World weather news, May 2012

2nd
Flood warnings were posted for rivers in Essex and Suffolk, northeast of London, following heavy overnight rain. Some roads in the two counties became impassible. Passengers of a bus and car had to be rescued after becoming stuck in flood water at Debenham, Suffolk. Widespread heavy rain during the last days of April triggered flooding in far-flung counties, from the west and south all the way north into Yorkshire. The late-month downpours were enough to lift average U.K. rainfall for April to a new record high. A preliminary estimate for April 2012 showed that average rainfall for the nation nudged aside the previous record from April 2000. The rainfall series dates back to 1910.
2nd
UK Strawberry growers expect to produce a record 56,000 tonnes of the fruit this year, up from 52,000 tonnes last year. Growers had feared that a continuation of March's warm weather into April would have damaged the crop. This is because strawberries grow better in cooler weather, particularly at night. However April's inclement weather provided a boost to fruit growers. The national strawberry crop has been safeguarded from the recent heavy rain because the fruits are grown under protective polytunnels.
6th
Up to 64 people were feared dead after a flash flood swept through a Himalayas tourist spot in Nepal. At least 17 local residents were known dead with no fewer than 47 others missing. The flood swept down the Seti River at Pokhara, a spot popular with foreign tourists. Three Ukrainians were said to be among the missing. down a river bed, pounding its banks and a bridge.
6th
A deadly tornado struck the Japanese city of Tsukuba, leaving devastation in its wake. Over 30 were injured, with at least one death. Tsukuba, a city only 40 miles away from Tokyo, took considerable damage, with over 200 homes damaged by the twister. Outside of the direct damage caused by the lethal tornado, the storm's lightning and gusty winds knocked out power to over 24,000 homes, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company.
7th
A tornado was witnessed over the English Midland on Monday, and was captured on multiple videos. No injuries were reported, but the storm did damage trees and roof tiles. The twister was spotted outside of Oxford as a storm, apparently a "supercell", also unleashed "large" hailstones. Eyewitnesses told of "heavy dark" and "spinning" clouds, sudden "extremely high winds" and "freak" hail. See: video1 and video2.
9th
Above-normal snowpack has set up an "exceptional" seasonal flood risk in British Columbia, Canada. Recent measurements of snowpack water content have showed regional amounts of up to 152 percent of normal in key catch basins, the British Columbia River Forecast Centre indicated in a report early this month. The Centre spoke of "elevated" flood risk for the full length of the Fraser River mainstream. The lower Fraser River passes through greater Vancouver. The province's flood season is now beginning. "Small to medium sized watersheds in the Interior tend to reach peak flows the earliest in the season (early May through June)," the Centre's report said. Flooding has already hit some communities of interior southern British Columbia, following heavy rain combined with snowmelt late last month.

World weather news, April 2012

3rd
Winds of typhoon strength have swept over parts of Japan, making for travel chaos, reports said on Tuesday. One person has died and tens of thousands have been stranded. At least 97 people suffered storm-related injury. Winds were clocked to 150 km/h in western Japan. Weather warnings and advisories spanned Japan's entire mainland, the JMA website showed. Advised threats included high winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain, flooding and high winds. The extreme weather led Japan Airlines to cancell 230 domestic flights, along with seven Asia-bound flights, affecting 31,600 passengers.
5th
Poor weather conditions in Mexico and India are pushing the price of vanilla higher. Mexico is among the top 10 producers of vanilla. Papantla, a city located in northern Veracruz, is at the center of Mexico's vanilla growing region but it has been abnormally wet here. Production of vanilla in Mexico has decreased by 90 percent in the past year. In the Indian vanilla-growing regions rainfall has been below average.
7th
Odds for any live rescues of 135 missing avalanche victims have fallen sharply more than 36 hours after the snow slide swept through a Pakistan mountain base. The slide, said to be 3,000 feet wide, swept through the military post early Saturday morning, local time, potentially catching many of the asleep. The base is located 16,000 feet above sea level in the Karakoram Range, where it overlooks the Siachen Glacier.
7th
Anchorage, Alaska, has received more snow this winter season than any other in recorded history. Anchorage picked up 4.3 inches of snow on Saturday, pushing the city's annual snow total to a record 134.5 inches. The winter of 1954-55 previously held the record with 132.6 inches. Anchorage receives 74.5 inches during a typical winter and record-keeping began in 1915. The path to Anchorage setting the annual snow record began on Oct. 30 when 1.1 inches whitened the city. November, December, January and February then each ended up becoming ranked as one of the top 10 snowiest on their respective month's list. The snowiest, November, had a total of 32.4 inches and is now the third snowiest November on record. December and its 31.1 inches (seventh snowiest December), January and its 25.2 inches (sixth snowiest January) and February and its 27.8 inches (fourth snowiest February) followed. A lull in the action came in March with a more typical 9.5 inches falling.
10th
Ice has melted from southern Lake Winnipeg earlier than any time in memory following months of unusual warmth in central Canada. Normally, ice fishing season on Lake Winnipeg's southern basin would last until mid-April. Winter was abnormally mild in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba, albeit plenty cold enough for ice to form on Manitoba's "great lake." Winnipeg winter months of December through February had an average temperature of -9.6C, or 6.4 degC above normal.
14th
After an active winter, southern Europe has seen much less than their normal precipitation since March 1. Precipitation from Romania to eastern Germany has been less than 30% the normal precipitation during the time period, while much of the rest of central and eastern Europe has been under 50% of normal. This is impacting many important agricultural areas, like grape growing regions in France and Germany, as well as more standard crops, especially hay, which rely heavily on early season precipitation in order to get seedlings going.
14th
Tornadic thunderstorms ravaged parts of the Plains (USA) during Saturday and Saturday night, killing six people and leaving behind incredible destruction. According to the Storm Prediction Center, over 100 tornadoes were reported from Oklahoma through Kansas, Nebraska and southern Iowa on Saturday. The deadliest of the tornadoes ravaged the town of Woodward, Oklahoma, where six people were killed and 30 injured. Another tornado tore through the southern portion of Wichita, Kan., causing significant damage but no major injuries. Wichita, Mid-Continent Airport recorded a wind gust of 84 mph just after the control tower evacuated. Damage in the Wichita area is estimated at as much as $283 million. A tornado ripped through the town of Thurman, Iowa, Saturday evening, destroying around 75 percent of the town. Other notable storm reports from Saturday and Saturday night:
16th
With temperatures surging into the 80s and lower 90s (F) over much of the East on Monday, many locations had their hottest day of the season so far. Temperatures on Monday broke daily record highs in nearly two dozen major cities from Maryland northward to Maine. In Albany, N.Y., the record high of 91 degrees was the earliest in the year ever for reaching the 90-degree mark. While temperatures failed to reach record levels in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., Baltimore equaled its record high of 90 set in 2002. In Boston, temperatures failed to reach 90. However, western Massachusetts had the national high for the day on April 16 with a 93-degree reading at Westfield, beating Texas, Florida and the Desert Southwest. Thousands of runners bowed out of the 116th running of the Boston Marathon before the race even started, fearing the mid-summer heat. Typically in the Boston area and its suburbs, temperatures peak in the upper 50s this time of the year. More than 1,200 runners were treated for heat-related problems in this year's marathon. Some of these and others simply dropped out of the race after attempting it.
