Tucker Challan, 16, was found on Sunday after triggering and being buried in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass
A teenager has died after triggering an avalanche, the fourth person killed in snow slides in Alaska this month.
Alaska State Troopers said the body of 16-year-old Tucker Challan of Soldotna was recovered from the avalanche on Sunday by the Alaska mountain rescue group.
Continue reading...State of emergencies issues in several states and cities as eastern two-thirds of country to experience dangerous cold
A major winter storm was sweeping across the central US on Sunday, forecasters said, bringing with it a dreaded combination of snow, ice and plunging temperatures.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri – where blizzard conditions are expected – to New Jersey.
Continue reading...Prefectures in north hit by falls of up to 30cm in a day as similar weather pattern affects parts of north America
Heavy snow fell across northern Japan on Thursday, with the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata and Niigata particularly affected. Accumulations of 20-30cm over a 24-hour period were recorded across the affected areas, with local totals of more than 30cm near Aomori City.
The snowfall was a result of heavy showers generated by a cold airmass moving in from the north-west across the relatively warm waters of the Sea of Japan. This resulted in warming of the lowest levels of the atmosphere, leading to rising motion and convective shower development caused by the increased moisture. Ascent was further aided by the mountainous terrain across northern Japan.
Continue reading...There was significant snowfall in five states downwind of the Great Lakes, including 4ft in western New York state
As meteorological autumn drew to a close at the end of last week, parts of the north-east of the US saw substantial snowfall thanks to a phenomenon known as “lake-effect snow”.
This occurs when cold air passes over relatively warm lake waters, causing the layer of air near to the surface to absorb heat and moisture. Warmer than the air above it, this layer of air then starts to rise, cooling and condensing into clouds that deposit snow on the windward side of the lakes in extremely localised bands.
Continue reading...South Korea’s capital has been hit by some of the heaviest snowfall in a century, with dangerous conditions wreaking havoc on transport
South Korea grappled with heavy snowfall for a second day on Thursday, with dozens of flights cancelled, ferry operations suspended and at least four people reported dead in a bitter winter, though conditions showed signs of easing.
Thursday’s snowfall was the third-heaviest in capital Seoul since records began in 1907, the Yonhap news agency said, citing city data. The previous day broke all snowfall records for November.
Continue reading...First day of snowfall this season is heaviest on record, says weather bureau
South Korea’s capital has been blanketed by what the weather agency said was the heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago. It was the first snowfall of this year’s winter.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said 16.5cm (6.5 inches) of snow fell by 7am on Wednesday, compared with Seoul’s previous record of 12.4cm on 28 November 1972. It was the heaviest snowfall since records began in 1907, the KMA said.
Continue reading...Preserving previous year’s snow for start of season can combat increasingly unpredictable winters
Before the arrival of electric fridges and freezers, people across Finland would saw a block of ice from a river or lake before the spring thaw, thickly cover it in an insulating layer of sawdust and stack it in barns, pits or ice cellars to protect produce from the warm air of the summer months.
Amid global heating and increasingly unpredictable shorter winters, a modern twist on the traditional jään säilöminen (ice preservation) technique is now being touted as a way to save Europe’s struggling low- and medium-altitude ski resorts.
Continue reading...August should mean peak snow depth, Jindabyne worker says, but early blast of spring threatens ‘catastrophic’ premature end to season
Australia’s snow season has begun to melt away early as unseasonable warmth cuts snowfalls to almost half the average for this time of year, experts say.
A global-heating fuelled early blast of spring weather means the season may have peaked early, with snow fields melted by warm temperatures and washed away by showers.
Continue reading...Bureau of Meteorology predicts strong winds for SA, NSW and Victoria that will make temperatures feel colder than what is forecast
Bitter winds and rain are in store for the south-east coast and South Australia over the weekend thanks to a cold front that could also herald the heavy snow ski resorts have been hoping for.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting strong, gusty and potentially damaging winds and showers, local thunderstorms and strong, abnormally high tides.
Continue reading...Weather bureau says the cold front sweeping from SA to Tasmania will move up into alpine areas to bring much-needed snowfalls
Large parts of Australia will shiver through much of the coming week, with temperatures as much as 4C below average expected in some regions.
The Bureau of Meteorology says ski fields could also expect some much-needed snowfalls in time for school holidays in some of the eastern states.
Continue reading...Mt Buller had the country’s only ski-on chairlift operating on season’s opening day on Saturday – but snow is forecast for the week ahead
It was a grassy start to Australia’s ski season, with one resort trying to remain upbeat “although we may not have snow on the ground” and a few pockets of human-made alternatives to play on elsewhere.
