March 9, 2016 - CATALONIA, SPAIN - Strong winds sweeping through Capafonts, Spain have created this amazing inverted waterfall on March 5, 2016.
Due to the frigid temperatures in the region, the water instantly
freezes, covering the nearby vegetation with icicles despite any signs
of winter around.
According to gravity water falls down.
However, if you add an additional factor, such as strong wind, the water can start flowing upwards.
This was actually the case in the municipality of Capafonts, earstern
Spain, when an inverted waterfall appeared in the ravine Barranc de La
Pixer.
December 16, 2015 - COLORADO, UNITED STATES - The biggest winter storm to hit Denver so far this season has also broken a daily snowfall record for the city.
As of 5 p.m. the official measurement since midnight at Denver International Airport was 7.7″.
WATCH: Snow-packed roads and blowing snow in Denver.
That is both the biggest one day snowfall so far this season and a new record for December 15.
The previous daily record for Dec. 15 was 2.8″ set in 1897.
(Credit: CBS4/Colorado’s Weather Center)
The snowfall record for Dec 15th in Denver is
only 2.8" set in 1897. 3-6" expected along
the I-25 Corridor. #COwx
Twitter: NWS Boulder
December 15, 2015 - UNITED STATES - A storm that drenched California over the weekend has turned an Arizona
town into one of the coldest cities in the lower 48 while making for a
rainy commute in Phoenix, where it was colder than New York City.
Here's a look at the winter weather across the West:
Arizona
An icy storm in northern Arizona left Bellemont, a small community west of Flagstaff, with a temperature of zero
at sunrise Sunday - one of the chilliest temperatures in the lower 48
states at the time, said David Vonderheide of the National Weather
Service.
The morning commute in the region Monday was slow as an initial band of
snow showers neared an end and a second wave arrived. The Arizona
Department of Transportation urged people to stay off major highways if
possible.
Weather forecasters said wind gusts up to 40 mph would send snow swirling and further complicate travel.
Meanwhile, rain fell in central and southern Arizona, dropping
temperatures in Phoenix to the mid-40s - some 10 degrees colder than New
York City.
Bellemont's low temperatures were due to its location in a flat area
surrounded by low hills where cold air struggles to escape, Vonderheide
said. At 7,100 feet, it's slightly higher in elevation than Flagstaff.
"There are mornings every winter where Bellemont is the coldest in the lower 48," he said.
Utah
The state's first major winter storm dumped a foot of snow in some parts
of the Salt Lake City area, creating harrowing commutes.
Highway troopers reported more than 140 accidents and slide-offs
in three northern Utah counties early Monday, but none were serious,
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said.
As much as 16 inches of snow was expected by Tuesday in some areas,
National Weather Service meteorologist Christine Kruse said. Snow also
fell in lighter doses in the Logan and Provo areas and as far south as
Zion National Park, where the higher elevations of red rock landscapes
were covered in a dusting of snow.
Many city streets were littered with cars stuck in the snow, causing
backups and gridlock at some stoplights. The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City
closed and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City cancelled evening
classes.
While city residents slogged their way around, ski resort officials
celebrated the huge snowstorm that dumped up to a foot at many sites.
"Who's excited for some Powder?" Brighton Ski Resort tweeted.
Only minor delays were reported at Salt Lake City International Airport.
The massive storm marked the latest twist in a topsy-turvy early winter
in Utah that saw record high temperatures in the 60s last week.
California
A storm that dumped rain and snow across California moved out of the
soaked state Monday, leaving behind cold temperatures, powerful winds
and pounding surf.
The National Weather Service said temperatures would be about 10 degrees
colder than normal in Southern California and would barely top 60
during the day.
A high-surf advisory was in effect for San Diego County through Tuesday,
with unpredictable waves up to 8 feet lashing the coast, accompanied by
dangerous rip currents.
Drivers were urged to use caution on mountain roads where gusts up to 70 mph were predicted.
Higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada received 1 to 2 feet of snow
Sunday, adding to the powder that fell last week to the delight of
skiers and snowboarders.
Montana and Wyoming
A wintry storm blowing through Montana and Wyoming was expected to dump
at least a foot of snow on some lower-elevation areas and more in the
mountains. Blowing snow in central and southern Montana made for
treacherous driving conditions. A winter storm warning is in effect for
much of the two states. - The Associated Press.
December 15, 2015 - TURKEY - In Van and Hakkari, roads to 827 settlements have been closed due to snow.
In Van, 317 districts are inaccessible due to snow.
The Regional Directorate of Highways and Municipality snow-fighting teams continue working to open the roads.
WATCH: Heavy snowfall in Turkey.
The Directorate of Meteorology Regional in a statement reported that
more snow is expected at noon, and that the temperature will fall up to 3
degrees below zero.
In Hakkari, the snow has closed the roads to 136 villages of 374 hamlets.
- Ice Age Now.
December 13, 2015 - MONTANA, UNITED STATES - A Montana man captured video of thousands of tumbleweeds blowing across a frozen lake.
Tom Forwood Jr. posted the video to Facebook describing it as "Some good Ol' apocalypse weather" as frigid temperatures and strong winds caused the strange sight.
"Insane. The temp dropped 19 F in as many minutes and there had to be thousands of Tumbleweeds," Forwood wrote.
WATCH: Tumbleweeds blow across frozen Montana lake.
January 04, 2014 - UNITED STATES - Get ready for bone-chilling cold you probably haven't endured in years.
A man walks through the snow as the wind kicks it up January 3 in New York City.
A deep freeze is spreading across much of the United States this weekend, making the nor'easter that just blanketed about 20 states with snow look like a mere curtain raiser.
Nearly half the nation -- 140 million people -- will shiver in temperatures of zero or lower by Wednesday.
The arctic blast threatens to sweep subzero lows as far south as Alabama and plunge much of the Deep South into the single digits.
Winter weather in the past week has claimed at least 13 lives, CNN has confirmed.
Michael Stanton walks between houses covered with ice in the shore town of Scituate,
Massachusetts, on Friday, January 3.
Eleven people died in road accidents -- including one man crushed as he was moving street salt with a forklift.
