to the test by a week of freezing temperatures. The worsening weather conditions expected over the weekend and announced the arrival of the dreaded snow storm and icy Baltic carry the warning level on the code red.
” We are very worried – admits Tulio Marcelli, Regional Chair Coldiretti Tuscany – Snow and ‘definitely a problem, but the cold may’ be a very dangerous factor for agricultural production. In general, for many crops on our land as olive trees and vines from frost damage to equipment and will be visible and measurable only at the vegetative growth, therefore, to date, and ‘difficult to make an analysis of some of the entity’ of the damage. The sudden drop in temperature, for a period so ‘long, can’ do much harm.”
Meanwhile Coldiretti Tuscany (info at www.toscana.coldiretti.it) certifies already ‘some situations scattered’ throughout the region of strong critical ‘where the production of seasonal vegetables grown in open fields (see sprouts, cabbage, artichokes and in general, leafy vegetables like lettuce, radicchio, endive, borage, spinach, chicory) and ‘lost with rates of up to 50%, the cold has also affected the product already’ harvest and during storage.
Read more‘Code Red For Agriculture In Tuscany’ (Libero): Loss Rates Of Up To 50 Percent!
– Romania uses army to save snow-trapped travellers (Reuters, Jan. 26, 2012):
* Temperatures expected to fall to -20C on Friday* PM says priority is to rescue stranded car travellers
* Blizzards also shut towns and port in Bulgaria (Updates rescue numbers, adds protests)
BUCHAREST — Romania has drafted in the army to rescue hundreds of travellers stranded by blizzards that dumped metres of snow on the ground on Thursday, derailing a train and forcing authorities to shut down motorways and ports and cancel flights.
Hundreds of schools were shut and by 2000 GMT dozens of towns and villages were still without electricity, as felled trees and strong winds brought down power lines.
Police and ambulance crews had rescued more than 1,600 people by Thursday evening but more than 1,000 cars were still snowed in on roads, Prime Minister Emil Boc said, and road authority officials were distributing tea and blankets.
Authorities have banned traffic on Romania’s only two motorways and several national roads until weather improved.
“I am asking you to not rest easy until you have made sure people’s lives are not in danger,” Prime Minister Boc told an emergency response meeting late on Thursday before heading out to capital Bucharest’s ringroad to inspect progress.
Read moreSnow Chaos In ROMANIA: Army Called In To Save Trapped Travellers, -20C Expected
– Winter Storm Leaves Midwest, East Paralyzed (NPR):
Blizzard conditions stretching from Texas to Maine have paralyzed travel in major cities across the nation’s midsection, closing airports and schools and leaving downtowns looking like snow-covered deserts.
The storm — billed as the worst in decades — unleashed much of its fury on the heartland, bringing Chicago and the rest of the Midwest to a standstill. As it churned into New England, a number of roofs collapsed as a foot or more of snow piled atop the remains of last month’s blizzards.
Travelers at Boston’s Logan Airport, which was closed temporarily Wednesday for the first time this season because of ice, continued to face cancellations and delays. The storm tested even the hardiest New Englanders, including snowplow driver Dave Mastrioni, who was clearing snow for everyone from churches to private businesses and the city of Newton, Mass.
“It’s been about a hundred hours of plowing — that’s about two years’ worth,” he said.
– Powerful storm brings record snowfall across the country (CNN):
(CNN) — A massive winter storm bringing blizzard conditions and record snowfall to the nation’s heartland has affected one in three Americans, emergency officials said Wednesday.
A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain blanketed 30 states and is now sweeping up into the U.S. Northeast.
The brutal weather made for treacherous traveling on snow-choked roadways and runways, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights again Wednesday.
The huge demand for information caused sporadic outages for the National Weather Service’s web servers, which struggled to handle a deluge of 10 million to 20 million hits per hour, officials said. The site normally experiences an average of 70 million hits per day.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport received a record-breaking 19 1/2 inches of snow, according to the service.
– Winter storm snowballs airlines (CNN)
– Travel comes to a standstill as blizzards batter US east coast (Guardian):
More than 3,000 flights cancelled, mostly from New York’s three main airports, stranding tens of thousands trying to return home after Christmas holiday.
– Snow cancels 4,000 flights, shuts NYC airports (USA Today):
A strong Christmas-weekend blizzard paralyzed travel along much of the East Coast on Monday, halting flights at the three New York City airports for much of the day.
For those stranded, airport and airline officials warned it could take “days” before they could be accommodated on future flights
A bicycle is buried in snow in the early morning hours in Manhattan’s East Village. Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) — New York City’s major airports remained closed after the heaviest December snowfall in six decades left travelers in the Northeast struggling amid waist- high drifts and blinding winds.
Central Park had 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow by 8 a.m., the most for the month since 1948, the National Weather Service said. Skies cleared by daybreak while the agency issued blizzard warnings for Boston and into Maine.