16th
Drought has been declared amid drying rivers and shrinking reservoirs in a swath of England that is home to more than 35 million people, multiple online sources said on Monday. Expanding drought, which may last until Christmas, has left the U.K. with its most severe water shortage since 1976, according to the Environment Agency. Water restrictions that were imposed earlier in the year have remained in effect for about 20 million customers in the English East and South East.
16th-18th
Flash flooding has prompted rescues and hundreds of calls for help in eastern Australia. Eastern New South Wales, including greater Sydney, the nation's biggest city, was pelted with bursts of heavy rain between Monday and Wednesday, swamping streets and invading buildings. The storms also caused electrical outages. At one time, crews were working to restore power to about 900 customers in the region. Two-day rainfall of 75 to 150 mm spread widely over the area during the 36- to 48-hour stretch, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website showed. Highest rainfall of about 180 mm was observed between Sydney and Newcastle. Low pressure over the nearby Tasman Sea, driving moisture-laden winds against nearby slopes, triggered the downpours.
17-18thth
A severe spring storm has unleashed damaging winds in western Turkey and Greece. At least one person has died in western Turkey, and two others were injured in Istanbul. Trees were toppled and roofs torn off. Boats were capsized at Bodrum. High winds and clouds of dust disrupted flights in the capital, Ankara. At Khania, in western Crete, midday gusts reached 107 km/h. Meanwhile, the high winds spread eastward over mainland Turkey on Wednesday. The international airport of Istanbul clocked winds of 105 km/h. The unusually powerful storm instigating the high winds was centered over the northern Aegean Sea on Wednesday, having earlier crossed the mainland of Greece with widespread rain and strong winds.
21st
More than 500 homes in central Russia's Ryazan region have been flooded recently as melting snow forced the Moksha River to overflow its banks. A state of emergency is in effect for the region about 100 miles to the southeast of Moscow. In the village of Kadom, floodwaters have affected at least 1,179 people. Earlier this month, severe spring floods generated by snowmelt inundated almost 2,500 homes in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Saratov and Samara regions. Those floods affected more than 5,200 residents and forced over 1,000 to be evacuated.
21st
Heavy seasonal rain throughout much of Colombia over the past several weeks have caused major flooding throughout the county. The increase in rainfall is attributed to La Nina. The flooding became deadly earlier this week, claiming the life of one person in the nation's capital of Bogota. Heavy rainfall in recent weeks have caused major flooding of the nearby Bogota and Chichu rivers. The resulting floods have affected more than 2,000 families in the region, forcing most to evacuate to higher ground. In the town of Cota, which is located just north of Bogota, local officials reported flood waters as deep as 13 feet in some areas.
22nd
A flash flood killed seven visitors at a national park in Kenya. The seven members of a church group were swept away as they walked through a narrow gorge. Eight others were rescued following the incident. Localized torrential rain struck neighboring areas at Hell's Gate National Park, located about 90 km northwest of Nairobi.
23rd
Over a dozen states in the West into the northern High Plains had record high temperatures for the day. Record highs will fall over the Plains the next couple of days. Like much of the nation, temperatures here have averaged well above normal thus far during meteorological spring (March 1 to May 31). Here is a sample of cities and their temperature departures from normal since 1 March: Omaha, Neb. +12.1 degF, Des Moines, Iowa +11.6 degF, Minneapolis, Minn. +10.3 degF, Kansas City, Mo. +10.1 degF, Fargo, N.D. +9.7 degF.
23rd-24th
Snow and blowing snow made for poor travel in Ontario after a big spring snowstorm invaded Canada from the central Appalachian region. An area north and west of Toronto reported whiteouts in high winds, falling snow and blowing snow as of early Tuesday morning. Orangeville, in Dufferin County, and some northern outskirts of Toronto picked up 10 to 20 cm. Amid visibility cut to nil, drivers in Dufferin were advised to stay off the road.
27th
Photos, video and rumours flew on Twitter and Facebook about what looked like a green ash cloud hanging above the city of Moscow, Russia. Today is the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine, which had people on edge. Officials say that the ash cloud is actually a cloud of pollen from birch trees. According to Dale Mohler of Accuweather, it has been dry and warm for the past week in Moscow. With dry weather, pollen accumulates on leaves. With a sudden gust of wind, pollen can shake loose.
28th
A tent outside of a bar was blown over, killing one person and injuring 100, by high winds produced by a severe thunderstorms moving through the St. Louis area late in the afternoon. Winds were estimated to have gusted well over 50 mph. The Storm Prediction Center reported 15 high wind reports and 155 reports of large hail in the evening. Most of the storms were centered between St. Louis, MO and Louisville, KY.
28th
Central and eastern Europe is having an early taste of summer with unseasonably high temperatures across much of the region. April temperature records have been smashed in many parts with temperatures climbing well above the seasonal norm for many. The northern region of Lower Austria reported a record 32C and Vienna has seen temperature reach 28C which has drawn large crowds to the banks of the Danube. Germany's capital has also recorded temperatures in the low 30s and Prague experienced its hottest April 28th since 1800 with a top temperature of 27.7C. The heat also extended into Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and western Russia. The summer weather was due to a strong southerly flow from of Africa's Sahara desert.
29th
Lightning has killed 26 people in two states of India. Sixteen people were killed in multiple lightning incidents in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. Victims were said to be farmers or the homeless, caught outdoors in the storms. The storms also uprooted trees and damaged thatched buildings. Another incident happened in Howrah district of West Bengal, near Kolkata (Calcutta), where 10 people were killed. The people were returning from a religious festival and took shelter in a temple during a torrential downpour.
30th
More than 100 people have been killed with many still missing after a ferry sank in the Brahmaputra River of northeastern India during a thunderstorm. A district authority said that the boat broke into two pieces after capsizing in heavy rain and high wind.

World weather news, March 2012

1st
Despite a year of record snowfalls across Alaska, the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race has no plans to delay its start on Saturday, March 3. The "Last Great Race on Earth," as it is often called, will begin in Anchorage, Alaska, and will span 975 miles across a northern route to its completion in Nome. Known to be one of the toughest sled dog races in the world, the Iditarod hosts over 65 teams, averaging 15 dogs each, and thousands of spectators each year. Despite being the snowiest period on record for Anchorage since records have been kept, conditions look good for the race, which will be commemorating its 40th anniversary this year.