A man in Wisconsin died of hypothermia. And in Byron, New York, a 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease wandered away from her home Thursday night and was later found dead in the snow in a wooded area about 100 yards away. Opening act
The blast burst onto the stage in the northern Plains States early Saturday, hurling North Dakota into below-zero territory, as the National Weather Service predicted a day-long blizzard for the state.
Parts of Montana and Minnesota were feeling the same pain, the NWS said.
If there was ever a winter-toughened state, it's Minnesota -- but with this frosty bite on its way, schools in the state are keeping their doors shut on Monday.
"I have made this decision to protect all our children from the dangerously cold temperatures," Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said.
Snow covers subway rails in New York City on January 3.
People go sledding in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday, January 4.
Snow is piled high in front of a Home Depot in Boston on January 4 after a two-day winter storm.
People in the town of town of Embarrass, Minnesota, say they may break their cold temperature record of 64 below, set in 1996.
"I've got a thermometer from the weather service that goes to 100 below," resident Richard Fowlei told CNN affiliate KQDS. "If it gets that cold I don't want to be here."
Saturday's temperatures will look relatively pleasant by the time we get to Sunday, as the thermometer falls to near 30 below zero in parts of North Dakota. And the wind will drive chills down to minus 50, the weather service said.
In Chicago, the temperature was 16 degrees Saturday and was expected to plummet to 11 below zero on Sunday and 12 below Monday.
Chicago native Leo Londono, 30, said this is the harshest winter he's experienced in the city. From his apartment he can see large chunks of ice floating on Lake Michigan.
"It's so cold you don't want to step outside," he said. "There's wind chill. And then this huge Arctic air blast is supposed to come through and I don't want to even leave my home."
The low temperatures and wind chill are a recipe for rapid frostbite or hypothermia.
Pedestrians brave wind and snow as they cross New York City's Fifth Avenue on January 3.
Travelers wait in line January 3 at Chicago Midway International Airport.
A 66-year-old man died of hypothermia in Milwaukee on Friday, the medical examiner's office said.
The weather service's Twin Cities, Minnesota, division warns, "Exposed flesh can freeze in as little as five minutes with wind chills colder than 50 below."
This system will produce "the coldest air in two decades," the service said.
The danger of injury and death from the cold will spread with the cold front into the Midwest by Monday night.
Power outages were not as widespread despite blizzard-level winds in some places when the nor'easter passed through in the last few days.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence encouraged residents to do more than check on friends and relatives.
"In preparation for the inclement weather, I encourage Hoosiers to assemble an emergency preparedness kit with plenty of non-perishable food and water, fill any necessary prescriptions, ensure they have a safe heating source, avoid unnecessary travel and be careful if they must be outside." he said.
Upper Midwest
Sunday night in Chicago will see a shivering 16 to 20 below zero and -- once you factor in the Windy City's stiff breeze -- a chill of 35 below to 45 below zero.
Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is unfortunately not a domed stadium. Fans and players there will be outdoors and brave temperatures approaching minus 20 as the Packers battle the San Francisco 49ers for a chance to advance to the Super Bowl.
Some sportswriters speculated that it may go down in the record books as the coldest football game ever played.
The Packers organization and a stadium vending company will serve free hot chocolate and coffee to help fans withstand the deep freeze.
Snowplows clear snow from one of the runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on January 3.
As Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said Friday: "This is not the norm."
That's is not the only game where fans will brave the freeze.
On Saturday in Philadelphia, the hometown Eagles will host the New Orleans Saints in a playoff game. Fans can expect temperatures in the high teens or low 20s.
The Eagles' website urged people to show up early, as officials expect that fans bringing in extra blankets and clothing will slow down the security process.
Marching on
As the arctic cold conquers about half of the continental United States, temperatures are forecast to dip into the minus teens through the lower Midwest. Snow will cover swaths from the Plains to the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, all the way to New England.
Parts of the Midwest could see temperatures not recorded in 15 to 20 years -- for a painful couple of days.
Even areas as far south as Nashville could be frozen solid in zero-degree cold as the arctic air mass dives southward at the beginning of next week.
Flight madness
Thousands were stuck at airports nationwide Friday because of systemwide delays -- though at least they are not out in the frigid cold.
FlightAware.com, which tracks cancellations due to weather and mechanical problems, said about 3,200 flights were canceled Friday within, into or out of the United States.
WATCH: Northeast Digs Out From Big Winter Storm.
Expect more of the same in the coming days. At 4 p.m. Saturday, 1,113 flights were canceled. About 500 Sunday flights have already been called off.
Though the temperature in Las Vegas was 52 degrees -- above zero -- passengers there were also feeling the winter's sting Friday.
Long lines formed inside McCarran International Airport at the counters for Southwest Airlines, which had canceled many of its flights to and from Chicago. The airline carries 40% of Las Vegas' passengers, according to Chris Hayes, an airport spokesman. - CNN.
January 03, 2014 - UNITED STATES - A New Year’s storm brought howling winds, drifting snow and frigid temperatures to the northwestern US state of Massachusetts. Nearly 55 centimeters of snow fell overnight in the Bay State, prompting the National Guard to be put on standby.
Winds whip snow from the beach across Winthrop Shore Drive January 2,
2014 in Winthrop, Massachusetts. (Darren McCollester/Getty Images/AFP)
Almost 2 feet of snow had fallen in the town of Boxford, just north of Boston, by Thursday night and 45 cm have been recorded in other parts of the state, says the National Weather Service. The service has already issued a blizzard warning for Cape Cod, coastal areas north and south of Boston as well as in some parts of Maine and Long Island.
"We're going to see a lot of snow and a lot of wind," Jason Tuell from the National Weather Service said. "We're concerned about whiteout conditions … with the blowing and drifting snow."
The conditions on major roads in southeast Massachusetts have already deteriorated as the winter storm strengthened, WHDH 7NEWS Boston Local News reported.
“The roads are terrible. Really slippery. On and off ramps are just going down quick right now,” a local driver told WHDH 7NEWS.
City workers shovel snow from in front of the Orient Heights T Station
on Bennington Street January 2, 2014 in East Boston, Massachusetts.
(Darren McCollester/Getty Images/AFP)
Offices would remain closed on Friday, said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. National Guard members and state police are now on standby for any high tide flooding in vulnerable coastal areas, he added.
