Solar Grand Solar Minimum part deux

[TxGal]

Very quiet out there in the GSM news world so far this morning.

World Snow Wrap February 5: Powder days continue in Japan - Metres of snow in California - Fresh snow in British Columbia - Snow and avalanches in Europe -- Earth Changes -- Sott.net

World Snow Wrap February 5: Powder days continue in Japan - Metres of snow in California - Fresh snow in British Columbia - Snow and avalanches in Europe

Reggae Elliss
Mountain Watch
Fri, 05 Feb 2021 13:09 UTC


© Kirkwood resort

Kirkwood’s ski patrol doing their bit to get the show on the road last Friday.

It has been a big couple of weeks in the Northern Hemisphere with five-day snow totals of 1.5 to two metres in California, deep snow and avalanches in locked-down Europe and a run of excellent powder days in Japan. Read on for the details.

Japan

It has been a big fortnight in Japan although a couple of mild days earlier in the week brought some rain to Niseko, but that changed mid-week when a colder front hit on Tuesday night and there's been 80cms in the past three days. Conditions were tough with blizzard conditions at times and some wind-hold, and according to our snow Niseko snow reporter Henry Johnston, the storm is still in "full swing" today and it's awesome out there - just check the above photo from today.

It has been a similar story in Furano with over a metre of snow since Jan 30 and from Lucy Morrell's report, it sounded like yesterday was the day: "Basically half a metre of fresh up top at Furano today and hardly a soul to share it with. Crazy days."

Resorts in Honshu have also received consistent snowfalls this week although the totals aren't as high as in Hokkaido. Hakuba received 46cms this week and there have been a few very good days, including this morning after 20cms overnight and a temps of -6, making for some fun powder turns this morning. Myoko also saw plenty of snow this week with 20-30cms on Wednesday and some empty mid-week pow turns on offer.

The forecast is for a mixed bag this weekend with some rain in Honshu before colder air on Sunday with snowfalls increasing on both islands, the Grasshopper calling that, "High quality, light and fluffy powder will continue to fall over Japan Monday through into next Thursday as freezing N-NW winds slowly turn to the W-NW."

USA

The big snow story out of the US over the past week has been the massive snowfalls in California late last week. Most resorts in the Sierras picked up over 150cms of snow with Mammoth reporting a massive 2.7 metres at the peak and 2.3 metres at the base and resorts in Tahoe weren't far behind, Kirkwood topping the charts with 2.2 metres and Squaw Valley had two metres. That is a lot of snow, most if it falling over a 72-hour period last Wednesday to Friday.

The storm coincided with the lifting last weekend of restrictions on overnight stays in Mammoth last weekend although snow clearing and avalanche control did cause some delays in opening the lifts. The forecast is for sunny Californina weather ove the next week but cold temps should maintain quality snow.

In Colorado snowfalls have been below average over the past few weeks with cold and hard-packed conditions interspersed with occasional small top ups. Fortunately, it looks like a much-needed snow will arrive over the next few days in the Rockies, favouring resorts in the north, Steamboat due for a solid 60cms while further south, Vail and Aspen should get a respectable 20-35cms. Resorts in Wyoming will also do well, Jackson Hole set for 50cms in the next five days while Utah resorts will receive 25 to 30cms

The month has started with consistent snowfalls in the Cacasdes, Mt Baker receiving 65cms over the past week. The snowfalls will continue over the weekend and with heavy falls at time and a whopping 106cms expected by Monday.

Canada

The storm that is set to dump on the Pacific Northwest will also skirt resorts further north with 35cms forecast for Whistler over the next five days. That will add to 30cms received this week and it is a welcome change in the weather pattern after a quiet second half of January. The snow also returned to interior BC this week and there were a few fun powder days in Revelstoke after 84cms in the past seven days. Fernie has also had some great conditions with 52cms over the past few days while Whitewater had 40cms earlier in the week. Resorts in BC should see a few more snowfalls across the weekend with 5-10cms in the forecast ahead of a cold and clear week.

There have been plenty of fresh tracks to be had in Lake Louise after 40cms since the weekend including 25cms over the past two days. Conditions have been similar in Sunshine and the other Banff resorts while further north Marmott received 18cms in the past four days.

The forecast for resorts in Alberta is for a few snow showers this weekend followed by sunshine but very cold weather, Lake Louise set for max temps between -16 and -22!

Europe

There were some massive snowfalls in Europe last week with resorts in Austrian and Switzerland and France reporting seven-day totals of 1.5metres. That set up a good powder day in Austrian resorts last week weekend which are open to locals only, although the volume of snow has increased the avalanche danger. It was a similar story in Switzerland, where resorts are operating as per normal. with some resorts isolated last week due to road closures and the avalanche danger, enhanced by rising temps and some rain last weekend, rose to 5, it the highest level. Unfortunately, there were a number of fatalities again this week - something that has sadly occurred regularly this winter.


© Verbier Ski Patrol

A huge slide in Verbier this week when the avalanche danger was at 4.

Resorts in France and Italy remain closed and at this stage the best hope is they may open in March or April for some spring skiing. After a few mainly fine days it looks like snowfalls will return to the Alps late in the weekend and early next week, although totals will be much less than last week with 24-50cms forecast over a five-day period.

 

[flame]

only -4 this morning..my brother had -15 where he lives, that stuff will freeze your lungs man..

 

[hummer]

-26... beautiful blue sky, bright sunlight, and no reason to have to set a foot outside!

 

[TxGal]

That big Arctic front is heading our way...first was supposed to arrive on the weekend. Now apparently it looks like it's coming in waves, with the first tomorrow. Supposed to be in the teens and twenties at night all next week. Likely possibilty of freezing precip, timing is everything. Next week's current forecast is one day of 1.8" of precip....with temps in the low to mid 30s during the day, much colder at night. 1.8" of rainfall equates to 18" of snow if it came down that way. Lord help us here if that happens.