1st
Rising Australian streams and rivers have prompted many flood watches and warnings, forcing evacuation orders, after further widespread heavy rain doused the nation's southeast. People in hundreds of flood-threatened homes have have been ordered to leave. Already, government flood advisories have been issued for three-quarters of the state of New South Wales, an area nearly the size of Texas. The towns of Cooma, Goulburn, Cowra and Bega all had residents driven from their homes as of Thursday. Widespread rainfall of 50 to 150 mm within 24 to 36 hours has soaked an area spanning southern New South Wales, northeastern Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, where more heavy rain will fall through at least Saturday. A dam under construction near Canberra is expected to be overtopped by floodwaters, forcing workers to take precautionary measures to limit damage. Sydney area residents were watching the Warragamba Dam, where heavy runoff from the Blue Mountains was expected to flow over the spillway on Friday, local time. The forecast overflow was said likely to inundate large swaths of lowland bordering the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers, north and west of Sydney.
2nd
Severe thunderstorms led to one of the worst March tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. A preliminary count of 120 tornadoes, as reported by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, left massive destruction in their wake across parts of the Midwest and Southeast. At least 39 people were killed in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, and Georgia. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed in about a dozen states. The average number of tornadoes for the entire month of March is 80. One of the hardest-hit areas was in Clark County, Indiana, where an EF-4 tornado, with winds whipping up to 175 mph, struck the town of Henryville. In its entirety, the tornado left a 79 km long path of "total devastation", as described by an Indiana State Police Sargeant.
3rd
Tropical Storm Irina skirted down the western coast of Madagascar during the first few days of March, killing at least 73 people, mostly in the town of Ifanadiana. The storm also left more than 21,000 homeless. Tropical Cyclone Giovanna struck Madagascar just a few weeks earlier, and Irina destroyed roads and residences already weakened by the effects of Giovanna. Four fatalities were reported in South Africa. In Durban, waves reached 3 m, closing beaches and forcing ships to remain in port.
4th
New South Wales has recorded its equal wettest week on record, after a slow moving rain-band delivered steady rainfall across Australia's southeast, delivering a statewide average of 123.9 mm. The 2012 record of 123.9 mm is shared with 1974, also a La Nina year, with rainfall figures recorded between 7 and 13 January. The record breaking rains were the result of an extensive, slow moving cloud band and associated low pressure trough that stretched from the northwest to the southeast of the country, affecting the Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Numerous rainfall stations and entire catchments broke records during the event [between 27 February and 4 March], with 186.5 mm at Charlotte Pass the highest daily figure reported so far. As a result of this recent rainfall we are now seeing widespread flooding across southeast New South Wales, and the northern and Gippsland regions of Victoria. Many stations with over 100 years of data collection reached new weekly rainfall records, including Ivanhoe Post Office (294 mm), Wilcannia (239.8 mm), Hay (189 mm), Mount Buffalo (525 mm) and Yackandandah (324 mm), between 27 February and 4 March. A Special Climate Statement on this event has been prepared by Agata Imielska, Acacia Pepler and Aaron Coutts-Smith in the Bureau&'s climate information program: click here
8th
Scientists are monitoring the impacts of a recent solar storm. Such events are likely to become more frequent and more severe in the approach to the next peak in solar activity around 2013. The U.S. National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center has indicated that a coronal mass ejection (CME) reached the Earth at 1045 GMT. The corona is the region around the sun (visible during a solar eclipse) where temperatures can reach more than a million degrees and X-ray radiation is emitted. Coronal mass ejections, often originating from active areas on the sun's surface (like groupings of sunspots), release huge quantities of radiation and matter into space. Based on the overall field strength observed so far, the predictions for periods reaching the G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm level look justified, according to the NWS Space Weather Prediction Center. So far, the orientation of the magnetic field has been opposite of what is needed to cause the strongest geomagnetic impacts but as the event progresses, this may change. The main impacts from this event are likely to be on high-frequency communication in the polar regions, rendering high-frequency (used in aviation) unusable at the highest latitudes. There are also several confirmed reports of commercial airlines avoiding the polar routes because of the disruption to high frequency communication. After a relatively quiet sun, solar activity is expected to peak around 2013 and this will have an impact on the environment between the sun and the earth. Solar minimum occurs in years when the number of sunspots is lowest; solar maximum occurs in the years when sunspots are most numerous, sometimes numbering several hundred on a given day. During solar maximum, activity on the Sun and the effects of space weather on the Earth are high.
8th
Another heat wave is set to begin across Western Australia today, including the capital city of Perth. In Perth, high temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday reached 32C and 33C respectively. This is a cooldown from highs above 35C earlier in the week.
12th
Perth's summer of 2011-2012 has landed in the record books, following a historical first eighth heat wave. The heat wave was an apparent factor in a bushfire described as "fierce" and "threatening lives and homes". The record-breaking hot blast began Friday, culminating in Sunday's high of 41.4C. Monday's high of 40.6C extended March's second major heat wave to a fourth day. A heat wave is defined by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) as three-straight days of 35C.
12th
Tough water restrictions have been issued for 20 million UK residents in light of worsening drought in England. The restrictions, including a "hosepipe ban" on a range of outdoor water usage, follow two years of low rainfall that has left reservoirs at record low volumes, No fewer than seven water companies, serving London and, more broadly, the South and East of England, have taken the drastic measures, which will take effect on April 5. This action has followed combined fall/winter rainfall of only 62 to 75 percent of normal within the region's key watersheds.
12th-13th
Temperature records continue to be shattered across the eastern two-thirds of the nation as the springlike warmth bulges eastward. In general, places farther north will have the largest departures from normal. For example, the normal high for International Falls, Minn., is in the low 30s. High temperatures this week are expected to climb near 60 degrees, almost 30 degrees above average! Above average warmth will spread north and east throughout the week as high pressure builds. Numerous daily temperature records continued to be broken across the country on Monday as the warmth spread eastward. Locations from Florida to North Dakota to Maine experienced record warmth; at Boston, Mass. 71F passed the old record for the 12th of 69F in 1902. On the 13th new records included Sioux City, Iowa with 81F (previously 74F in 1946).
14th
Scores of daily temperature records fell again in the USA, in some areas for the third straight day, making this unusual pattern a sort of March heat wave. New records set included St. Louis, Mo. 86F (previously 82F in 1971), Jackson, Tenn. 84F (80F 2007) and Minneapolis, Minn. 73F (64F 2010).
19th
Atlanta, Ga., measured record pollen levels today with 8,164 particles of pollen per cubic meter of air. This count was more than 35 percent higher than the previous record of 6,013 set on April 12, 1999, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic has labeled this count to be in the extremely high range.