“There is an even greater anticipated snow accumulation. ... There are two worrisome high tides ... and there are extreme cold temperatures. That’s a pretty dangerous combination of circumstances,” Patrick said in a briefing at the state’s emergency bunker in Framingham.
In Boston a parking ban has been announced by the city’s Mayor, Thomas Menino. Also all schools are now closed because of snow.
Up to a quarter of scheduled flights had been canceled on Thursday afternoon and evening at Boston's Logan International Airport, said the airport officials.
A man jogs past waves crashing against the seawall around high tide
during a winter nor'easter snowstorm in Lynn, Massachusetts January 2,
2014. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
However, if Boston only prepares for mass flooding, some areas already face this weather phenomenon. Flooding and high winds struck the Massachusetts community of Scituate, reports New England Cable News (NECN). The residents who live in flood zones have already been evacuated before the storm. However, the officials warn about more severe flooding in the area.
The storms are far from being over in the region as forecasters predict further drops of temperatures, with some areas seeing highs just above -17 C and wind chill readings of minus-23 C and even colder.
The National Guard has been deployed in Massachusetts and will be staging in flood prone areas. PzFeed Top News.
As much as 60 centimeters of snow could fall in the eastern part of the state, from Gloucester to Cape Cod, say meteorologists from the National Weather Service in Taunton.
“With the winds and the blowing snow, the roads are not going to improve greatly. ... Travel will not be recommended,” said John Dlugoenski, a meteorologist with Accuweather.com.
He said at least minus 20 degrees might be expected in the Boston area soon.
New Year’s weather bring havoc to almost all states of US. Heavy snowfalls, ice storms, ruinous tornadoes and flash floods have been hitting the country since early Christmas. At least nine people died in a deluge of bad weather that caused massive flight delays and knocked out power.
Over 45 centimeters of snow has been recorded in upstate New York, while 7 centimeters of snow fell in New York’s Central Park early Friday. The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency and advised residents to stay indoors.
More than 2,300 flights have been canceled across the US due to bad weather.
Onlookers look at waves crashing against the seawall around high tide
during a winter nor'easter snowstorm in Lynn, Massachusetts January 2,
2014. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
JFK Airport was temporarily shut down as of 6:12 am local time (11:12 GMT) due to a heavy snowstorm. The airport was expected to reopen at 8:30 am (13:30 GMT), the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Over 440,000 homes and businesses were deprived of power due to snow and ice in Michigan, New York and northern New England. - RT.
Climate change has accelerated in the past decade, the U.N. weather
agency said Friday, releasing data showing that 2001 to 2010 was the
warmest decade on record.
The 10-year period was also marked by extreme levels of rain or
snowfall, leading to significant flooding on all continents, while
droughts affected parts of East Africa and North America. “The decade 2001-2010 was the warmest since records began in 1850,
with global land and sea surface temperatures estimated at 0.46 degrees
Celsius above the long term average of 14.0 degrees Celsius (57.2
degrees Fahrenheit),” said the World Meteorological Organization. Nine of the 10 years also counted among the 10 warmest on record, it
added, noting that “climate change accelerated” during the first decade
of the 21st century. The trend continued in 2011, which was the warmest year on record despite La Nina—a weather pattern which has a cooling effect. The average temperature in 2011 was 0.40 degrees Celsius above the long term average, said the WMO.
“This 2011 annual assessment confirms the findings of the previous
WMO annual statements that climate change is happening now and is not
some distant future threat,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “The world is warming because of human activities and this is
resulting in far-reaching and potentially irreversible impacts on our
Earth, atmosphere and oceans,” he added. The U.N. weather agency noted that during the decade, “numerous
weather and climate extremes affected almost every part of the globe
with flooding, droughts, cyclones, heat waves and cold waves.” Historical floods hit Eastern Europe in 2001 and 2005, Africa in
2008, Asia and Australia in 2010.Global precipitation—including rain or
snow—reached the second highest average since 1901. The highest average
was recorded for the decade 1951-1960. Meanwhile for the North Atlantic basin, the 10 years marked the
highest level of tropical cyclone activity, including Hurricane Katrina
which struck the United States in 2005 and Cyclone Nargis which hit
Myanmar in 2008. - Japan Today.
Temperatures have plunged to new lows in Europe, where a week-long cold snap has now killed more than 200 people as forecasters warned that the big freeze would tighten its grip at the weekend.
In the Czech Republic, the mercury dropped to as low as minus 38.1 degrees Celsius overnight yesterday while even Rome was sprinkled in snow. In the past seven days, a total of 218 people have died from the cold weather, according to an AFP tally. Ukraine's emergencies ministry said the cold snap had now killed 101 people, substantially raising the previous toll of 63. Sixty-four of the victims died on the streets, it added. Almost 1600 people have requested medical attention for frostbite and hypothermia. As they try to prevent the toll from rising even further, authorities announced that 2940 shelters had been set up across the Ukraine where people could find warmth and food and another 100 would be opened in the next hours.
There was no sign of an immediate let-up in the weather, with forecasters saying temperatures would hover between minus 25 to 30 degrees Celsius at night and minus 16 to 21 in the day. The ferocious temperatures killed eight more people over the past 24 hours in Poland, bringing the death toll to 37 since the deep freeze began a week ago, police said. Temperatures plunged to as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius in parts of Poland - but even that was three degrees warmer than the temperatures in the southwestern Sumava region of the Czech Republic. Temperatures have been so cold in Bulgaria that parts of the River Danube have been frozen over.
Sixty per cent of the surface near the port of Ruse was iced over, severely hindering navigation, the Danube exploration agency said. Elsewhere in Bulgaria, another six people were found dead from the cold, bringing the overall tally to 16 in the past week, according to a tally of local media. No official figures have been released. Most of the dead in the European Union's poorest country were people in villages, found frozen to death on the side of the road or in their unheated homes, the reports said. More than 1000 Bulgarian schools remained closed for a third day on Friday amid fresh snowfalls and piercing winds in the northeast of the country. Residents in Rome experienced only their second day of snow in the past 15 years. Up to five centimetres of snow fell in suburbs of the Italian capital, although there was little precipitation in the city centre.