We're still clearing trees across our fencelines from the 8" of snow we got a few weeks ago. Bringing in extra hay now, we have enough feed and bedding otherwise. Thank you God we were able to get several propane Buddy heaters (the small ones), and some 1lb propane bottles for them....and the small Honda generator. After our last power outages that hit some areas for days here, propane is very hard to find.

 

[BenIan]

What's the best site to see snowfall forecasts/model...like the ones that appear in Oppenheimer videos?

 

[Martinhouse]

TxGal, we aren't getting our weather in waves like you are expecting. Our forecast was for several days of lows in the teens and at first, even a couple down near 10 degrees. That improved to mid and upper teens for a couple days, but now it's back to one of the nights getting as far down as 8 degrees.

I know that might not sound bad to those living up north, but we haven't had cold like that since the first ten years I lived here, which was miserable in the winters. By the late '80s the winters started getting milder and although more erratic the last few years were still not really cold.

I'm going to have to brave the chilly days today and tomorrow and force myself out to hang another tarp on the east wall of the chicken enclosure and maybe also the rabbits' enclosure, although I may just stuff their cages full of bagged leaves for them to burrow in. My rabbits have always seemed to love rooting around in the leaves when I totally fill their cages up except for the food and water corner. And within two or three days they totally shred the leaves which then fall througn the bottom of the cage and eventually get mixed in with all the normal droppings. Good fertilizer made even better! I store the leaves under coverwith the bags partially open so the moisture escapes instead of causing moldy leaves.

 

[Martinhouse]

BenIan, I use the Wunderground weather site. Oppenheimer Ranch doesn't use this site but I like it because it's very local and it updates constantly, usually in just a few minutes. There is a choice of locations in my area to choose from and they give a ten-day forecast rather than just a five or seven day one. It is wunderground.com

 

[urthmom]

What's the best site to see snowfall forecasts/model...like the ones that appear in Oppenheimer videos?

Try tropicaltidbits.com then forecast models.

 

[flame]

-20 to -30 wind chill tonight..whoopie!

 

[northern watch]

-51.9°C recorded in Canada, country's coldest temperature in 4 years
Tyler Hamilton
Meteorologist
The Weather Network

Monday, February 8th 2021, 9:20 pm - Temperatures are tumbling frighteningly low across Canada and some regions felt like -60 with the wind chill this weekend.

A prominent lobe of the polar vortex settled over Western Canada on Sunday and created the coldest Canadian temperatures in years, and in some cases, record-breaking cold that was reported by a handful of weather stations.
It was so chilly on Sunday that even the most sophisticated satellites were perplexed and caused them to pick up the ground and mark it as freezing cloud-tops.

The resulting output looked like a gargantuan thunderstorm over the Prairies, which can be seen in the graphic below.

So how chilly were the reds above? On Sunday, Wekweèti, N.W.T. recorded -51.9°C, which is Canada's coldest temperature since March 2017. Before 2017, you have to go back to Old Crow, Yukon to find a temperature below -52.0°C in the Canadian database. There are a couple of indications we might get a notch colder too, in the days ahead.

What's the coldest temperature you've ever experienced? Perhaps -30°C? -40°C? Only a handful of Canadians have ever experienced temperatures colder than -50°C without the wind chill, and those in Wekweèti and Old Crow are some of the lucky few.

Not all regions near the Arctic Circle saw bone-chilling cold conditions. In comparison to northern Saskatchewan, regions in eastern Nunavut experienced relative beach weather as mild air surged up to 25 degrees above normal, pushing the mercury up to 2.0°C on Sunday. By early Monday morning, Iqaluit pushed above the freezing mark, as moderate easterly air wrapped in behind the descending Siberian air.

The dense, Arctic air had no trouble infiltrating the Prairies, where Uranium City managed a rare feat -- tying the coldest temperature on record for the station at -48.9°C. Key Lake in Saskatchewan (-48.2°C) and Fort Chipewyan in Alberta (-47.2°C) set rare new monthly minimum temperatures, as well.

Some computer models suggest that temperatures will once again plunge into the -50s in Yukon and Northwest Territories, particularly in the valleys of the Mackenzie Mountains.

Wicked wind chill values left an icy, dangerous chill across Northern Canada in recent days and the coldest of 2021 is currently a staggeringly low -66 that was recorded at Ennadai Lake, Nunavut on February 6th.

Frigid air will remain in place throughout the week, keeping daytime highs hovering well into the -20°Cs, or even -30°Cs in some locations, with overnight lows continually plunging into the -40°Cs for the foreseeable future.

The lobe of the remnant polar vortex will remain situated between Manitoba and Alberta for the time being, as an Arctic high refuses to budge in Western Canada throughout the entire week.

The Weather Network - -51.9°C recorded in Canada, country's coldest temperature in 4 years

 

[TxGal]

Well this is interesting:

An upwelling of hot rock beneath the Atlantic is heating the world's oceans - Ice Age Now

An upwelling of hot rock beneath the Atlantic is heating the world’s oceans
February 8, 2021 by Robert

That’s not what the article says, but that’s my take on it. See if you agree.
______________

An upwelling of hot rock beneath the Atlantic is heating the world’s oceans
Robert W. Felix

“An upsurge of hot rock from deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean may be driving the continents on either side apart,” writes Maria Temming in Science News.

Not surprisingly in today’s politically correct world, Temming’s article does not mention ocean warming. Instead, the title of the piece enthuses that “An upwelling of rock beneath the Atlantic may drive continents apart.” Notice that the title does not mention the hot rock.