21st
A major dust and sandstorm has swept over wide areas of the Mideast since late last week. The choking, blinding airborne dust sent hundreds of people to hospital in Saudi Arabia. Schools in parts of the kingdom were shut. The storm disrupted flights through Sanaa, Yemen. In Kuwait, 277 residents on the island of Failaka were evacuated by the coast guard of Kuwait. Drivers in the region were warned of very low visibility and strong winds. The dust and sandstorm was kicked up by a strong cold front beginning in Friday eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. The strong winds and very low visibility spread quickly southeastward, enveloping Baghdad, Iraq, through Kuwait, on Saturday. The rest of the Gulf region, spanning Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, was swept in clouds of thick dust and sand on Saturday night and Sunday. Southern and western Arabia was caught up in the dusty shroud by Monday, some of the lowest visibilities being observed in Yemen.
22nd
Thousands of records, some thought to be unbreakable, have fallen over the past couple of weeks from the High Plains to the East Coast, and north into Canada. Additionally, more than a dozen major cities established new all-time record highs for the month of March. This is especially impressive considering all of these records were set more than a week from the end of the month, which climatologically tends to be warmer than the middle portion. These include Detroit, Mich. 86 F, and Lansing, Mich. 86 F; also Quebec City, Quebec 65 F.
22nd
The annual snowfall record in Anchorage is being challenged late this week as a storm aims for south-central Alaska. A storm moving into the Bering Sea will reorganize over the northern coast of the Gulf of Alaska Friday into Friday night. While the storm itself will not be huge, it may be enough to crash Anchorage's annual snowfall record. As of March 22, 2012, snowfall in the Anchorage stands at 129.4 inches. The annual snowfall record for the city is 132.6 inches.
24th
Despite temperatures in the 60s and 70s (F), it looked like the middle of winter in parts of the Southeast USA today. Hail that covered the ground up to 6 inches deep in some communities from southwestern Virginia into South Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center compiled 80 reports of hail from Saturday ranging from 1 inch to 2.75 inches in diameter (baseball size). Thunderstorms produced hail across a half dozen states, from West Virginia to Georgia.
25th
The National Weather Service has measured the largest hailstone to fall in Hawaii since 1950 (when measurement records began). The hailstone was collected by a Windward Oahu resident in the neighborhood of Aikahi. The hailstone fell during a supercell thunderstorm on March 9, 2012. The official measurements of the hailstone were 4.25 inches long, 2.25 inches tall and 2 inches wide.
25th
More than 300 people were expected to leave their flood-threatened homes in northern Ontario, Canada. Ice jamming on the Albany River near James Bay was menacing the indigenous communities of Fort Albany and Kashechewan. During a recent warm spell, temperatures rose 15 to 25 degC above normal.

World weather news, February 2012

1st
A man was arrested in Chile for stealing ice from a fast-melting glacier that is protected by law. The man allegedly stole ice from the Jorge Montt Glacier, one of 63 glaciers that was studied by NASA for melting rates back in 2003. Jorge Montt Glacier is on northern edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, located to the south of a town called Caleta Tortel, Chile.
2nd
Europe's cold snap has claimed 164 lives, as countries from Ukraine to Italy struggle with temperatures that plunged to record lows in some places and with more cold weather forecast. Entire villages were cut off in parts of eastern Europe, trapping thousands, while road, air and rail links were severed and gas consumption shot up during what has been the severest winter in decades in some regions. In Ukraine, tens of thousands headed to shelters to escape the freeze that emergencies services said has killed 63 people - most of them frozen to death in the streets, some succumbing to the hypothermia later in hospitals.
2nd
Hollywood star and weather seer Punxsutawney Phil used to be the only groundhog that mattered in weather predicting, but Phil's shock decision Thursday that spring is still six weeks away put him out on a limb. As the eastern United States enjoys an exceptionally mild winter, most would have guessed that spring is around the corner. But when Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow on Thursday, his handlers announced he was able to see his shadow. According to tradition, that signals six more weeks of winter. The ritual in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania risked provoking skeptics, whether children looking forlornly at their unused sleds, or adults sweltering on their way to the office in winter overcoats. As it happens, last year, in the thick of a particularly savage, snowy winter, Phil perkily suggested that he hadn't seen his shadow and therefore relief was around the corner. Maybe not so clever. Americans might start paying more attention to Phil's often overlooked competitor Charles G. Hogg, the resident groundhog at Staten Island Zoo in New York City. On being dragged out of his burrow Thursday in the presence of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chuck, as he's commonly known, did not see his shadow -- meaning, of course, that currently mild temperatures will stay that way right up until the official start of spring. Groundhog Day, which falls each year on February 2, started with a German tradition in which farmers monitored the animal's behavior closely to make decisions about when their fields should be planted. Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s, according to the official website.
3rd
Several European countries recorded their coldest night of the winter on 2/3 February. These include Sweden, where the temperature in Kvikkjokk in the northern part of Sweden fell to -42.7C which is the lowest temperature in Sweden since 2001 In the capital Stockholm, it was about -14C. It was also the coldest night of the winter in Poland. It was almost -20C, and in the coldest parts in the eastern Poland was almost -30C. Night-time temperatures in Belgium fell to -9C at the coast and -17C on the coldest heights. The normal minimum temperature for this time of year is + 0.4C. In Germany, temperatures fell to -26.4C in Deutschneudorf. The lowest temperature was -11.3C in Powys, Wales. The Siberian air mass reached Portugal which had its coldest night in the last 10 years.
3rd
Frigid air gripping Europe has set the stage for rare snowfall in Rome. One of the major European cities up next to see snow is London. Snow began mixing with rain in Rome during the early morning hours of Friday. Steadier snow followed during the midday and afternoon hours, especially across northern areas. The heavy rate of the snowfall held visibility at or below a half of a mile throughout much of the afternoon hours at the Urbe Airport on the city's northeastern side. Snow is definitely rare in Rome, where afternoon high temperatures typically warm to 12C at this time of year.
5th
Three of six transatlantic flights diverted to Shannon Airport on Sunday morning because of snow at Heathrow airport, have resumed their journeys. The British Airways flights, were travelling from the US cities of Denver, Houston, Miami, Washington, Dallas and Atlanta. Half of the 1,300 scheduled flights at Heathrow were cancelled. Aer Lingus and Ryanair were also forced to cancel a number of flights as a result of the adverse weather. Snow swept down to London and East Anglia on Sunday after covering parts of Scotland, Wales, northern England and the Midlands on Saturday.