The storm forced airlines to cancel more than 6,000 flights since yesterday. John F. Kennedy International and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty will reopen at 6 p.m., and LaGuardia Airport’s resumption time is undetermined, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website.
“It is horrendous in the New York City area,” Tom Kines, a meteorologist at State College, Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather Inc., said by telephone. “This is about as bad as it gets. There may have been storms that equaled this, but it doesn’t get much worse than this. To get this much snow with the amount of wind that is accompanying it, that is devastating.”
A worker de-ices a walkway at the Forbidden City in Beijing on Jan. 4, 2010. (Bloomberg)
Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) — The heaviest snowfall to hit Beijing and Seoul in more than half a century grounded hundreds of planes in the two capitals as temperatures in northern China were set to fall to the lowest in 50 years.
Beijing Capital International Airport canceled more than 500 flights today as of 2 p.m. local time, China Central Television reported. Gimpo Airport in western Seoul grounded 187 flights as of 2 p.m. local time, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said in a statement.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on local authorities to ensure food supplies, agricultural production and the safety of transportation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. South Korea mobilized 5,000 soldiers to remove snow from blocked roads, Yonhap News reported today.
Suburban areas of Beijing received more than 33 centimeters (13 inches) of snow yesterday, the Beijing Daily reported. It was the capital’s heaviest daily snowfall since 1951, Xinhua reported.
Among those affected by the weather were Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang and Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan. Their flight to Beijing last night was delayed by heavy snow and the visit was canceled this morning, Patrick Wong, Tsang’s press officer, said by telephone.
About 90 percent of Beijing’s more than 1,300 flights yesterday were canceled or delayed, according to state broadcaster CCTV. At least three airports in China’s Shandong province were closed today due to the blizzards, it reported.
Schools Closed
Read moreBeijing and Seoul Hit by Heaviest Snow in More Than Half Century
Blizzard hits Christmas travelers in Nebraska and Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
For only the 7th time in 106 years, people in Oklahoma City wake up to a White Christmas. At least 13 inches of snow had fallen up to last night at Will Rodgers World Airport. At one point, a heavy band dropped 4 inches in one hour. The Governor declared a disaster area and ordered ever interstate and turnpike closed:
“I am urging all Oklahomans to take winter storm precautions and stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary,” Gov. Brad Henry said earlier in the day after declaring a state of emergency. “This is a very serious winter storm, and we want Oklahomans to stay safe.”
This is the second blizzard to hit the region this month. See more pictures in the slide show below:
See more: Dallas gets first White Christmas in 83 years. Video and pictures; and Christmas Winter Storm Travel: Ice, snow, and flooding rain
Also: Santa Tracking NORAD 3D Videos: Visiting the US and around he world
Video Report
For More:
– See NASA Satellite images from space after the blizzard
– Pictures from height of blizzard and record snow in Baltimore Snowstorm breaks more records hitting Maryland the hardestStorm update: A top 10 snowstorm and blizzard conditions
– White Christmas: Snow totals, snow pack, and arctic sea ice building
– Two snowstorms have hit the middle of the nation in December
This second storm hit shoppers and travelers for the holiday. View Slideshow » 
Read moreUS Blizzard: Christmas Misery for Millions; Oklahoma State of Emergency (Video)
And how about Europe?
– Cold snap strands thousands of European travellers (AFP):
PARIS — Tens of thousands of European travellers were stranded Sunday in rail stations, traffic jams and airports as heavy snow and ice caused massive disruption at the start of the Christmas holiday season.
– Arctic-like cold snap wreaks havoc across parts of Europe (Deutsche Welle):
Temperatures in parts of Germany fell to below minus 33 degrees Celsius overnight, as parts of Western and Northern Europe from Portugal in the south to Poland in the east were hit by heavy snowfall.
In Eastern Europe, snow as deep as 2.5 meters has been reported, while temperatures in Mediterranean regions such as Spain dropped to around minus 20 degrees overnight.
– Poland reports 29 deaths in deep-freeze weather – Summary (DPA)
– Cold snap death toll rises to eight in Czech Republic (Roundup (DPA)
– Eurostar Suspends Service Indefinitely (New York Times):
LONDON — Eurostar suspended all its rail links between London, Paris and Brussels on Sunday as cold weather caused chaos on the high-speed passenger line for a third day, with no relief in sight.
A man makes his way towards the White House. Americans pining for a white Christmas got more than they bargained for as a record-breaking snowstorm closed airports and roadways across the northeastern United States, putting a damper on the holiday’s biggest shopping weekend. (AFP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A ferocious snow storm blanketed much of the eastern United States Sunday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes, paralyzing air traffic and stranding motorists.
The governors of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware declared states of emergency in advance of the storm, the worst to hit the region in decades.
Three people died on Virginia roads Saturday as some 3,000 accidents shut down interstates for several hours, according to the state’s department of emergency management. The Virginia Department of Health confirmed one other weather-related death.
Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power in West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina.
