Edmonton breaks weather record for coldest December 13

National Post
Posted: December 13, 2009, 3:38 PM
By Scott Maniquet

Sunday marked the coldest Dec. 13 in Edmonton’s history.

Environment Canada recorded a frigid -46.1 C, or -58.4 with wind chill, at the Edmonton International Airport at 5 a.m., Environment Canada meteorologist Pierre Lessard said.

The old record of -36.1 C was set last year, he said.

“To break a temperature by 10 degrees is very exceptional,” said Lessard.

A ridge of frigid Arctic air has hit all the prairie provinces this weekend, causing record-low temperatures in many parts of northern Alberta, Lessard said.

“Temperatures are very cold over Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. There are some places more windy than the others, especially northern Saskatchewan and the north half of Manitoba are very cold,” he said.

But Arctic winds are normal in the winter and should pass through by the middle of this week, Lessard said.

Some flights scheduled to land at the Edmonton International Airport late Saturday night and early Sunday morning were diverted to Calgary because of the severe temperatures, said Edmonton International Airport spokeswoman Traci Bednard.

There were some delays and a couple of cancellations for flights departing Edmonton as well on Sunday morning because of the cold, she said.

“Different airlines and aircrafts have different operating limits,” Bednard said.

Canwest News Service

photo: Pedestrians brave the frigid weather as trees are coated with ice fog on Dec. 13, 2009. (Ed Kaiser/Canwest News Service)

A snowy dusting in Victoria’s summer

Weatherzone
Sam Terry, Friday December 11, 2009 – 18:12 EDT

Most people consider summer a time to wear shorts and thongs wherever one pleases, with little thought of ski jackets or snowboards. However Victoria’s Mount Baw Baw saw a light dusting of snow, and it’s already two weeks into summer.

A cold front crossed the nation’s southeast during Thursday, bringing gusty winds and some good falls to southern Victoria.

Mount Baw Baw was one of the many locations to receive these falls, 31 millimetres in fact. Part of this was snow, around five centimetres, not enough to rejuvenate the ski season, but enough to create an excited buzz.

Melbourne itself didn’t miss out. The city recorded 10 millimetres, now making a total (so far) of 30 millimetres.

Surrounding suburbs also had quenched rain gauges, with the largest falls over the eastern suburbs, right in the way of the southwesterly winds behind the front.

Saturday will see winds ease and isolated showers abate in southern Victoria. It is also unlikely that there’ll be any more summer snow… at least until next Thursday.

Source

Brrr! Record cold for the North Olympic Peninsula

By Tom Callis
Peninsula Daily News
Last modified: December 09. 2009 11:27PM

The cold snap that gripped the North Olympic Peninsula in its icy claws this week set several records for low temperatures in Clallam County.

Even high temperatures for the week have been barely above freezing.

And, although temperatures may rise slightly Friday and this weekend, the break in the cold is forecast along with a chance of snow throughout the Peninsula.

Sequim, which has been the coldest in Clallam County, reached a bone-chilling 14 degrees Tuesday, the coldest temperature recorded that date by the National Weather Service since it started tracking Sequim data in 1980.

Sequim also set a record for the past 29 years on Sunday when a temperature of 18 degrees was logged.

The last record for that date was 19 degrees in 1995.

Forks, which has records going back to 1966, set a record Saturday and Wednesday.

The low temperature of 23 degrees Saturday edged past the last record of 24 degrees for Dec. 5 set in 1984.

On Wednesday, Forks was even colder at 18 degrees, which broke the Dec. 9, 1972, record of 20.

Forks’s highest temperature since Monday was 37 degrees, reached on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Port Angeles, which has records going back only to 2000, recorded 19 degrees as its low of the lows for December on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Its high temperature since Monday was 36 degrees, reached on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Quilcene low: 12

The lowest temperature recorded in a Peninsula city was recorded in Quilcene, which registered a low of 12 degrees Wednesday. The highest temperature recorded in Quilcene since Monday was 36 degrees.

Port Townsend’s temperatures dipped to as low as 25 degrees on Wednesday, according to an unofficial reading from the Jefferson County Courthouse.

The National Weather Service, which has no official records in Port Townsend, posted an unofficial low for the week at 27 degrees Monday.

On Wednesday, Seattle set a record of 18 degrees and Olympia set another at 7.

Cold temperatures joined with snow flurries and rain showers are expected through the weekend.

The weather service expects snow to begin on Friday and turn to rain on Sunday east of Port Angeles and on Saturday in the West End.

High temperatures are expected to be in the high 30s or low 40s through Sunday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Danny Mercer said little to no snow accumulation is expected.

Mercer called this weekend a “transition period” between cold and warmer weather.

He said a low-pressure air mass will be responsible for “spitting some snow flakes” out this weekend and breaking up the high pressure system that has trapped cold air over the Peninsula.