5th
Motorists have been urged to take extra care in treacherous conditions as snow across much of the UK turns to ice. The Met Office has issued nine warnings for ice after disruption to road, rail and air travel following up to 16cm of snow in some areas. Half of the 1,300 scheduled flights at Heathrow were cancelled and some trains and Tube services also disrupted. Earlier, hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the M25 and M40, with some drivers forced to spend the night in their cars. Snow swept down to London and East Anglia on Saturday evening after covering parts of Scotland, Wales, northern England and the Midlands earlier in the day. Church Fenton, in North Yorkshire, reported 16cm, which contributed to more than 60 accidents on the region's roads. Heathrow operator BAA said it had decided to reduce the flight schedule at Heathrow on Saturday to "minimise disruption" and said airlines had been able to re-book some passengers as a result. Temperatures have been so low that waterfalls in Yorkshire have frozen. At Stansted Airport in Essex, flights were operating but queues in the terminals were busier than normal as schedules were disrupted. A dozen Ryanair flights were cancelled, some planes were delayed whilst de-icing took place, and there was a knock-on effect from 11 inbound flights being diverted away on Saturday night during snow clearing. At Gatwick, flight arrivals and departures were operating, although passengers were warned they may face some disruption. At Luton Airport, 10cm of snow fell overnight and its runway was closed for a period, causing three departing flights to be cancelled. On the roads, Thames Valley Police said as many as 100 vehicles were stationary on the M40 between Junction 4 High Wycombe and Junction 9 Bicester for several hours and snow ploughs were brought in to help clear the roads. Transport for London said several Tube lines were hit by suspensions or delays. earlier on Sunday.
5th
Drivers are being warned of treacherous road conditions, after a six-vehicle crash in north Lincolnshire. The collision on the southbound carriageway of the A15, just south of the Humber Bridge, closed the road for part of the morning. Humberside Police said nobody was seriously injured. In East Yorkshire, gritters worked through the weekend to clear hundreds of miles of roads after 5-10cm of snow fell. East Riding Council said major routes had been kept clear but some minor roads were not treated.
6th
A 40km stretch of the A1 (in the UK) was closed northbound on following a series of accidents. North Yorkshire Police said they had attended 54 collisions across the county between midnight and 1000GMT but no-one was badly hurt. The fire service said up to 20 lorries had jack-knifed on the A1 between Allerton Park and the Catterick. The closure had caused major traffic queues with many drivers stuck in their vehicles for more than four hours.
6th
Motorists are being warned to drive with care after freezing conditions in England led to a series of accidents. Schools have also been affected with about 55 closed in Essex. A total of 39 were closed in East Sussex with a further 19 closed in Kent and Medway. A handful of schools were also closed in the East Midlands, Warwickshire, Surrey and Yorkshire. Some rail services continued to suffer following the weekend's big freeze. Southeastern hoped to operate a normal timetable, but said cancellations and delays were "very likely". Heathrow Airport which had 2.4in (6cm) of snow, hoped to resume normal service on Monday. With only 50% of the 1,300 scheduled flights going ahead on Sunday, many travellers faced a night sleeping on terminal floors.
6th
Snow made a rare appearance in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Cold air associated with a storm system diving into northern Africa provided for some decent accumulations of snow in the north African country. Reports say the last time Algiers saw this kind of accumulation was in 2005.
6th
St George, Queensland, has seen thousands of residents evacuated as record-high flood waters invade their town. The flooding Balonne River was one of many that have burst banks and spilled into towns on plains of inland Queensland and nearby New South Wales. A record-high flood crest of 14.0m was forecast for the Balonne in St George during Monday night, local time. About 30 homes outside of flood protection were already flooded as of Monday. Emergency workers had earlier raised a temporary flood barrier at the 14.5m level. Earlier, fears had been that the river would peak near 15.0m, resulting in a widespread inundation of the town. Meanwhile, the town of Mitchell was beginning to assess what the Queensland Premier called a "terrible mess" left by the flooding. More than 70 percent of the homes in Mitchell, a town of 950, were flooded, some to their roof. In northern New South Wales, the rampaging Namoi left more than 2,000 people isolated ahead of its expected crest at Wee Waa. Further record crests are forecasts in the area as runoff in the Darling River basin flows southward and westward during the coming days and weeks. Exceptionally heavy rain bolstered by tropical moisture since late January sparked the record flooding.
7th
After unusually mild weather in December 2011 and early January 2012 almost all over Europe, the weather situation changed abruptly in the middle of January. An incursion of cold polar air, coming from northern Russia at the south flank of an extensive high pressure area brought extremely low temperatures over large parts of Europe and also some considerable snowfall especially over various parts of the continent. This Siberian high pressure system is preventing milder temperatures and maritime storms from moving from the Atlantic Ocean eastwards over Europe. This high pressure area was very stable causing a continuous flow of cold air to Europe over many days. This blocking system is extremely large in its extent but it is not an unusual phenomenon in the Northern hemisphere winter. A similar high pressure blocking system was also responsible for the more significant cold winter of 2009/2010, when cold conditions started in mid December and continued over most of January and February period. In the last few days of January and at the beginning of February, further extremely cold continental air from Russia arrived and brought ongoing frost to eastern, southeastern, central and large parts of western Europe. Minimum temperatures in Moscow went down to -25C until the beginning of February. Some east European countries (Latvia, Belarus, northeastern Poland, Ukraine) experienced minimum temperatures of around -30C, northern Russia down to -37C. In eastern Germany, minimum temperatures below -20C were measured in many places, in wester n central Europe around -10C to -15C or below (e.g. Luxembourg -13C on 3 February, Strasbourg in France at the Rhine river -15C on 5 February, Basel in Switzerland -17C on 6 February). However, all these minimum temperatures were not new records. The long duration of the cold period, its relatively late onset and the extent of the cold area are noteworthy but not exceptional. The continental cold air extended even over the Balkan peninsula; slight ongoing frost was recorded even in northern Greece. The cold air coming from the north was fed with a strong moisture flux from the central Mediterranean Sea. This caused heavy snowfall over parts of south eastern Europe such as the Balkans, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Algeria and other countries in Northern Africa. In contrast, mild air moved over the North Atlantic northwards over Iceland up to the Arctic region. The temperature in Svalbard, far north in the Arctic, reached repeatedly up to 5°C in recent days, more th an in Milano (Italy) or in Istanbul (Turkey). Much of North America has also been unusually warm. Part of the explanation is the the so-called Arctic Oscillation which is the difference in pressure between Polar areas and mid-latitude areas (where most of the population in Europe lives). At the moment there is a negative Arctic Oscillation, which favors cold conditions in Europe and relatively warmer conditions in the Arctic. Similar cold spells with similar weather conditions occurred several times during the past decades. Similarly low temperatures in central Europe and even far higher snow depths were recorded as recently as February 2010. Temperatures have been also been extremely low from the northern part of East Asia to Central Asia (in and around Mongolia and Kazakhstan) since mid-January. The influence of cold air has extended to Central to Western Europe as well as to all over Central Asia, such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, since the beginning of February.
7th
Snow has blanketed parts of Libya, including the town of Gharyan which is southwest of the capital Tripoli. Snowfall is a rare occurrence in the country.