Temperatures in the Alpine region of Piedmont in northern Italy went as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. The interior ministry advised car drivers to avoid regions of central Italy due to the heavy snowfall and traffic was backed up on some motorways. However, trains resumed normal service across the country except in and around Bologna and on a local line near Rome, the state railways said in a statement after days of delays that affected thousands of passengers. Three people have died due to the extreme weather in recent days, including a homeless man found in the centre of Milan yesterday. Snow and freezing temperatures are forecast to continue into tomorrow. Swathes of Britain were bracing for snow after temperatures plunged to minus 11 degrees Celsius overnight on Thursday at Chesham in southeast England. Forecasters said many parts of the country would see several centimetres of snow, although it was likely to be powdery and would melt before long.
The Met Office said there was a danger that the cold weather would catch people off-guard after the warmer-than-normal winter so far. "This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services," a spokesman said. Bright winter sunshine bathed two-thirds of France, bringing a note of cheer. But about one-third of the country, mainly in the east and centre, remained exposed to biting winds from the Baltic region, with an alert in place for low temperatures. The French have cranked up their heating systems, and on Monday are expected to break an all-time power consumption record set in 2010. In Brittany and on the Cote d'Azur, where the French power grid is least efficient, consumers have been asked to turn off appliances for at least four hours per day to avoid blackouts. - Herald Sun.
WATCH: More than 200 dead in Europe's big chill.
Cold weather death toll passes 100 in Ukraine.
More than 100 people have now died as a result of freezing weather in Ukraine since last Friday, the government has announced in Kiev. Most of the 101 who died were homeless people and 64 of them were found dead on the streets, the emergencies ministry said. Hundreds of others have been treated in hospital for frostbite, hypothermia and other cold-related conditions. Temperatures plunged to below -35C in parts of eastern Europe this week. At least eight more deaths were reported in Poland on Thursday, bringing the death toll there since last week to 37.
Cold weather deaths have been reported across eastern and central Europe. Russia recorded cold 64 cold weather deaths for the whole of January, Interfax news agency reports, but it is unclear if this is related directly to the hard frosts which began last week. In Serbia at least 11,000 villagers have been trapped by heavy snow and blizzards in mountainous areas, the Associated Press reports. In Italy, weather experts said it was the coldest week for 27 years.
Gas burn.
In Ukraine, more freezing weather was forecast for Friday, with overnight temperatures set to fall to as low as -32C in the north and west. The authorities closed schools and colleges and set up nearly 3,000 heating and food shelters across the country. Health officials instructed hospitals not to discharge homeless patients, even after treatment, in order to save them from the cold. Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced that the country had burnt 1bn cu m of gas in just three days. The country's gas order from Russia for the whole of 2012 is 27bn cu m. "It's a very hard time for the country," he said, promising that the difficulties would be overcome. The Russian gas supplier, Gazprom, said Ukraine was exceeding the level of gas consumption envisaged in the contract. Most Russian gas exports to EU countries transit Ukraine. On Thursday Austria's energy firm OMV reported a 30% drop in its supply of Russian gas, while Italy's gas distributor Snam Rete Gas said its Russian gas was down by about 20%.
In the winter of 2009 Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas meant for European customers. Gazprom cut supplies, leaving more than a dozen countries short of Russian gas. Some, like Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia, are almost completely dependent on supplies via Ukraine and so were left with major shortages, during a very cold spell in Europe.
'Take exercise'
Ukraine's Emergencies Minister Viktor Baloga has advised the public to take more exercise as a remedy against the cold. "You need to get up in the morning, take active exercise and work," he was quoted by Ukrainskaya Pravda as telling reporters on Wednesday. "It hasn't killed anyone yet and only makes a person fitter." His personal advice to keep warm, he added, was to "run 8-10km [5-6 miles] every morning and bathe in cold water, all year round". - BBC.
WATCH: Cold weather death toll passes 100 in Ukraine.
WATCH: Night time cold war for Ukraine's homeless.
WATCH: Europe's homeless dying in arctic conditions.
Europe freeze: Serbia snow strands thousands.
Heavy snow has left at least 11,000 villagers cut off in remote areas of Serbia amid a European cold snap that has claimed more than 130 lives.
At least six people have died in Serbia, with emergency services expressing concern for the health of the sick and the elderly in particular. Temperatures are below -30C (-22F) in parts of Europe and 63 people have died in Ukraine and 29 in Poland. In Italy, weather experts say it is the coldest week for 27 years. Emergency services in Serbia have described the situation, close to the country's south-western borders with Kosovo and Montenegro, as very serious. In places, the snow has reached a depth of 2m (6ft 6in). Fourteen municipalities are affected, emergency official Predrag Maric told the BBC.
Helicopters have helped move several people to safety, and food and medicines have been airlifted to isolated areas. Snow began falling in Serbia on 7 January and has hardly stopped since, says BBC correspondent Nick Thorpe. Serbian media say further snow is expected in the coming days. Ukraine has seen the highest number of fatalities, many of them homeless. Over a 24-hour period, as many as 20 people died. Food shortages have been reported in the capital, Kiev, because lorries have been unable to transport supplies.
Trapped overnight.
Heavy snow has also caused widespread disruption in northern and central Italy. More than 600 passengers were trapped on an unheated train in the Apennine mountains for seven hours on Wednesday night, when the brakes and electrical cables froze. The coldest temperatures have been recorded in Russia and Kazakhstan. In the Urals and Siberia, the temperature fell to -40C (-40F) while in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, a forecaster told Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency the wind-chill factor meant the real temperature was down to -52C, even though the air temperature was -35C.
In southern Russia, cars and lorries became stuck in snow drifts between Novorossiisk and Krasnodar. Heavy snow has also hit Turkey, with 50cm falling in Istanbul on Wednesday. An avalanche in the south-east of the country killed a woman in her home, reports say. Another avalanche blocked a main road connecting the provinces of Bitlis and Diyarbakir. Rescuers in Germany were unable to save an elderly woman after she had gone swimming in the frozen waters of a gravel pit in Lower Saxony. Reports said she had often swum in the lake. - BBC.