He expects temperatures to continue to warm, climbing into the 40s early next week.

Source

Record cold morning in SA and WA

Brett Dutschke, Wednesday December 9, 2009 – 20:27 EDT
Weatherzone

Wednesday morning was a record cold one for parts of southern WA and SA.

Southerly winds over the last few days eased and skies cleared allowing for crisp clear nights and a recipe for a chill.

Elliston on the West Coast of SA dipped to 4.8 degrees, 10 below average and the lowest December minimum in 47 years of records.

A little further inland, Wuddinna was as cold as 4.6 at about sunrise, making it the coldest December night in 10 years of records.

Just across the WA border, in the Eucla, it was a similar story. Both Eyre and Eucla broke December records spanning more than 50 years. Eyre managed a minimum of just 0.2 degrees, 14 below average. Eucla’s minimum was 6.9.

The next few nights will still be fairly chilly as southerlies persist but are not likely to be any colder.

By mid next week it will be a distant memory as winds turn hot northerly. It should get close to 40 degrees during the day.

Source

Snow invades the Deep South with Houston recording its earliest snow ever!

December 4, 1:31 PM
Jackson Weather Examiner Johnny Kelly

A developing storm system has combined with an unusually cold airmass from Canada to bring Houston, Texas its earliest snowfall ever!

{The previous earliest snows in Houston, Texas occurred on December 10, 2008 & December 10, 1944}

Snow began falling early Friday morning and is expected to accumulate up to at least 2 inches in some areas.

For this reason, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect for all of Southeastern Texas including Houston and portions of Southwestern Louisiana.

This system is projected to move across the South, producing rare snows from Southeast Texas through Southern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi into Alabama with the highest accumulations expected just inland. (Generally 1 to 3 inches of snowfall possible)

Snow certainly is rare in the South and especially this early in the season. In a matter of fact, Houston has only recorded snow 33 times since 1895! In Jackson, Mississippi, where flurries to possibly a dusting of snow is projected–if measurable snow does fall, it would be one of the earliest snows ever recorded dating back to 1938!

Source

Whistler Smashes November Snowfall Record

Vancouver Sun
Via ICECAP, November 18, 2009

“Whistler Blackcomb ski resort has reported 98” the last seven days and 165” November. This makes it the snowiest November on Record at Whistler Blackcomb.

See larger image here. H/T Tim Kelley.

“I’ve skied here for over 15 years and I’ve never seen this much snow so early in a season, it seems like every day’s snowfall is topping the last,” said Stephen Butt, communications coordinator and voice of the Snow Phone for Whistler Blackcomb . “We have already received one third of our average annual snowfall for the entire season and it’s only four days into the season, it’s unbelievable!”

See photo gallery here.

This record Whistler Blackcomb ski resort November snowfall is occurring in spite of the National Weather Service predictions in No Need to go to the Desert for the Winter, in the October 1 Tacoma News Tribune link, that begins as follows,

“Skiers may want to hold off on buying that new set of snow skis for the coming winter. Umbrellas still will come in handy but there may not be enough rain to seriously challenge river levees.  El Nino is back and that usually means a mild Northwest winter with less rain and higher temperatures than normal, one of the National Weather Service’s top climatologists said Wednesday.”

See more here.

Additional information courtesy of Ken Schlichte: “Looks like record snow coming to Mt Hood too. Timberline already has a 50 inch base and 98 inch snow fall to date with much more snow forecast for the rest of November.  See links here and here.

Last winter during the snow in town we drove from Tualatin to Timberline, and back, and never drove on pavement.

See larger image here.

See larger image here.

See FSU snowcover. Note the greater than normal extent in Asia, less in southern Canada north central US. This will change late this month.

See larger image here.

Still notice the above normal snowpack in mid latitudes (35-55 N).

See larger image here.

———————————

BEIJING – See these stories on the killer cold and snow in China here and here. Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday. Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. The snowfall is the heaviest in the northern and central provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since record keeping began after the establishment of the Communist state in 1949, the ministry said without giving detailed figures. It estimated economic losses from the storm at 4.5 billion yuan (US$659 million).

Chinese state media say some of the snow was induced through cloud seeding, although the precise amount of snowfall in all areas was not reported and it wasn’t clear what the previous records were. Hebei’s provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, received the heaviest snowfall – 3.7 inches (9.4 centimeters) – on Nov. 10, the day of the heaviest flurries.

More than 7.5 million people have been stranded or otherwise affected by the storms, which caused the collapse of more than 9,000 buildings, damaged 470,000 acres (190,000 hectares) of crops, and forced the evacuation of 158,000 people, the ministry said. State media have reported at least two deaths were caused by the collapse of buildings, including a school cafeteria. Beijing has been hit by three successive waves of snow, causing havoc on roadways and forcing the cancellation or delay of scores of flights.