Mt Buller, in Victoria, was blessed with the only ski-on chairlift in the entire country on the opening day of the winter season on Saturday.
Continue reading...Resort operators remain hopeful of larger falls later in the season and have introduced other activities not dependent on snowfall
The ski season is off to a mushy start as eager skiers hoping for the first glimpse of snow this weekend are instead met with grass and slush.
In New South Wales, Perisher and Thredbo, the most popular ski resorts in Australia, will only have a beginner’s conveyor belt running, and Selwyn snow resorts will not have any lifts operating.
Continue reading...‘The webcams do not lie,’ says Annalisa Koeman, whose family has been operating a mountain lodge for decades
Bookings have been slow ahead of the ski season at the mountain lodge in Thredbo that Annalisa Koeman’s parents built in the 1960s and have run ever since.
Last ski season started with some good snow falls “but it went downhill from there. It was a disastrous end. The ski lifts closed two weeks early,” says Koeman, managing supervisor at Kasees Apartments and Mountain Lodge.
Continue reading...Interstate closures, avalanche warnings and gale-force winds as storm pummels region with up to 10ft of snow
A powerful blizzard pummeling California brought double-digit feet of snow; 190mph wind gusts; closures of a main trucking artery, national parks and ski resorts; and even a tornado. And that was just day one.
Ski resorts in the Sierra foothills reported more than 2ft of snow accumulated in the 24 hours from Thursday evening to Friday evening. Snowfall at the Northstar ski resort in Truckee, California, was up to 44 inches (1 meter) since Thursday afternoon.
Continue reading...Warnings of subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas as severe cold could push as far as northern Texas
Subfreezing temperatures across much of the US left millions of Americans facing potentially dangerous cold as Arctic storms threatened near-blizzard conditions in the north-east and several inches of snow in portions of the south.
The National Weather Service warned that windy, subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas could push wind chills as low as -70F (-56C).
Continue reading...Extreme cold warning issued in Canada as US forecasters warn of wind chills in Texas and major snow in midwest and east coast
A “bitter” blast of cold Arctic air is set to bring dangerously frigid temperatures to swaths of North America, forecasters have warned.
In Canada, frigid Arctic air is being pushed from the Northwest Territories down into the province of Alberta, where Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning. The largest city, Calgary, could see temperatures plummet to -34.6F (-37C) on Friday, reaching a daytime high of -23.8F (-31C). This would mark the coldest January day in two decades for the city. Over the weekend, strong winds could make temperatures feel closer to -58F (-50C). In these conditions, experts say exposed skin can succumb to frostbite in less than a minute.
Continue reading...Up to 127mm of rain falls on Florida and gusty winds and flash flooding hit parts of Georgia and South Carolina
Last weekend, a low-pressure system that had developed over the Gulf of Mexico tracked north-east across the Florida peninsula. Lashings of heavy rain and strong winds were brought to Florida during the early hours of Sunday morning, dumping up to 127mm (5in) of rain on the state in its passing.
The low-pressure system, termed a “nor’easter”, continued to track north-east, strengthening and bringing gusty winds and flash flooding to the coastal parts of the south-east US, including Georgia and South Carolina.
Continue reading...Parts of UK have more recently gone decades without Christmas snow, and in the past it was more hardship than dream
Bing Crosby may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but it seems such nostalgia might end up becoming a thing of the past in the UK. Not only do records reveal that some parts of the UK have at times gone decades without a yuletide flurry, but experts say the chances of a white Christmas are becoming ever smaller as a result of the climate crisis.
According to the Met Office, a Christmas in the UK is white if even one snowflake is observed falling somewhere in the 24 hours of 25 December. Last year was, technically, a white Christmas in the UK, though none of the Met Office observation stations reported snow lying on the ground.
Continue reading...Drivers urged not to make unnecessary journeys as cars stuck in traffic and some roads impassable
Cumbria police have declared a major incident and warned against unnecessary journeys after heavy snowfall on the county’s roads, as freezing conditions hit the UK.
Police said a “multi-agency response” is under way, with reports of cars stuck in traffic and some roads in the South Lakes area impassable due to the snow.
Continue reading...Winter weather also disrupts train traffic and causes Bayern Munich v Union Berlin match to be called off
Heavy snowfall has brought chaos to parts of southern Germany, with air and rail traffic blocked in the Bavarian state capital of Munich.
After first suspending flights until noon on Saturday (1100 GMT), Munich airport later said it would remain closed until 6am on Sunday.
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