8th
Temperatures in England plummeted overnight but failed to match the coldest night of the winter so far. Forecasters say the lowest temperatures reached -11.8C in Church Fenton in North Yorkshire. However, this failed to beat the -12.4C recorded at South Newington in Oxfordshire on the night of 3 February. Snow flurries fell overnight around Kent, Sussex and the Thames estuary. Northern Ireland and parts of the north of Scotland remained frost-free. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England during February was -20.6C on 25 February 1947 in Woburn.
9th
Emergency services in Cumbria (UK) dealt with 97 crashes caused by freezing rain in less than six hours. The A66 trans-Pennine route was closed for several hours after a number of lorries jackknifed near Stainmore. The M6 also saw a number of crashes. The A66 was also the scene of a multi-vehicle accident near Penrith. There were no serious injuries reported. Some schools have also been closed as a precaution. A Cumbria Police spokesman said all the collisions were reported between 0500GMT and 1100GMT. Elsewhere in the north of England, six vehicles, including a double-decker bus, crashed on the Felling bypass and several vehicles collided on Blaydon Highway flyover, both in Gateshead. Durham Police said they had received reports of a number of minor collisions around County Durham and Darlington. They warned drivers to use "extreme caution". Plunging temperatures and icy conditions also led to a number of road accidents across North Yorkshire. Police said black ice led to problems in Skipton, Otley and Settle and one motorist said the A65 near Giggleswick was "like glass".
9th
The Manneken Pis, or "peeing boy" statue, in Brussels, Belgium, cannot pee. That is to say, freezing temperatures have caused officials to turn off the the flow of water through the statue, according to Reuters. Water was shut off due to fears that the cold may damage the internal mechanism. On Feb. 7, the high temperature in Brussels was only -6.4C and the low temperature was -13C. The average temperature for Brussels on Feb. 7 is 2.8C.
10th
Severe weather warnings for ice and snow are in place across much of England, after the second significant snowfall in less than a week. Snow fell in most parts of England and parts of Wales overnight but other areas of the UK largely saw rain. Ice in parts of Wales and England is causing hazardous driving conditions. The largest amount of snow fell in Lincolnshire - 8cm - and the coldest temperature, -7C, was recorded at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. There should be a slight thaw setting in over the weekend, BBC forecasters said. 'Potential disruption' In south Wales, the A470 is closed after two vehicles crashed on ice near Nant Ddu between Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil at 0545GMT on Friday. Icy conditions on the roads are being reported in parts of north and south Wales, where temperatures remain close to freezing. Meanwhile, charities are warning that elderly people are among the most vulnerable in the cold weather and urge people to check on their older relatives or neighbours.
14th
Snow as deep as 15 feet isolated areas in Romania, Moldova and Albania on Tuesday and turned a power plant in Kosovo into a park of dazzling ice sculptures. Authorities have been forced to use helicopters and army trucks to deliver food and medicine and to help the sick reach hospitals. Officials said five Romanians died in the past 24 hours due to the cold, bringing the total to 79 weather-related deaths. Neighbouring Moldova also has been hard hit by snow, and both countries have seen schools, borders, highways and train services shut down in some areas as temperatures plunged to -9F overnight. The Romanian rail network CFR canceled 413 trains due to heavy snow on the lines. Albania, meanwhile, has declared a state of emergency in the worst-affected areas. Army trucks and helicopters brought food and medicine to 250,000 Albanians who were isolated in their villages by deep snow, which has also caused power outages and feed shortages for farm animals like cows and sheep. The roofs of about two dozen houses, including that of a 300-year-old church in southeastern Albania, collapsed under the weight of the snow, but no injuries were reported. In Bulgaria, the soccer federation postponed the restart of the domestic league nearly a month, from Feb. 24 to March 20, because of the exceptionally cold weather and heavy snow.
14th
Tropical Cyclone Giovanna struck the island of Madagascar in the South Indian Ocean. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the storm roared ashore on the east coast near the port city of Tamatave with maximum sustained winds of 230km/h, equivalent to a category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. At least three people were killed as the storm moved westward over the island and quickly lost strength. Numerous trees and power lines were downed and several dozen families were forced to evacuate their homes due to rising floodwaters. After crossing the island, Giovanna made its way into the Mozambique Channel later the same day, where it was expected to restrengthen over the warm ocean waters.
15th
Historical snow and cold in Rome have not only tried the patience of its residents but have also taken a toll on one of its architectural wonders, the Colosseum. The Colosseum had to shut its doors to tourists after bits of the massive structure crumbled and fell. This was but one instance of adverse weather impact in Italy, which has suffered bitter cold and extreme snowfalls. The loosening of plaster masonry and stone was attributed to ice forming on the walls, according to government spokesman Cristiano Brughitta - the "freeze-thaw cycle".
15th
Some 5.6 million urban shade trees were killed by the record drought that baked Texas last year, the Texas Forest Service reported. Last year was the driest year on record in the state and the second-hottest. The shade tree die-off represents some 10 percent of the state's urban forest, and is in addition to as many as a half-billion rural, park and forest trees that the forest service reported in December were killed in the drought. The impact of the drought will be visible for decades because of the loss of the trees in yards and parks and along streets of the state's cities, according to the service. The urban tree canopy loss may be far from over, said forest service lead researcher Pete Smith. Even though the drought appears to be easing in some parts of the state, many trees have been stressed beyond repair, he said.
16th
Water companies, farmers and wildlife groups amid fears that parts of Britain may face the worst drought since 1976. Parts of south-east England, East Anglia and the east Midlands are among the worst affected areas. Water restrictions could be introduced unless heavy and prolonged rainfall takes place before April, the Environmane Agency (EA) warns. A lack of rainfall over the past few months means groundwater levels are still falling in many areas. Last month EA experts said water levels were so worryingly low that twice the average rainfall was needed if rivers are to recover and a hosepipe ban is to be avoided. The EA, which covers England and Wales, has had to oxygenate rivers and move fish that have become stranded in isolated pools and farmers have been prevented from drawing water from rivers in some cases.
21st
More than 40 people, most of them children, have frozen to death in what has been Afghanistan's coldest winter in years. The government has recorded 41 deaths from freezing in three provinces Kabul, Ghor and Badakhshan. All but three or four of those deaths were children, he said. Twenty-four were in the capital, 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 centre. It said the weather was expected to improve by the end of the week.
21st
Destructive floods caused by the rapid thawing of the Danube River could add to the fatalities from an already harsh European winter, the head of the United Nations agency dealing with disaster risk reduction said. In a statement, quoted by the UN News Centre, Margareta Wahlström, the head of the secretariat of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, voiced concern for the consequences faced by those countries traversed by the Danube, whose sudden thaw is taking many by surprise. "The thaw is now setting in along the Danube. While thousands of people remain snowbound from Serbia to Bulgaria, there are warning signs that destructive floods will add to the loss of life and economic assets particularly in places where there is an absence of flood management infrastructure such as dams and dikes," Wahlström said. According to media reports, the quick thawing of Europe.s second longest river has sent massive ice floes careening into boats and bridges, causing widespread damage to river vessels. The cold front had previously frozen large tracts of the waterway, making it unnavigable in areas of Germany and the Balkans.