Same with the subtitle: “The Mid-Atlantic Ridge may play a more active role in plate tectonics than thought.” No mention of hot rocks there, either.

But I think the hot rocks are the most important takeaway from her article.

Mid-Atlantic Ridge – NOAA

The image of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge included with Temming’s article (above) might make it difficult for you to delineate just exactly where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is located. But as luck would have it, I found a different image (below) showing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Mid-Pacific Rise, and other oceanic ridges. I think the vast amount of red emanating from those ridges makes it perfectly clear where the heat is coming from..

NCEI/NOAA; R.D. Müller et al/Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 2008

Anyway, back to Temming’s article.

New seismic data from the Atlantic Ocean floor show that hot rock is welling up beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from more than 600 kilometers deep in Earth’s mantle, says Temming. (She loves calling it ‘hot rock,’ but in reality it’s red-hot fiery basalt, the ocean’s version of red-hot lava.)

Matthew Agius, a seismologist at Roma Tre University in Rome, and his colleagues used 39 seismometers on the seafloor along the ridge between South America and Africa to monitor earthquakes around the world for about a year. The tremors contained clues about the location and movement of material far below the seafloor.

In those signals, Agius’ team saw hints of material from Earth’s lower mantle welling up toward the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. “This was completely unexpected,” Agius says, and it could be a powerful force for pushing apart the tectonic plates on either side of the rift.” (I don’t understand why it would be “unexpected.”)

So what to make of this?

I certainly agree that the deep-mantle material surging up at the centers of these rifts must play a major role in seafloor spreading.

But I also maintain, as I have been saying for years, that those hot rocks are heating the world’s oceans. And not just a little bit of heat, mind you, but far more than you might believe. If those ‘hot rocks’ are like other such fiery basalt, their temperatures could easily measure up to 2,150°F (1,177°C) hot.

More than ten times the boiling point!

Scientists agree that there are more than three million – yes, more than three million! – underwater volcanoes … and we’re trying to blame humans for heating our seas?

An upwelling of rock beneath the Atlantic may drive continents apart

 

[TxGal]

Frigid Arctic Airmass; Developing Ice and Snow by Mid-Week - Ice Age Now

Frigid Arctic Airmass; Developing Ice and Snow by Mid-Week
February 8, 2021 by Robert

.

“Bitter cold.” An arctic air mass will remain over the Central U.S. this week with frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chills, warns the National Weather Service. “This air mass will gradually expand into the Gulf Coast states and Northwest U.S. by late this week. A significant ice and snow event could develop by midweek from the southern Plains into the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to the East Coast impacting travel and commerce.”

As low as -50 degrees

Bitter cold and dangerous wind chills to persist across the north-central United States.

Two rounds of light snowfall and freezing rain to impact areas from the Central/Southern Plains to Northeast. Residents across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest will start off the work week with continued below average temperatures and brutal wind chills.

Wind Chill Advisories and Warnings remain in effect from Montana to the U.P. of Michigan. Wind chill values well below zero and as low as -50 degrees could be experienced at times across this region.

While not as extreme, this cold airmass stretches as far south as Oklahoma and as far east as the Ohio Valley. Widespread temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below average can found across these areas. Unfortunately, these below average temperatures don’t appear to moderate or exit in the foreseeable future.

Looking for some mid-winter warmth? Much of the Southeast and south-central U.S. will enjoy above average temperatures through Wednesday. With cold air in place across the northern U.S. and a stalled frontal boundary bisecting the middle of the country, multiple rounds of wintry precipitation are expected from the Southern/Central Plains to the Northeast.

Starting today, light snowfall is expected to continue across the Northern Rockies and add to the recent fresh snowpack that has accumulated over the last several days.

Winter Weather Advisories and Avalanche Warnings are in effect across much of the mountainous terrain in Montana and northern Idaho. Light snow will also be found across the Central Plains and Midwest today. Generally around 2 to 4 inches of snow can be expected for these locations, with higher amounts up to 6 inches possible across the Northeast.

A mix of sleet, snow, and freezing rain will be possible across northeast Oklahoma and southern Missouri through tonight as well. By Wednesday morning another round of wintry weather is expected to develop across similar regions from the southern Plains to Midwest. More impactful freezing rain accretion will be possible and this time stretch from northeast Oklahoma to northern Kentucky.

WPC's Short Range Public Discussion

 

[TxGal]

From the Oppenheimer Ranch Project:

Deep Freeze To Cripple The US + Record Snow - Deadly Flood In India - Horseshoe Canyon Petroglyphs - YouTube

Deep Freeze To Cripple The US + Record Snow - Deadly Flood In India - Horseshoe Canyon Petroglyphs
6,389 views • Premiered 9 hours ago

View: https://youtu.be/mJih4vJ-Jro

Run time is 22:35

Synopsis provided:

We’re in the Deep Freeze All Week Long! http://bit.ly/2YX0cVR
It's Early February, And It's Already Our Snowiest Month in Over 5 Years http://bit.ly/3p2KWRM
This winter's snow rises in record book in Nebraska http://bit.ly/3aLHBBB
Southern Wisconsin could threaten cold streak records with no end in sight http://bit.ly/3pZ3LXg
Chicago's February Freeze Will Become Longest Cold Stretch on Record http://bit.ly/3aHZQrs
Midweek storm could bring more snow to DC region http://bit.ly/3p3n5BB
4 skiers killed in Utah avalanche were ‘living life to the fullest’ http://bit.ly/3q9pNH6
GFSModel Total Snow US http://bit.ly/3tEPd1h
GFS Model Temperature North America http://bit.ly/2OjNeiO
A Wintry Week Featuring An Arctic Air Mass https://www.weather.gov/
Saskatchewan deep freeze sticking around for another week http://bit.ly/3tGKQ5F
Vancouver Weather: Record low temperatures possible as winter wave hits B.C. coast http://bit.ly/2Lx2xUa
Snow dump puts northern Germany in deep freeze http://reut.rs/36Uyptx
Dutch hit by first snowstorm in a decade as Europe shivers http://bit.ly/36XSuiB
Alpine skiing world championships postponed after storm dumps 3 feet of snow - 15 FEET in a month http://bit.ly/2YW5i4D
How does a glacier burst? Flooding in India leaves 26 dead and 165 missing http://bit.ly/2Lx32xw
Himalayan glacier breaks in northern India, leaving at least 170 missing in deadly floods https://bit.ly/3p4ui42
Worldwide Volcano News http://bit.ly/2v9JJhO
Climate change: global warming may have started before industrial revolution http://bit.ly/3q5xopT
Dawson Creek woman dies in extreme cold trying to get home from next door neighbour's http://yhoo.it/3jw6yEY
Watch a Billion Years of Shifting Tectonic Plates in 40 Mesmerising Seconds http://bit.ly/3rBrrRX
Earth’s Magnetic Poles Show Signs They’re About to Flip—Exposing Humans to Radiation and Planet-Wide Blackouts http://yhoo.it/3a1ytti
HORSESHOE CANYON HISTORY IS A MYSTERY http://bit.ly/3q9rUuw

 

[TxGal]

North America's Widespread and Record-Breaking Arctic Outbreak set to Intensify Further - Electroverse

NORTH AMERICA’S WIDESPREAD AND RECORD-BREAKING ARCTIC OUTBREAK SET TO INTENSIFY FURTHER
FEBRUARY 9, 2021 CAP ALLON

Hundreds of COLD RECORDS have fallen across North America over the past few days, and hundreds –potentially thousands– more are expected to tumble over the coming 10-or-so days as the Arctic descends south on the back of a weak and wavy “meridional” jet stream.

“Early February brings deadliest week in the U.S. for avalanches since 1910,” reads a thedenverchannel.com headline dated Feb. 8 (1910 fell during the solar minimum of cycle 14, a weak solar cycle very similar to that just experienced–cycle 24).
The article goes on, pointing out that between between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 a total of 15 people died in avalanches across the United States. In Colorado alone, since Jan. 29, 2021, more than 500 avalanches have been reported to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).

UTAH AVALANCHE YESTERDAY THAT KILLED 4 SKIERS pic.twitter.com/udHkQHlxmU
— FXHedge (@Fxhedgers) February 7, 2021

Further north, and across the border, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued extreme cold weather warnings across much of The Great White North as wind chills of -55C (-67F), and beyond, continue to batter many areas.
As reported by cbc.ca, a mass of brutal Arctic air arrived on Sunday setting low temperature records in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — according to ECCC, 22 cold-weather records were broken, many smashed, throughout the three provinces.

The coldest temperature was seen in Uranium City, Saskatchewan where a bone-chilling –48.9C (-56F) comfortably surpassed the previous record of -40C (-40F) set just two years ago, in 2019.

Fort Chipewyan was the coldest spot in Alberta, registering a low of –47.3C (-53F) and breaking the previous record of –45.6C (-50F) set back in 1936 (solar minimum of cycle 16).

While the community of Robin, Manitoba set a new record of –42C (-43.6F), busting the old record of –40.6C (-41F) set in 1972.

Oh My Goodness!! Braving -48ºC temps was so worth this last night near Stettler, Alberta. #TeamTanner #Aurora #ShareYourWeather @treetanner @TamithaSkov @chunder10 @NightLights_AM @AngryTheInch @MatthewCappucci @MeredithFrost @weathernetwork @scottrockphoto @mikesobel pic.twitter.com/uVGYN9vAOl
— Dar Tanner (@dartanner) February 7, 2021

Looking ahead, ECCC has issued extreme cold weather warnings for most of Alberta and Manitoba and for the entire province of Saskatchewan.

“An Arctic ridge of high pressure has allowed for a very cold air mass to settle over southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba,” announced the weather agency on their website: “Watch for cold related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes.”

But it isn’t just Canadians that will be checking their fingers and toes, the next round of anomalous Arctic cold will descend as far south as Mexico, engulfing practically ALL of the United States as it goes:


GFS 2m Temp Anomalies for Feb. 15 [tropicaltidbits.com].

Temperature departures of more that 20C below the winter average are currently gripping the northern half of the the CONUS, and by Feb. 15 (see above GFS run) record cold have engulfed the majority of the U.S., from northern ND all the way down to southern Texas.

Debilitating snowfall will accompany the astonishing cold…


GFS 2m Temp Anomalies Feb. 9 – Feb. 24 [tropicaltidbits.com].

…snow that will only add the already above average Total Snow Mass for the Northern Hemisphere:


[FMI]

Prepare.

The COLD TIMES are returning, the mid-latitudes are REFREEZING in line with the great conjunction, historically low solar activity, cloud-nucleating Cosmic Rays, and a meridional jet stream flow (among other forcings).

Both NOAA and NASA appear to agree, if you read between the lines, with NOAA saying we’re entering a ‘full-blown’ Grand Solar Minimum in the late-2020s, and NASA seeing this upcoming solar cycle (25) as “the weakest of the past 200 years”, with the agency correlating previous solar shutdowns to prolonged periods of global cooling here.

Furthermore, we can’t ignore the slew of new scientific papers stating the immense impact The Beaufort Gyre could have on the Gulf Stream, and therefore the climate overall.