Record snow in South Korea, record cold in Bulgaria and a big storm in the Mediterranean.
The streets of Seoul, South Korea are covered in some of the heaviest snow on record. The snow caused traffic jams all over the city which deployed more than 200 police officers to control traffic. Streets will turn to ice as temperatures drop below zero in the upcoming days. An arctic cold snap is gripping Europe. Bulgaria has hit record lows in 17 of its cities. Railways and other transport services are experiencing massive delays and hundreds of schools are closed. Mediterranean Rome, Italy has been hit with heavy snow. The frigid air that is moving across Europe has left heavy snowfall in Tuscany and central Italy. - Kolotv.
Rare Photographs of the Black Sea Frozen.
Check out these rare photographs of the Black Sea being frozen. It does happen sometimes but is still considered a natural phenomenon.
London is braced for snow as Britain shivers in freezing conditions and Army is put on standby.
Forecasters warned today that extreme cold will grip the country over the next few day with the possibility of snow even in London and the south. The Met Office has maintained its cold weather alert at level three, which means 'severe' conditions. Some areas have been told to expect temperatures of minus -11C and the Army has been put on standby should conditions get even worse. Around four inches of snow and ice are forecast for parts of the country due to a high-pressure system over Scandinavia which is pushing raw eastern winds towards the UK. Record low temperatures in Eastern Europe have caused dozens of fatalities with 43 dead in Ukraine alone, where the mercury dropped to -33C. Paul Mott, forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: 'The nights will be really cold throughout the week and there will be the occasional snow showers over the eastern counties of England, eastern Scotland and even London.'
Mr Mott said the mercury could plummet to as low as -10C in rural parts of central England on Thursday night, with average day time readings only reaching 3C-4C. BBC Radio 5 Live said temperatures could fall as low as -11C. MeteoGroup forecaster Clare Allen said: 'We've got an easterly wind bringing snow showers off the North Sea. Most areas of the UK will see daytime maximum temperatures of 2C and 3C. London will be a maximum of 4C, so it's going to be pretty cold.' Devon and Cornwall have already felt the brunt of the bad weather. Police in the two counties have warned motorists not to travel unless it is essential after snowfalls on Exmoor and Dartmoor. The icy blast meant staff at Luton Airport had to defrost a fleet of easyJet planes yesterday before passengers could get on, as temperatures dipped below freezing at the airport in Bedfordshire. It warned that low temperatures can be especially dangerous for the young and the elderly or those with chronic disease.
Devon and Cornwall have already felt the brunt of the bad weather. Police in the two counties have warned motorists not to travel unless it is essential after snowfalls on Exmoor and Dartmoor. The icy blast meant staff at Luton Airport had to defrost a fleet of easyJet planes yesterday before passengers could get on, as temperatures dipped below freezing at the airport in Bedfordshire. It warned that low temperatures can be especially dangerous for the young and the elderly or those with chronic disease.
The military have been put on alert should conditions deteriorate to a Met Office level 4, which means a 'major cold weather incident'. When freezing conditions struck in 2010, members of the armed forces were called in to help clear snow from the roads and assist residents in particularly hard-hit areas. Mobilised soldiers will also help clear special locations such as doctors’ surgeries, care homes and hospitals. The cold spell breaks what has so far been one of the warmest winters on record. Forecasters said it was becoming increasingly likely that the freezing temperatures would stick around and even last through the whole of February. There are fears that the sudden onset could bring travel chaos and catch many drivers off guard. AA spokesman Luke Bodett said: ‘We have had a very mild winter so far and motorists need to get into their winter mindset from today. It is going to be important not to charge around in the way they may have been used to and be prepared for the unexpected.’ - Daily Mail.
On Friday, thick snowflakes fell in Rome on Friday, a rare occurrence for a capital usually blessed by a temperate climate, and other parts of the country experienced frigid temperatures unseen in years.
An open top bus travels through a snow storm at the Colosseum, in Rome on Friday.
The snowfall prompted authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors.
The director of the Colosseum, Rossella Rea, said the sites were closed out of fears that visitors could slip on ice. The last substantial snowfalls in Rome were in 1985 and 1986, though there have been other cases of lighter snow since then, including in 2010.
Snow began falling in the late morning on Friday, leaving a light dusting on trees and cars and forming slush on the roads. It wasn't clear if there would be any significant accumulation on the ground. The north of the country has also been gripped by snow and ice that is disrupting train travel. - Today's Zaman.
A severe and snowy cold snap across central and eastern Europe has left at least 36 people dead, cut off power to towns, and snarled traffic. Officials are responding with measures ranging from opening shelters to dispensing hot tea, with particular concern for the homeless and elderly.
This part of Europe is not unused to cold, but the current freeze, which spread to most of the region last week, came after a period of relatively mild weather. Many were shocked when temperatures in some parts plunged Monday to minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit). "Just as we thought we could get away with a spring-like winter ..." lamented Jelena Savic, 43, from the Serbian capital of Belgrade, her head wrapped in a shawl with only eyes uncovered. "I'm freezing. It's hard to get used to it so suddenly."
Officials have appealed to people to stay indoors and be careful. Police searched for the homeless to make sure they didn't freeze to death. In some places, heaters will be set up at bus stations. Still, 18 people, most of them homeless, died in Ukraine from hypothermia and nearly 500 people sought medical help for frostbite and hypothermia in just three days last week, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. Temperatures in parts of Ukraine fell to minus 16 C (3 F) during the day and minus 23 C (minus 10 F) in the night. Authorities opened 1,500 shelters to provide food and heat and closed schools and nurseries. More than 17,000 people have sought help in such shelters in the past three days, authorities said.
In Poland, at least 10 people froze to death as the cold reached minus 26 C (minus 15 F) on Monday. Malgorzata Wozniak, a spokeswoman for Poland's Interior Ministry, told The Associated Press that elderly people and the homeless were among the dead. Police were checking unheated empty buildings for homeless people they could take to shelters. Warsaw city authorities decided to place more than 40 heaters in the busiest city transport stops to help waiting passengers keep warm. City authorities in the Czech capital of Prague set up tents for an estimated 3,000 homeless people. Freezing temperatures also damaged train tracks, slowing railway traffic.