24th
At least three people died and another 49 were injured when a twister struck central Indonesia. The tornado hit the area of Sidrap on the island of Sulawesi, flattening homes and leaving more than 200 people homeless. Strong tornadoes are unusual, but not unknown, in wet tropical climates like that of Indonesia. However, powerful thunderstorms, which are the parent storms for twisters, happen in Indonesia at some of the highest rates on earth.
29th
A late-winter tornado outbreak that pounded seven states Wednesday lashed the country music resort city of Branson, Mo., ripped into towns in other states and killed at least 13 people. Communities in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee felt the impact of storms that spawned at least 20 tornadoes. Six people died in Illinois, three in Missouri and three in Tennessee. It was a jolting early moment in the USA's tornado season after a brutal year of twisters in 2011. Last year, 550 Americans died in tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center. That was the deadliest toll since 1925, when 794 people died. Among places hardest hit Wednesday was Harrisburg, Ill., a town of about 10,000 where at least six people were killed and more than 100 were injured. The National Weather Service said the Harrisburg tornado unleashed winds of up to 170 mph. According to the Storm Prediction Center, the Midwest outbreak produced more than 250 reports of large hail and damaging winds in addition to the 20 tornadoes. Before this eruption, February had been relatively calm for tornadoes after a wild January during which at least 95 twisters were reported in the USA. That was the third most-active January since official record-keeping begin in 1950.
29th
Late winter storms forced school and road closures from Seattle to upstate New York, but the snow was welcomed in California as it suffers through one of the driest winters in history. The blast from the Gulf of Alaska was expected to bring up to 5 feet of snow at the highest elevations of the northern Sierra Nevada, delighting skiers and the 28 million Californians who depend on snowmelt to meet their water needs. "It's a pretty typical storm, it's just not typical this year," said Johnnie Powell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

World weather news, January 2012

3rd
Southern Thailand has been hit with damaging floods following extreme rainfall topping 20 inches within two days. Tens of thousands of homes have been inundated in the four southernmost provinces, Yala, Pattani, Songkhla and Narathiwat. Meteorological data showed rainfall of 25.6in within 72 hours at Nakhon Si Thammarat. Normal monthly rainfall here would be about 7inches, November and December being at the centre of the local rainy season.
3rd and 5th
Damaging winds with gusts in excess of 100mph affected the British Isles on these days; many trees were felled and two people died as a result of the weather. More details can be found here.
4th
A sequence of devastating earthquakes and a large number of weather-related catastrophes made 2011 the costliest year ever in terms of natural catastrophe losses. At about US$ 380bn, global economic losses were nearly two-thirds higher than in 2005, the previous record year with losses of US$ 220bn. The earthquakes in Japan in March and New Zealand in February alone caused almost two-thirds of these losses. Insured losses of US$ 105bn also exceeded the 2005 record (US$ 101bn).
4th
2011 was another wet year for Australia, with data collected by the Bureau of Meteorology showing that the Australian mean rainfall total for 2011 was 699mm (234mm above the long-term average of 465mm), placing the year at the third-wettest since comparable records began in 1900. Back-to-back La Niña events led to a two-year rainfall total of 1402mm which is the second-highest total on record behind 1407mm in 1973-74. In addition 2011 gave Australia's first cooler than average year since 2001, Australia's coldest autumn since at least 1950 while the ten years from 2002 to 2011 were Australia's equal-warmest 10-year period on record.
4th
The snow drought across the U.S. so far this winter has raised questions about impacts on water supply, ski resorts and agriculture. Only 22 percent of the nation was covered by snow today; a snow depth analysis for the 4 January for 2004-2012 reveals the smallest area of the U.S. is covered by snow this year. The year 2007 ranks as the second smallest area of the U.S. with snowcover of about 27 percent.
5th
Record-shattering warmth that engulfed much of the Plains, USA. The impressively warm temperatures broke records from Wyoming to Wisconsin and from North Dakota to Kansas. Some places had records for the day broken by over 10F. However, in Philip, S.D., the mercury reached a balmy 74F, which absolutely obliterated the old record of 46F set back in 2002. The record warmth was due to an area of upper-level high pressure, which allowed westerly winds to flow down the slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
6th
Brazilian authorities are trying to evacuate at least 20,000 people after a dam burst in Rio de Janeiro state following days of torrential rain. The burst in the dam in Campos dos Goytacazes in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state was caused by days of heavy rains, which have been battering Brazil's south-eastern region since the beginning of the year. Mina Gerais and Espirito Santo in southeast Brazil have also been struck by torrential rains in recent days. Sixty six towns and cities in Minas Gerais have declared a state of emergency with many other areas in the the south-east of the country on red alert. An average of 125mm of rain usually falls during the whole month of January, but many locations are reporting this amount of rain in just 24 hours. Mudslides have already struck in the city of Belo Horizonte, and across the country six people have lost their lives to the severe weather.
11th-12th
After starting 2012 with temperatures 10F above normal, winter has finally arrived in the Chicago area. The first appreciable snowfall of the season snarled travel on Wednesday and Thursday night across the Midwest as a storm system intensified and slowly chugged eastward. Snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 7 inches across northern and central Illinois with 4.7 inches at Chicago's O'Hare Airport as of early Friday morning. This was the first time an event produced more than 2 inches of snow this season.
11th
A Russian fuel tanker, led by a US Coast Guard cutter, has made some progress on its mission to deliver needed fuel to the remote town of Nome, on Alaska's icebound west coast. The flotilla of two ships, the icebreaking escort Healy and the Russian tanker Renda, drew to within about 95 miles of Nome on Wednesday. Progress was slowed by thick ice and strong currents on Tuesday, when the ships made 9 miles. However, when the ships stopped to rest, they drifted with the ice, thereby cutting the gain to 6 miles. The unusual winter mission was made necessary following a severe fall storm, which caused Nome to miss its last pre-winter delivery by barge. Fear is that the town of 3,500 residents will run short of fuel before barge delivery becomes possible again in late spring. The start of winter has been severely cold in Nome and throughout western Alaska. Since Dec. 22, average temperature in Nome has been -20.6F, which is 27F below normal.
12th
At least 3,500 homes and businesses were left without power following Tropical Cyclone Heidi's landfall in Australia's northwest. A major port was forced to shut temporarily for the storm's early morning, strike on the Pilbara coast near the town of Port Hedland, in the state of Western Australia. At the height of the storm, winds as high as 150 km/h lashed Port Hedland, according to multiple reports. Rainfall in the area was expected to be as high as 250 mm.