Prepare accordingly— learn the facts, relocate if need be, and grow your own.

 

[TxGal]

Polar vortex breaks temperature records across Canadian Prairies -- Earth Changes -- Sott.net

Polar vortex breaks temperature records across Canadian Prairies

Mickey Djuric
CBC.ca
Mon, 08 Feb 2021 13:42 UTC


© Kayle Neis/The Canadian Press

A polar vortex continues to bring bitter cold to the Prairies, resulting in cancellations of schools and buses in all major Prairie cities.

A mass of cold air arrived on Sunday, setting daily temperature records in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

According to Environment Canada, 22 cold-weather records were broken throughout the three provinces.

The coldest temperature was recorded in Uranium City, about 1,045 kilometres northwest of Regina, where it was -48.9 C, breaking a previous record of -40 C set in 2019.

In Alberta, the lowest temperature was recorded in Fort Chipewyan, about 710 km northeast of Edmonton, where it was -47.3 C, breaking the previous record of -45.6 C set in 1936.

Edmonton International Airport was close to breaking a daily record. The temperature reached a low of -43.8 C, with the previous record set on the same day in 1994 at -43.9 C.

In Manitoba, the temperature was a bit higher — but not by much. The community of Roblin, about 405 km northwest of Winnipeg, set a new record of -42 C, breaking the previous record of -40.6 set in 1972.

Rest of article here.

 

[northern watch]

'It Looks Like Mars' - Saharan Dust-pocalypse Blankets Europe

BY TYLER DURDEN
ZERO HEDGE
TUESDAY, FEB 09, 2021 - 8:25

A significant intrusion of Saharan-desert dust has blanketed parts of Europe this week, with tremendous impacts on the environment, health, and power generation, according to Bloomberg.

The sand and dust storm began on Feb. 5 in northern Algeria. Dust particles were whipped up into the atmosphere and eventually transported to southeast Spain and southern and central Europe. Already, snow-covered mountains on the Pyrenees and Alps mountains have been coated with dust, buildings and cars have been covered in dust, and the skies in some parts of Europe have been transformed into a yellowish-orange tint.

"We saw air quality values in the affected regions drop significantly," said Mark Parrington, a scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). "The impact of the Saharan dust clouds is clearly visible for affected cities, such as, for example, Barcelona or Marseille."

Scientists at CAMS estimated that several micrograms of dust particles per square meter were dumped over Europe since late last week.

"Our forecasts, even those from Feb. 2, were very reliable in describing the size and extent of the dust plume as well as its development and direction," Parrington said. Utility companies that use Copernicus data had to alter power generation during the dust storm as solar energy was dramatically reduced. Even airlines had to fly different routes because of low visibility.

Pictures posted by The Guardian show the extent of dust that was dumped across Europe in the last couple of days.
Skiers at the Alpine resort of Anzere, Switzerland, were greeted with dust-covered snow over the weekend.

Here's a view of River Saone in eastern France.

Switzerland's sky was a yellowish-orange color.

A previous dust storm from the Sahara desert blanketed parts of the Caribbean region last year.

'It Looks Like Mars' - Saharan Dust-pocalypse Blankets Europe | ZeroHedge

 

[northern watch]

Heavy snow creates severe traffic disruptions in Germany
Heavy snow in parts of Germany has led to severe traffic disruptions as cars and trucks got stuck on highways for hours and more train connections were canceled

By The Associated Press
9 February 2021, 07:01

The Associated Press
Trees are covered with ice rain, frozen fog and snow on top of the Feldberg mountain near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Temperatures on top of the mountain were minus 14 degrees celsius (6.8 degrees in Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

BERLIN -- Heavy snowfall in Germany led to more severe traffic disruptions Tuesday, including a 37-kilometer (23 mile) logjam in which hundreds of cars and trucks got stuck on a highway for hours in sub-zero temperatures.

Hundreds of vehicles were trapped on the A2 highway in western Germany all night in that traffic jam, Bielefeld police reported early Tuesday. Rescue teams went from car to car handing out blankets and hot drinks, the German news agency dpa reported.

Traffic jams due to snowfall and icy roads were also reported in Brandenburg state in the east and in Hesse state in central Germany. Train service was also partially canceled in several regions and snowplows worked around the clock to free the tracks of ice and snow.

The country's transportation minister called on Germans to stay at home and avoid traveling.

“When conditions are this extreme, even the best track heating and the best snowplow can reach their limits,” Andreas Scheuer said.

The snowy weather also affected the regional airport of Dortmund in western Germany, where all flights were either canceled or rerouted to other airports until Thursday at 6 a.m.

More snow was predicted for northern Germany for Tuesday especially for Schleswig-Hollstein, the German Weather Service DWD reported.

Parts of central and northern Europe as well as Britain have been gripped by a cold weather front since the weekend that the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, the Dutch national weather service, dubbed Storm Darcy.


In the neighboring Czech Republic, trucks formed miles-long lines of traffic on the D8 highway that connects the capital of Prague with Germany. The traffic was halted after Czech and German authorities closed the tunnels on both sides of the border and the border crossing overnight due to severe weather.

Meanwhile, people in Prague enjoyed the best snow conditions in a decade for cross-country skiing on Prague’s famed Charles Bridge and the nearby picturesque Little Quarter neighborhood.

———

This story has been corrected to show it was the Dutch national weather service, not U.K. forecasters, who named Storm Darcy.

Heavy snow creates severe traffic disruptions in Germany - ABC News (go.com)

 

[TxGal]

It's Gonna be a Bear of a Week - Ice Age Now

It’s Gonna be a Bear of a Week
February 9, 2021 by Robert

Bitter cold. Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories across 12 states. Wind Chills as low as -50F across far northern portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Temperatures well below average reach southward to the Southern Plains and eastward to the Upper Ohio Valley. “Significant” ice storms. Extensive areas of snow. Power outages and scattered tree damage likely.