In central Serbia, three people died and two more were missing, while 14 municipalities were operating under emergency decrees. Efforts to clear roads blocked by snow were hampered by strong winds and dozens of towns faced power outages. Police said one woman froze to death in a snowstorm in a central Serbian village, while two elderly men were found dead, one in the snow outside his home. Further south, emergency crews are searching for two men in their 70s who are feared dead. In Bulgaria, a 57-year-old man froze to death in a northwestern village and emergency decrees were declared in 25 of the country's 28 districts. In the capital of Sofia, authorities handed out hot tea and placed homeless people in emergency shelters.
Strong winds also closed down Bulgaria's main Black Sea port of Varna, while part of a major highway leading to Bulgaria and Greece from Turkey was closed after a heavy snowfall. Nearly 200 Turkish Airlines flights to and from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport were canceled, and a city sports hall was turned to a temporary shelter for some 350 homeless people. The temperature in Turkey's province of Kars, which borders Armenia, dropped to minus 25 C on Sunday night. The situation was similar in Romania, where reports said four people have died because of freezing weather. There, authorities sent prison inmates to shovel snow and unblock paths leading to a shelter with some 300 stray dogs and puppies. Weather forecasts say the cold snap will continue. "We are getting some 'real' winter this week," Croatian meteorologist Zoran Vakula said. - AJC.
WATCH: Deadly Winter Weather in Serbia.
UPDATE: Death Toll Rises to 60 as Big Freeze Sweeps Through Europe!
At least 60 people have died due to freezing conditions caused by a cold snap in eastern and central Europe. The drop in temperatures, forcing some countries to deploy the army and set up emergency shelters, is set to continue to Friday, forecasters say. At least 30 people - mostly homeless - have died in Ukraine. Deaths have also been reported in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, among others.
Temperatures plunged to -20C (-4F) on Monday.
Health officials in Ukraine say nearly 24,000 people have sought refuge in some 1,590 shelters over the past three days. More than 600 people have sought treatment for frostbite and hypothermia during this time. The authorities say they are planning to set up 150 more centres, as heavy snow was forecast in the region on Wednesday.
'Elderly and homeless'
The death toll in Poland over recent days rose to 21 on Tuesday. The Interior Affairs Ministry said some had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty heaters, according to the Associated Press news agency. Poland had been having a relatively mild winter, until temperatures dropped last Friday from just below freezing to -26C (-15F).
Malgorzata Wozniak of Poland's interior ministry said elderly people and the homeless were among the dead, AP reports. Polish forecasters have warned that temperatures could fall further during the week, to below -20C during the day and -30C at night. At least eight people have died in Romania and five in Bulgaria.
Troops in Romania were deployed last week to rescue those stranded in cars by blizzards. In Serbia, police reported that the snowy conditions had led to the deaths of a woman and two elderly men. Two other men, in their 70s, are believed to be missing in the south of the country. Reports say there were also deaths in Lithuania, Bosnia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. - BBC.
UPDATE: 160 Die as Eastern Europe Sinks Further into Deep Freeze - 11,000 People Are Trapped in Remote Villages in Serbia by Snow; and the Met Office Issues Wide Weather Alert in England!
At least 11,000 villagers have been trapped by heavy snow and blizzards in Serbia's mountains, authorities said Thursday, as the death toll from Eastern Europe's weeklong deep freeze rose to 122, many of them homeless people. The harshest winter in decades has seen temperatures in some regions dropping to minus 30 C (minus 22 F) and below, and has caused power outages, traffic chaos and the widespread closure of schools, nurseries and airports.
View of a snow-covered vineyard, in Rousset, near Aix-en-Provence, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.
The stranded in Serbia are stuck in some 6,500 homes in remote areas that cannot be reached due to icy, snow-clogged roads with banks reaching up to 5 meters (16 feet). Emergency crews were pressing hard to try to clear the snow to deliver badly needed supplies, and helicopters were dispatched to some particularly remote areas in Serbia and neighboring Bosnia.
On Bosnia's Mt. Romanija, near Sarajevo, a chopper thumped down in the small hamlet of Ozerkovici, where a single nun lives in a Serb Christian Orthodox monastery surrounded by just a few village residents. Wrapped tight in a black jacket and a scarf, Sister Justina greeted aid workers at her monastery: "I live alone here," she said, but noted "God will help me." In Serbia, relief efforts are concentrated on evacuating the sick, on food delivery and gasoline distribution.
"We are trying everything to unblock the roads since more snow and blizzards are expected in the coming days," Serbian emergency police official Predrag Maric told The Associated Press. He said "the most dramatic" situation is near Serbia's southwestern town of Sijenica, where it has been freezing cold or snowing for 26 days, and diesel fuel supplies used by snowplows are running low. Most people in the villages will have enough food supplies stored up for the winter, Maric said, but he warned those who are stranded not to try to go anywhere on their own and to call emergency services if they need help.
Newly reported deaths on Thursday because of the cold included 20 in Ukraine, nine in Poland, eight in Romania, and one more each in Serbia and the Czech Republic. In Western Europe, one person was reported dead in Germany. Polish government spokeswoman Malgorzata Wozniak said her country's victims were mostly homeless people under the influence of alcohol who had sought shelter in unheated buildings. Officials appealed to the public to quickly help anyone they saw in need and homeless shelters were full.
In Warsaw, where the temperature Wednesday night was minus 22 C (minus 8 F), the narrow corridors of the Monar homeless shelter were filled with drying washing, and the residents crammed into a small dining room with bowls of soup. Martyna, pregnant and unemployed, said she was grateful to find a place there after her family rejected her and her partner. "This is the only safe place for me, where I can live and hide - from this sudden cold, too," the 22-year-old said. "I have nowhere else to go." She refused to give her last name, saying she didn't want anyone to know she was staying there.
Brothers Robert, 32, and Wieslaw, 27, arrived last week from Inowroclaw, in central Poland, saying they were promised full-time jobs that never materialized. They would have been left in the cold, but someone told them to go to the center, which currently houses 278 people. "We don't have to worry anymore where we will spend the night," said Wieslaw. "It is so cold outside that you don't want to leave here," his brother agreed.