17th
Storms in four central USA states brought reports of at least 10 tornadoes touching down, a rare event for this time of winter, including two in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. Another tornado touched down south of Nashville, Tennessee, and two others were reported in Mississippi along with reports of damage from high winds and hail. Tornadoes are rare, but not unheard of, this time of year in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and more common farther south.
18th
A Pacific storm blanketed Seattle in more than 4 inches of snow on Wednesday, forcing school closures and airline flight cancellations and snarling traffic throughout a city more accustomed to rain than severe winter weather. But the storm, nicknamed "Snowmageddon" as it approached the Puget Sound region, proved less extreme than originally forecast, with the National Weather Service lowering its outlook for possible snow accumulations from up to 10 inches to around 6 inches. The storm, which arrived on Tuesday evening, bore down more forcefully on towns in the interior part of Washington state, where snowfall totals ranging from 10 inches to 20 inches were forecast. More than 38,000 customers had lost power late on Wednesday, as the state braced itself for icy, slick roads from falling temperatures and possible rain. A new daily snowfall record was set at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with 6.8 inches falling through 5:20 p.m. local time. This storm shattered the old record of 2.9 inches which fell in 1954. Furthermore, the half foot of snow is just shy of the seasonal normal of 8.0 inches.
19th
In the Pacific Northwest United States, back-to-back storms and cold arctic air brought snow and freezing rain to Oregon and Washington state during the third week in January. At least three people were killed across the two states. 10cm of snow, followed by heavy ice, estimated up to 13mm, in Seattle left at least 200,000 residents without power and forced Sea-Tac International Airport to close temporarily. According to NOAA's National Weather Service, the last major freezing rain event in Seattle occurred in December 1996. On the 19th, 58cm of snow were measured at Mullan, Washington, a region that saw some of the storm's heaviest snowfall totals.
19th
A major wildfire broke out near Reno, Nevada (USA) on the 19th. The fire was fanned by winds as high as 82mph. Twenty-nine homes were destroyed and thousands of residents were evacuated as more than 1,590 hectares rapidly burned. Flames as tall as 12m scorched dry sagebrush, grass, and pines. The area had just broken a winter record of 56 straight days without precipitation before light snow fell just days before the fire. The previous winter dry-spell record was 54 days, during the winter of 1960/61. Several daily high temperature records were also tied or broken around Reno and South Lake Tahoe during the first half of January, according to the National Weather Service. The fire was contained on the 21st as two inches of rain fell over the affected area.
22nd-24th
Tropical Cyclone Funso killed 12 people in the the central province of Zambezia in Mozambique. While the storm itself did not make landfall, heavy rain and winds from the storm affected land areas . On January 24th, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that Funso was moving SSE'wards in the Mozambique Channel with maximum sustained winds of 132mph and was expected to maintain strength due to favorable conditions, namely low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures of 28-29C. The storm was no longer a threat to land.
23rd
Severe thunderstorms spawned tornadoes northeast of Birmingham, Alabama (USA), killing two people and injuring over 100 others. Damage was extensive as homes were destroyed, and trees and power lines were downed. By the next day, the National Weather Service confirmed two tornado paths across north central Tuscaloosa County and was working to confirm reports in other regions. The storm also produced tornadoes and dangerous conditions in Arkansas on the 22nd. No deaths were reported in that state. Several powerful storms earlier in the month also affected several states and injured dozens of people, including Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi. In total, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center reported 47 preliminary tornado reports across the U.S. for the month 23rd, making this month potentially one of the top 10 busiest Januaries, with records dating back to 1950.
23rd-24th
The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, northern England and northern parts of Ireland after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation. The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky. Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days. The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity. Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they also can bring trouble. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.
24th
Torrential rain has washed over western Viti Levu, the "big island" of Fiji, triggering flooding. Two people were killed and more than 700 others were in temporary shelters. The cloudbursts struck the area of Nadi, swelling the Nadi River to overflowing. At the Nadi Airport, rainfall was about 23 inches within 48 hours ending on Tuesday. The Southern Hemisphere's summer is the rainy season in Fiji, even on the drier western side of Viti Levu. At the Nadi Airport, about 13 inches of rain normally falls throughout the month of January. The trigger for the extreme rainfall may have been weak low pressure together with onshore, upslope wind flow bringing sodden tropical air against the island's hills.
25th
A month's worth of rain inundated east-central Australia in only 24 hours, forcing thousands of Australians from their homes. More than a half of a foot of rain poured down on the coastline of southern Queensland and far northern New South Wales Tuesday night into Wednesday. Brisbane measured 168.4mm in 24 hours, ending at 9a.m. Wednesday. Typically, the city receives just under 124mm during the entire month of January.
26th
A blizzard that has dumped more than 50cm of snow continues to unleash its fury on southeastern Europe. The worst of the blizzard was bearing down on Bulgaria and southeastern Romania on Thursday afternoon, local time. Sustained winds in excess of 30kn with stronger gusts were whipping many communities as snow continued to piled up. Up yo 2p.m., snow accumulationsince Tuesday had amounted to 25 inches in the Romanian city of Craiova. Other snow totals in Romania include 10 inches at Sibiu and a fresh 8 inches at Bucharest. In neighboring Bulgaria, 17 inches buried Vratza with 14 inches measured in Pleven. The nation's capital of Sofia reported a fresh foot of snow. The snow forced officials to close more than 100 national roads in Romania, according to the Romania Insider. Train service and flights have been canceled, including in the capital city of Bucharest. Reuters reports that Romania has called in the army to rescue hundreds of motorists stranded in the snow. Roads are also closed throughout Bulgaria, with vehicles stuck in the snow. Officials are not allowing motorists to cross the Danube Bridge, which connects Bulgaria and Romania. In addition, the heavy snow has put roughly 53,000 customers in the dark throughout western and southwestern Bulgaria.
30th
Gigantic waves up to 35 feet high drew hoards of spectators and surfers to the shores of Oahu. Known to the locals as "winter waves," the massive breakers even forced the postponement of the Volcom Pipe Pro surfing competition along the island's North Shore. A large northwest swell was responsible for the monstrous waves on the north- and west-facing shores of the Hawaiian islands. The energy driving the waves was even making for some hearty waves on the leeward Kona Coast of the Big Island.
31st
It's been an unbelievable winter for many in Alaska, while the rest of us in the Lower 48 are wondering when or if prolonged cold and wintry conditions will finally arrive. After reaching into the -40F and -50F territory several times this winter across the central and northern part of state, satellite and even an amateur weather station recorded the peak of the cold over the weekend as temperatures dropped to -70F outside of Fairbanks.
If you have a snippet of weather news that you feel merits inclusion, then please feel free to email it to me.
Last updated 18 May 2012.