_________

Winter is gripping much of the U.S. this week as an arctic air mass is entrenched over the Central U.S. and will expand into the South and Northwest. Snow is expected to move through the Northeast and New England on Tuesday and an extensive area of snow and freezing rain is expected to setup from the southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic over the next several days.

Bitter arctic air to remain entrenched across the north-central U.S. for the upcoming week while slowing expanding southward.

Significant ice storm possible Wednesday into Thursday from the Mid Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley.

Setting the stage for another frigid February day is a brutally cold arctic high pressure system located across the north-central United States. Wind Chills as low as -40 to -50 degrees can be found across far northern portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. High temperatures will struggle to make it above zero from Montana to Minnesota through the next few days, with lows in the negative teens and negative twenties.

Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories stretch across 12 states from the Northern/Central Plains to the Midwest. Temperatures well below average also reach southward to the Southern Plains and eastward to the Upper Ohio Valley. By Thursday this cold airmass is expected to ooze south across more of the south-central U.S., as well as the Pacific Northwest.

With cold air in place, two separate waves of wintry precipitation are set to impact areas from the Southern Plains to New England through Thursday.

Starting today, an area of low pressure is forecast to develop over the Ohio Valley this morning and move toward the New England coastline by tonight. Light-to-moderate snow will affect regions across the Interior Northeast and New England. Upwards of 3 to 6 inches of snow could be found here and lead to isolated travel disruptions. Winter Weather Advisories and Winter Storm Warnings have been issued.

Meanwhile, light freezing rain may cause slippery conditions from central Oklahoma to western Kentucky today.

By Wednesday, precipitation is expected to break out to the north possibly produce more noteworthy freezing rain issues. Shallow cold air at the surface being pumped in from the arctic airmass over the north-central U.S. will help set the stage for a potentially significant ice storm from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys.

Freezing rain should develop early Wednesday across northern Arkansas and quickly spread east-northeast to the Ohio Valley by Wednesday afternoon. Widespread ice accretion greater than one tenth of an inch will be found across the region by Thursday morning, with over a quarter inch possible in northeast Arkansas. By later in the day Thursday, local amounts exceeding a half inch of freezing rain will be possible between northern Arkansas and western West Virginia. Power outages and scattered tree damage is likely. Slightly to the north, areas of light snow will be found across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Heavier snowfall amounts will be possible across sections of Maryland and northern Virginia starting Wednesday night, which may lead to hazardous travel conditions.

Light to moderate snow likely across the Northeast and New England today.

WPC's Short Range Public Discussion

 

[TxGal]

Icy roads and desert after hailstorm in Abha, Saudi Arabia -- Earth Changes -- Sott.net

Icy roads and desert after hailstorm in Abha, Saudi Arabia

Vulnerability
YouTube
Tue, 09 Feb 2021 19:51 UTC



Natural disasters 9 February 2021. It's awesome! Icy roads after a hail storm in Abha, Saudi Arabia.

View: https://youtu.be/52i0oX-JsMo
Run time is 2:38

View: https://youtu.be/VCykx-_CgEA
Run time is 0:31

 

[TxGal]

The Oppenheimer Ranch Project has a new podcast out:

Snow, Ice, Bitter Cold: Winter Will Hit Hard This Week Globally - Magnetic Reversal - Bitcoin BOOM! - YouTube

Snow, Ice, Bitter Cold: Winter Will Hit Hard This Week Globally - Magnetic Reversal - Bitcoin BOOM!
5,852 views • Premiered 6 hours ago

View: https://youtu.be/BXcj5A2pyZ4
Run time is 16:07

Synopsis provided:

Arctic air grips Midwest,active weather pattern in Central & Eastern US http://abcn.ws/3jynmv7
Snow, ice, bitter cold: Winter to hit hard this week as polar vortex descends across the nation https://bit.ly/33RzeRc
If You Think It's Cold Now, Just Wait Until Valentine's Day Weekend http://bit.ly/3q2Smpo
Arctic outbreak heading south, near record cold possible http://bit.ly/3jHAka0
Sioux City escapes record cold but will remain frigid for another week http://bit.ly/3jBHvAd
Kansas City in the deep freezer! Record cold temperatures likely http://bit.ly/36ZipX4
Winter weather & extreme cold this week in North Texas http://bit.ly/2YZkaiA
Polar vortex is setting the stage for a crippling ice storm http://cnn.it/36WEeqo
NYC could be hit with eight inches of snow in another storm this week http://bit.ly/3q8x75x
GFS Model Total Snow US http://bit.ly/3qjtklS
Frigid Temperatures, Dangerous Wind Chills, Ice Storm and Heavy Snow Across The U.S. https://www.weather.gov/
GFS Model Total Snow Europe http://bit.ly/332e83w
Polar vortex breaks temperature records across Prairies, bitter cold expected to linger http://bit.ly/3tLPe3k
Total Snowmass In The Northern Hemisphere https://bit.ly/3a5N9Yv
THE ARCTIC HAS DESCENDED: SNOWSTORMS AND ICE BRING MUCH OF EUROPE TO A STANDSTILL https://bit.ly/3a6d3et
UAH Global Temps Show Massive Drop Erasing All Of " Global Warming in 2 Months" https://bit.ly/36YLGRU
Current Arcitic Sea Ice Thickness https://bit.ly/3p5uv7j
Worldwide Volcano News http://bit.ly/2v9JJhO
Semisopochnoi volcano (Alaska): alert level raised to ORANGE http://bit.ly/2YZfEke
and more

 

[TxGal]

Record Cold Invades Moscow, Eiffel Tower requires Blowtorch, Autobahn Chaos in Germany, and Summer Chills Blamed for Mass Bird Deaths in Australia - Electroverse

RECORD COLD INVADES MOSCOW, EIFFEL TOWER REQUIRES BLOWTORCH, AUTOBAHN CHAOS IN GERMANY, AND SUMMER CHILLS BLAMED FOR MASS BIRD DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA
FEBRUARY 10, 2021 CAP ALLON

As the MSM doubles-down on its catastrophic global warming narrative, the planet is busy nosediving into its next cooling epoch: the Grand Solar Minimum.