The capital and surrounding areas are little prepared to deal with such heavy snow, with few plows or road deicing supplies. Snow tires and chains are almost unknown and many drivers simply leave their cars at home and turn to public transport in such conditions. The impact has been far greater in the surrounding provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan, where highways have been closed, schools shuttered, and crews sent to rescue people in their snowbound homes.

Freak snow and ice storms last year hit parts of eastern and southern China unaccustomed to such weather. Those storms paralyzed key transport systems just as millions of migrant workers were heading home for the Lunar New Year holiday, leading to more than 80 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

Source

Hong Kong shivers in coldest November in over 120 years

Irish Sun
Thursday 19th November, 2009
(IANS)

Hong Kong recorded its coldest Nov 18 in 120 years as a winter monsoon continued to send temperatures falling, authorities said Thursday.

Temperatures fell to 9.7 degrees Celsius in the sub-tropical city Wednesday morning – the lowest Nov 18 reading since records began in 1883.

In rural areas close to the border with China, it was even colder, falling as low as 6.6 degrees.

The previous coldest Nov 18 was in 1976 when the temperature was 11.9 degrees.

The Observatory warned the cold spell, which has brought snow to some parts of southern China, would continue until the weekend as the northeast monsoon brought wintery weather to southern China.

However, it is expected to get warmer over the weekend, bringing temperatures to around 20 degrees next week.

Hong Kong is in a sub-tropical belt at the southern tip of China and never has snow. Occasionally, traces of frost are seen on high ground on the coldest days of the winter.

Source

SA braces for cold, snow

News24, November 16, 2009

Johannesburg – Summer has not quite arrived yet.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said on Sunday another strong cold front, which would bring cold conditions and possible snow to the Drakensberg and Lesotho on Monday night, would cause temperatures in the interior of the country to drop from Tuesday.

The cold front, which entered the country from the southeast and had resulted in cold conditions over KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape on Sunday, would keep maximum temperatures in Johannesburg and Pretoria below 20ºC until Friday.

Jan Vermeulen, a senior forecaster at the SAWS, said on Sunday that a strong surface high pressure system, which had formed southeast of the country on Sunday, would bring cold and moist air to the northeastern parts of the country on Monday and especially on Tuesday.

Rain, cold

“It was cold today already in large parts of KwaZulu-Natal and we expect snow tomorrow (Monday) over eastern parts of Lesotho, the higher-lying parts of the Eastern Cape and the southern Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.

The cold front would start moving over to the eastern parts of Mpumalanga and northern Limpopo on Monday, he said.

“By tomorrow (Monday), the cold front will bring rain to parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.” By Tuesday, temperatures would also drop sharply in the interior and in Gauteng.

“More cold air will from Tuesday come in from the interior and Gauteng and the rest of the interior will therefore see windy and cloudy conditions with scattered showers and thunderstorms.”

The minimum and maximum temperatures for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Pretoria would be 12ºC/16ºC; 12ºC/17ºC; 13ºC/19ºC and 12ºC/21ºC. Johannesburg will have 10ºC/13ºC; 10ºC/14ºC; 11ºC/16ºC and 10ºC/18ºC.

The weather service also warned of cold and wet conditions over the higher lying parts of KwaZulu-Natal for Monday and Tuesday.

Temperatures in the interior were expected to start rising again on Friday.

Source

Record Cold Expected in Alaska

By AccuWeather
Last update: November 14, 2009 – 2:25 PM

Record cold will grip interior Alaska this week. Low temperatures may dip as much as 50 degrees below zero.

High pressure will build overhead. Meanwhile, the jet stream will remain south of Alaska, keeping any mild, Pacific air from entering the state.

Record temperatures in Fairbanks, for example, will be between 40 and 45 degrees below zero over the next few days.

Several snow storms have pounded Alaska in recent days. With clear skies and light winds, temperatures will tank. Temperatures will get colder and colder day by day. The reason is the days are so short this time of year. The sun rises at 9:30 in the morning and sets around 3:30 p.m. in Fairbanks. That is 18 hours per day with dropping temperatures.

Records across other parts of the state are as follows. Anchorage is 15 to 20 degrees below zero. Juneau’s records are zero to 5 above.

The pattern will remain entrenched across the 49th state through at least midweek, then some modification is expected as the pattern begins to shift.

Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel

Source

Winter weather surprises Cape

Marlene Neethling
News24, 2009-11-09 09:06

Cape Town – Capetonians were taken by surprise by unusually rough winter weather at the beginning of summer, as heavy rain, flooding, and stormy sea conditions lashed parts of the Western Cape over the weekend.

Five swimmers nearly drowned.

Almost 50mm of rain fell between 08:00 on Saturday and 08:00 on Sunday in various parts of the province.

Carl Opperman, executive head of Agri Western Cape, said it didn’t usually rain this much at this time of the year. He said the rain was not necessarily a problem for farmers, but did present a risk for grain farmers.

Source