Firefighters in Poland say that eleven people have died since Friday from asphyxiation with carbon monoxide, when they were using charcoal heaters to warm their homes. In Ukraine, 63 people have died from the cold in the last week. Nearly 950 others were hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite, and more than 2,000 heated tents have been set up with hot food for the homeless.
About 180 schools were closed in Romania because of the freezing cold. Three ships were blocked on the Danube River - one German, one Dutch and one Romanian - and efforts were made to unblock them from ice. In Bulgaria, where 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago, 1,070 schools across the country remained closed Thursday and large sections of the Danube were frozen, hampering navigation. Some villages in Bosnia have had no electricity for days and crews were working around-the-clock trying to fix power lines.
Temperatures in parts of Germany were as low as minus 11 Celsius (12 Fahrenheit) Thursday afternoon. In the eastern city of Magdeburg, police said a 55-year-old homeless man who apparently had frozen to death was found Thursday morning. While the weather has yet to cause any significant disruption in the country, ferry services across the mouth of the Elbe river in northern Germany were suspended due to ice on Thursday.
However, the cold wave wasn't causing hardship everywhere. Dutch authorities banned boats from some of Amsterdam's canals and waterways in the hope the big freeze gripping the city would turn the still water to ice and allow residents to go skating. They also turned off mills and pumps that regulate water levels in the low-lying, flood-prone nation to improve the chances of canals freezing over.
Speed skating is a winter obsession in the Netherlands and hopes are high about the possibility of holding the Elfstedentocht - or "11 Town Tour" - skating race being staged for the first time since 1997. The 200-kilometer (125-mile) tour route takes skaters over frozen canals and lakes linking 11 towns in the northern Netherlands. The tour, which is also a race for elite skaters, has only been staged 15 times since the first official event in 1909. - Associated Press.
A cold snap kept Europe in its icy grip on Thursday, pushing the death toll to 160 as countries from Italy to Ukraine struggled to cope with temperatures that plunged to record lows in some places. Nine more people died in Poland overnight as temperatures hit minus 32 Celsius (minus 25.6 Fahrenheit) in the southwest, bringing the overall toll to 29 since the deep freeze began last week, national police said. In Ukraine, tens of thousands of people have headed to shelters trying to escape the freeze that the emergencies ministry said has now killed 63 people.
Most of them literally froze to death on the street, with only a handful making it to hospital before succumbing to hypothermia, the ministry said. Shivering and hungry, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have sought help in the more than 2,000 temporary shelters set up by the authorities to help the poor survive the fearsome spell of cold weather. The shelters offer warmth and hot food in a country where temperatures fell to minus 33 degrees Celsius in the Carpathians in the west of the country and minus 27 in the capital Kiev. "I am unemployed. I have somewhere to live but nothing to eat. I ate here and it was good -- bread with a slice of fat and an onion as well as porridge," said Olexander Shemnikov, an out-of-work engineer after visiting a shelter in Kiev.
In Romania, eight people died overnight because of the cold, bringing the overall toll to 22, the health ministry said. Schools remained closed in some parts of the country as temperatures reached minus 31 degrees Celsius. In Bulgaria, where the mercury dipped to lows not seen in a century, at least 10 people have died, according to media. Authorities have not released official figures. With parts of the Danube freezing, authorities moved some vessels to ports further away to protect them from the advancing ice. And in the capital Sofia, some residents found their money frozen as automated teller machines stopped functioning, according to local media.
In Latvia, 10 people have died around the capital Riga alone, with no figures available for the rest of the country. In neighbouring Lithuania a 55-year-old homeless man found in the ruins of an abandoned house in the port city of Klaipeda became the ninth victim of the chill. In Italy, hundreds of people were trapped overnight on trains as freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls in the centre and north caused widespread chaos on roads, railways and at airports. The cold has so far killed an infant in Sicily and a 76-year-old pensioner in Parma during what forecasters say is the coldest weather in Italy in 27 years.
In Austria, an 83-year-old woman was found frozen to death in the woods after apparently slipping on her daily walk and not managing to get up again, becoming the country's second victim of the cold snap, officials said. In Serbia, the cold has killed seven people and trapped some 11,500 others, mostly in remote mountain villages inaccessible by road. In Belgrade, homeless people unable to secure one of the 140 spots in the capital's sole shelter took refuge in trolley buses and trams. "Most of the drivers let them stay in the vehicle if they stay in the back part and do not disturb the trip," a company official told the Blic daily. "There are significantly more homeless people in public transport when it is so cold outside."
In neighbouring Bosnia, several remote hamlets in the east of the country were cut off, and authorities were monitoring if further airdrops were required after two helicopters were mobilised on Tuesday and Wednesday to bring food and other supplies. The freeze has also killed two people each in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Greece. In France, where 28 of 101 regions were placed under "deep cold" watch, authorities banned trucks on several major highways where the risk of snowfall and ice remained high. - Agence France-Presse.
Those stranded live in some 6,500 homes in remote areas that cannot be reached due to icy, snow-clogged roads, emergency police official Predrag Maric said. Emergency crews were pressing hard to try to clear the snow and deliver badly needed supplies. "We are trying everything to unblock the roads, since more snow and blizzards are expected in the coming days," Maric said. Twenty more deaths from the cold were reported in Ukraine on Thursday, with nine more in Poland and one more each in Serbia and the Czech Republic. Officials said most of the victims were homeless.
"They say the whole February will be cold, and the first half of March, so we have to get ready for this somehow," said Viktor, who is living on the streets of Kiev, Ukraine. Temperatures across the region sank to minus 26.5 F in some areas. Parts of the Black Sea froze near the Romanian coastline, and rare snow fell on Croatian islands in the Adriatic Sea. In Bulgaria, 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago. Polish government spokeswoman Malgorzata Wozniak said her country's victims were mostly homeless people under the influence of alcohol who had sought shelter in unheated buildings. Officials appealed to the public Thursday to quickly help anyone they saw in need.