RECORD COLD INVADES MOSCOW

As reported by themoscowtimes.com, western Russia has been hit by bitter cold this week, and has joined central and eastern regions which have been battered by brutal Arctic lows of -58.3C (-73F) and beyond for months now.
Moscow is suffering its coldest weather of the past decade, according to the MT article, with Muscovites suffering lows of -20C (-4F):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359133652429516805

View: https://twitter.com/MarkBennett07/status/1359133652429516805

Looking ahead, Moscow’s big freeze freeze is only expected to intensify.

The GFS (shown below) has the majority of Europe under a polar air mass Monday, Feb. 15, with the freeze expected to persist until at least March.

Western Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Germany can expect the worst of Europe’s cold, with temps here tanking 24C below the winter average (Moscow is located top-right on the map):


GFS 2m Temp Anomalies Feb 16 [tropicaltidbits.com].

EIFFEL TOWER REQUIRES BLOWTORCH

Heavy snow has blanketed the French capital, and bone-chilling lows have froze the Eiffel Tower.

Workers at the Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces and snow was blocking roads and halting trains and school buses Wednesday across northern France, reports thenewstribune.com (AP).

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359200398087774209

View: https://twitter.com/LaTourEiffel/status/1359200398087774209
Run time is 0:15

Areas in Normandy and Brittany aren’t accustomed to such icy conditions, and forced to closing highways for lack of snow-clearing equipment.

In parts of the Paris region, the big freeze forced local authorities halted school buses and urged parents to keep their children at home.

Much of Europe, including Britain, has been gripped by brutal polar fronts since the weekend –a lot longer in many cases– and heavy snowfall is responsible for tangling traffic and stranded drivers in Germany and the Czech Republic.

AUTOBAHN CHAOS IN GERMANY AS HISTORIC SNOW CONTINUES

Long jams have built up on Germany’s motorways as the nation’s record-breaking snowfall persists, leaving hundreds of people stranded in their cars.

Shivering drivers have been found huddled in their vehicles, complaining of going 16+ hours without food as temperatures plunged below -12C (10F).


Snow chaos on Germany’s roads.

The bottleneck, which was caused by trucks stuck in the snow and stretching over 43.5 miles (70 km), had still not been cleared, local police said.

According to shine.cn, severe jams were also reported in Hesse, with drivers there trapped for approximately 15 hours.

“The whole situation is tough, we are trying to work on a solution,” a police spokesman said on Tuesday morning, as reported by thelocal.de.

In Bielefeld, a man was found dead on a snow-covered road on Monday, though the exact cause of death remains uncertain.

Many train services have seen cancellations, with snow and ice clogging the rails.



Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer appealed to people in northern and central Germany to stay at home with temps falling to -27C (-17F) in some parts.

“In such extreme conditions, even the best gritting vehicles will reach their limits,” said Scheuer. “We are working on all fronts to ensure that we get the north-south roads free — so that we can at least drive with restrictions,” he added.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359450789584855040

View: https://twitter.com/Ruptly/status/1359450789584855040
Run time is 0:40

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358806459425914882

View: https://twitter.com/Ebbiloveskpop/status/1358806459425914882

A new Arctic front is now forming.

“[It’s] a small one, but it’s very fierce,” said Scheuer.

“On Wednesday we will get a lot of snow on the Baltic Sea and near Rügen, along with stormy conditions.”

SUMMER CHILLS BLAMED FOR MASS BIRD DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA

As reported by abc.net.au, an unseasonable summer chill has gripped much of southern Western Australia (WA) this week.

The cold proved so severe that conservationists have blamed it for the widespread deaths of a small native bird in WA’s South West.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359005668200435712

View: https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1359005668200435712

Parks and Wildlife conservation officer Ben Lullfitz said after the cold weather people had found dead tree martin birds from Augusta to Bunbury.

Mr Lullfitz added that the birds were unable to feed or regulate their body temperature during the cold conditions.

“We don’t know how many exactly have died but it’s been a widespread event,” he said.

The COLD TIMES are returning, the mid-latitudes are REFREEZING in line with the great conjunction, historically low solar activity, cloud-nucleating Cosmic Rays, and a meridional jet stream flow (among other forcings).

Both NOAA and NASA appear to agree, if you read between the lines, with NOAA saying we’re entering a ‘full-blown’ Grand Solar Minimum in the late-2020s, and NASA seeing this upcoming solar cycle (25) as “the weakest of the past 200 years”, with the agency correlating previous solar shutdowns to prolonged periods of global cooling here.

Furthermore, we can’t ignore the slew of new scientific papers stating the immense impact The Beaufort Gyre could have on the Gulf Stream, and therefore the climate overall.





Prepare accordingly— learn the facts, relocate if need be, and grow your own.

 

[Martinhouse]

My weather forecast is simply dreadful! The big worry is that we get ice so easily here and therefore power outages. I'll have a rough time staying warm without power, and it's going to be getting really, really cold for my part of Arkansas.

Guess I'll have plenty of time to do what I need to to stay warm if the power is out and I'm not sitting at this computer all day.