The worst of the storm was over for Washington as it swept northeastward, but a lot of roads were still unplowed in the city unused to so much snow so early in the year.
Only scattered flurries remained after snowfall shattered a 1932 December snowfall record, with 16 inches (40 centimeters) covering streets and homes. It was also one of the biggest snowstorms to hit the capital since records began in 1885.
Read moreBlizzard Blasts Eastern US: Hundreds of Thousands of Homes Without Power
A spring storm that blanketed much of the state with heavy snow pushed out of the state on Saturday, leaving residents of the hard-hit Panhandle to dig out from under as much as two feet of snow. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Stephen Holman)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Storms spread misery Saturday from the Great Plains to the Gulf Coast, dumping spring snow that cut power to thousands of Kansas utility customers and spawning tornado warnings and heavy rain across the South.
Two deaths were reported in Kansas as a spring blizzard buried parts of the state in ice, slush and up to two feet of snow. A 72-year-old man shoveling snow died of a heart attack Saturday while waiting for an ambulance slowed by impassable roads in Arlington, in central Kansas, authorities told The Hutchinson News. On Friday, a 58-year-old woman was killed in a car accident on icy roadways in Marion County.
The system also prompted a disaster declaration in Kansas and was blamed for two traffic deaths in Oklahoma.
The National Weather Service warned eastern Iowa about a narrow band of snow that will be particularly nasty, with forecast accumulation of 4 to 6 inches.
Read moreStorm bands sock Kansas with blizzards, South with damaging wind, rain and tornado warnings
This photo provided by bus passenger Maria Nasta shows a scene from a 59 vehicle pileup including three buses and two tractor-trailer rigs that crashed on a snowy highway on Sunday morning Jan. 11, 2009 on Interstate 93 at Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Courtesy Maria Nasta)
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A fast-moving blizzard clogged roads and closed schools in North Dakota on Monday, causing more headaches for residents still trying to dig out from a record snowfall last month.
And, forecasters said a blast of cold air was on the way that could send the thermometer as low as 30 below zero.
Related article:
– Storm brings more snow and strong winds to Iowa (Chicago Tribune)
– Dirty snow causes early runoff in Cascades (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
– First the Snow, Then Comes the Bitter Cold (MSNBC)
“Four-wheel drives are useless – people are just snowed in,” Rhonda Woodhams, the office manager for the Williams County highway department. “People are calling in saying they’re out of milk and diapers for their kids, or they have doctor appointments they need to get to.”
Read moreNorth Dakota gets blizzard on top of December’s record snow
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A major blizzard is continuing to pound South Dakota.
Officials say snow over a metre deep has fallen since Wednesday in the Black Hills area amid reports of howling winds gusting to more than 80 kilometres an hour. The storm has stranded an unknown number of motorists and knocked out power to thousands in the western part of the state.
Officials say they expect little improvement Friday as the storm moves east.
A lengthy stretch of Interstate 90 has been closed.
Dozens of vehicles are reported trapped, but rescue teams cannot reach the stranded motorists because of zero visibility.
“This is a dangerous storm,” Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call Thursday evening. “Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory.”
Read moreBlizzard pummels South Dakota, stranding motorists and knocking out power
GLIDE CODE: CC-20080304-15687-FIN
Date & Time: 2008-03-04 19:23:42 [UTC]
Area: Finland, , Statewide,
Description:
Southern Finland had only 20 days of snow, compared to 70 days normally,
while neighboring Estonia had to cancel a popular cross-country ski
marathon in the southern city of Tartu in early February. “I don’t
remember winter like this. We had almost no snow at all in February,”
said Merike Merilain, chief weather forecaster at Estonia’s
meteorological institute, EMHI. “It’s been emotionally very stressful,
especially to many older people, that it’s dark and rainy all the time,”
she added. The Finnish Meteorological Institute said the mild winter
partly resulted from strong southerly and westerly air currents caused
by exceptionally warm surface temperatures of the Atlantic.
Nevertheless, the higher temperatures have only fueled concern that
greenhouse gasses are changing the climate, especially in the sensitive
Arctic region.
“When we were young, back in the ’80s, then winter existed,” said Ronny
Ahlstedt, 28, who works at an outdoor ice-skating rink in downtown
Stockholm. “We are contributing to this warm weather by letting out all
this pollution in the air.” In areas normally covered in snow and ice,
spring-like temperatures have brought premature sightings of flowers
such as winter aconite, snowdrops, wood anemone, daffodils and
coltsfoot. Finland’s coasts are clear of ice up to 350 miles north of
Helsinki, said Jouni Vainio from the Finnish Institute of Marine
Research. “It’s most unusual because now the whole sea should be frozen
along the Finnish coast.” Railway traffic is also being helped by the
warmth. More than 90 percent of all trains this winter have been on time
or less than five minutes late, according to the Finnish state railway,
VR. “Hard frosts and heavy blizzards have always been a bane of rail
traffic. This winter has been punctuated by their absence,” VR spokesman
Herbert Mannerstrom said.