In Ukraine, 63 people have perished from the cold in the past week. Nearly 950 others were hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite, and more than 2,000 heated tents have been set up with hot food for the homeless. Helicopters used to evacuate, send food in Europe freeze. A source at the Russian gas export monopoly, Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe's gas imports, said it was getting more requests from export markets than it could physically accommodate as demand from Russia spiked. "Despite increasing gas consumption in Russia due to heavy frosts, Gazprom continues implementing its contractual obligations to European clients," it said.
To the south, helicopters evacuated dozens of people from snow-blocked villages in Serbia and Bosnia this week and airlifted in food and medicine. In central Serbia, choppers pulled out 12 people, including nine who went to a funeral but then could not get back over icy, snow-choked roads. Two more people froze to death in the snow, and two others are missing, bringing that nation's death toll to five. "The situation is dramatic. The snow is up to five meters (16 1/2 feet) high in some areas — you can only see rooftops," said Dr. Milorad Dramacanin, who participated in the helicopter evacuations. Two helicopters on Wednesday rescued people and resupplied remote villages in northern Bosnia.
"We are trying to get through to several small villages, with each just a few elderly residents," said Bosnian rescue official Milimir Doder. "Altogether some 200-300 people are cut off. We are supplying them for the second day with food and medication." In the small Bosnian hamlet of Han Kran on Mount Romanija, villagers waited for a helicopter at a flat spot that they had cleared of snow. "We are barely coping. I live on my own — it is a real struggle," said Radenka Jeftovic, an elderly woman wrapped in woolen scarves and hugging a food package she received. Goran Milat, a younger resident, complained that "the minuses are killing us." "We are thankful for this help," he said. "But the snow did what it did, and we are blocked here until spring." Some Bosnian villages have had no electricity for days, and crews were working round-the-clock trying to fix power lines. Schools, nurseries and colleges across the region shut down, including one school in eastern Hungary that said it could not afford the high heating bills. The airport in Montenegro's capital of Podgorica was shut down for a second day Thursday because of heavy snowfall. - MSNBC.
The Met Office has issued a serious England wide weather alert with snow forecast for some parts of Britain over the weekend.
Parts of eastern and central Europe were hit hard by heavy snow and
frigid temperatures for a second day Thursday, leaving hundreds trapped
in cars, dozens of communities without power and at least one person
dead. Some areas saw as much as 10 feet of snow.
A flurry of snow passes a man as he speaks on the phone from a snow stranded vehicle on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, on Thursday. The man, who declined to be identified, spent the night in the car fearing it would be damaged by road clearing vehicles if he abandoned it.
Some 340 people were evacuated overnight from stranded vehicles on roads
across Romania, Prime Minister Emil Boc said, and another 100 people
were transported during the day to Bucharest after getting stuck on two
major roads.
Health officials said a man died and a woman was hospitalized in serious
condition after they were found unconscious in a car about 11 miles
south of Bucharest. A hospital spokesman said the woman was suffering
from hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. About 1,300 people have been given temporary shelter since Wednesday
morning, said the Interior Ministry, and forecasters are predicting that temperatures will fall as low as -16 degrees C (3F).
A train derailed on icy tracks in the country's south, but
nobody was injured, and about 28 flights were canceled on Thursday,
along with 49 trains, Romanian officials said. Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea said defense ministry employees were
helping to clear snow in an operation involving tanks and other military
vehicles.
Authorities said 40 towns and villages in southern Romania
suffered power outages. In neighboring Bulgaria more than 100
communities were left without electricity, while traffic was snarled in many areas.
Bulgaria's main Black Sea port of Varna was closed for traffic due to
windstorms and heavy snowfall, port officials said. The heavy snow
forced authorities to close several mountain passes as well as many
schools. Southern and central Serbia were also badly hit. Many villages were cut
off due to the snowfall, and some residents had a difficult time feeding
their animals. In the village of Lunjevac, in central Serbia, a
villager hired a horse-drawn cart to help him reach a nearby hospital.
Authorities said a key road linking Serbia to Macedonia to the south,
was blanketed with snow but still passable. Thousands were left without
electricity, while railway traffic was halted in many areas.
Further west, in the Swiss resort of Davos, which is currently hosting
the annual World Economic Forum, there were snowbanks some six feet high
lining the streets and snow clearing machines working all over town. - MSNBC.
Blizzards hit eastern Europe hard.
The Balkans and parts of eastern and central Europe were hit hard by
heavy snow Thursday, forcing Romania's prime minister to call in army
tanks to clear roads and leaving a hundred communities in Bulgaria
without power.
For two days blizzards have covered the area with as much as three meters (10 feet) of snow at a time.
Snow in Romania left hundreds of people stranded in cars, forced the
cancellation of flights and appeared to derail a train. Some 340 people
were evacuated overnight from stranded vehicles on scores of roads
across the country, Prime Minister Emil Boc said.
A train with 123 passengers derailed on icy tracks in southern Romania,
but nobody was injured. Ten flights to and from Bucharest were canceled
Wednesday night, and planes arriving from Dubai, Tel Aviv and Munich
were diverted to other airports.
Snowstorms also swept through neighboring Bulgaria, causing
traffic chaos and blanketing villages in the northern parts of the
country. The harsh weather has left more than 100 communities across the
country without electricity.
Bulgaria's main Black Sea port of Varna was closed for traffic due to wind storms and heavy snowfall, port officials said.
Heavy snowfall created hazardous driving conditions along icy mountain
roads and forced authorities to close several mountain passes. Classes
have been canceled in many schools in the snow-gripped regions.
- CBS News.
Hockey Rink Roof Collapses in Slovakia.
Snow and ice collapsed the roof of the hockey rink in Slovakia right after young players skated off the ice.According to Telesport, the children were practicing with former NHL player Richard Zednik. A big snowstorm over last weekend likely contributed to the collapse.
Katowice, 40 miles to north of Namestovo, had almost 7 times the normal
amount of precipitation so far in January. Areas nearby had 2 to 4
times the normal amount. Early in the month, temperatures were mild, so
some of precipitation was rain. Lately, with cold weather, precipitation
has been falling as snow.The good news for cleanup is that there should be no new storms for
at least a week. Weather will be dry though much colder than normal. Namestovo, Slovakia, is in the mountains, around 100km southwest of Krakow, Poland. - Accu Weather.
WATCH: Roof collapses on ice hockey rink as players train in Slovakia.