I was not able to do a final shopping run this morning so it looks like I won't be able to shop until the end of the month, if even then.

Seems like February has been nasty one way or another for the last few years. If I were superstitious, I'd be wanting to drop kick that doggone groundhog right about now!!!!!

 

[nomifyle]

My weather forecast is simply dreadful! The big worry is that we get ice so easily here and therefore power outages. I'll have a rough time staying warm without power, and it's going to be getting really, really cold for my part of Arkansas.

Guess I'll have plenty of time to do what I need to to stay warm if the power is out and I'm not sitting at this computer all day.

I was not able to do a final shopping run this morning so it looks like I won't be able to shop until the end of the month, if even then.

Seems like February has been nasty one way or another for the last few years. If I were superstitious, I'd be wanting to drop kick that doggone groundhog right about now!!!!!

It just occurred to me that we may have a power outage also, I need to finish up some laundry, no dirty dishes this time, thank goodness. Now its looking like we will have colder weather, rain and ugh maybe even snow over the next week or so. The rain just started and it looks like no break for two or three days and then snow fluries.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[Windwood]

Martinhouse and nomifyle, you guys bundle up and get ready for outages! We're even supposed to have freezing rain and snow next Monday on the Gulf coast, so I KNOW everyone north of us will be in bad shape! Prayers sent for your well being and to all my forum friends where ever they are, because if we're that cold HERE, I know everyone north of us is COLDER!

 

[hummer]

Wind chill advisory for us tonight through Sunday.... A cold -26 up the north shore this early a.m. -18 here at head of the lakes. We are used to this every winter...you are not...please find a way to be warm...

Maybe fix a nice hot soup with lots of veggies...keep in thermos, or available to heat on small camp stove. Keep as much other hot food as possible in thermos's. Just some thoughts on keeping your inside body temp warm. Best to you.

 

[Martinhouse]

Windwood, thanks for the well-wishes. The only way I'll keep warm in an outage will be to heat lots of big pots of water on my camp stove and set them around the place where I sit. I would probably have to put one pot under the covers with me for sleeping, too.

I can't go anywhere else because I have cats, chickens and rabbits that need care and I wouldn't be able to drive home to do that if the roads still had the ice that caused the trouble in the first place. Plus the little bit of heat I can produce would help keep the pipes from freezing. I have metal pails to carry heated firebricks to my insulated pump house should I decide that it's necessary.

I'll probably fill those extra pots with water before the end of today. And Saturday, I'll have to cover all the plants in my attached greenhouse with sheets or thick pads. Thank goodness I don't have to go outdoors to do that! (Too bad I don't have enough cages to bring all my hens and rabbits into the greenhouse. That would sure make it easy to care for them!)

Hummer, thank you, too. I was born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota. Moved here to Arkansas in 1977 and have said ever since that I didn't move far enough south. I don't think I would be warm enough anywhere but places like Panama or maybe Puerto Rico. By now, though,, the weather in those places could be about the only good thing left about them for Americans.

 

[northern watch]

Eiffel Tower needs blowtorch for ice as snow blankets Europe

Workers at the Eiffel Tower are using a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces, and snow is blocking roads and halting trains and school buses across northern France

By The Associated Press
10 February 2021, 03:23

PARIS -- Workers at the Eiffel Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces and snow was blocking roads and halting trains and school buses Wednesday across northern France.

Amid a European cold snap, areas in Normandy and Brittany unused to such icy conditions were closing highways for lack of snow-clearing equipment. In parts of the Paris region, local authorities halted school buses and urged parents to keep their children at home.

Snow blanketed the French capital and froze the Eiffel Tower.

“When negative temperatures return, my floors get partially covered with ice! To get rid of it, we need to use a blowtorch because ice-control salt is too corrosive for the metal,” tweeted the monument, which has been closed to the public for months because of coronavirus restrictions.

Parts of central and northern Europe as well as Britain have been gripped by a cold weather front since the weekend. Heavy snowfall tangled traffic and stranded drivers in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Some took advantage of the frosty climes. Cross-country skiers glided across the Charles Bridge in Prague, children sledded in the usually snowless parks of Belgium's capital of Brussels, and the deep winter freeze has reawakened the Dutch national obsession with skating on frozen canals.

———

Follow all AP stories on climate issues at Climate.

Eiffel Tower needs blowtorch for ice as snow blankets Europe - ABC News (go.com)

 

[TxGal]

Windwood, thanks for the well-wishes. The only way I'll keep warm in an outage will be to heat lots of big pots of water on my camp stove and set them around the place where I sit. I would probably have to put one pot under the covers with me for sleeping, too.

I can't go anywhere else because I have cats, chickens and rabbits that need care and I wouldn't be able to drive home to do that if the roads still had the ice that caused the trouble in the first place. Plus the little bit of heat I can produce would help keep the pipes from freezing. I have metal pails to carry heated firebricks to my insulated pump house should I decide that it's necessary.

I'll probably fill those extra pots with water before the end of today. And Saturday, I'll have to cover all the plants in my attached greenhouse with sheets or thick pads. Thank goodness I don't have to go outdoors to do that! (Too bad I don't have enough cages to bring all my hens and rabbits into the greenhouse. That would sure make it easy to care for them!)

Hummer, thank you, too. I was born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota. Moved here to Arkansas in 1977 and have said ever since that I didn't move far enough south. I don't think I would be warm enough anywhere but places like Panama or maybe Puerto Rico. By now, though,, the weather in those places could be about the only good thing left about them for Americans.

Martinhouse, have you considered the Little Buddy propane heaters that use the 1lb bottle of propane? WalMart carries them in their camping goods area. Just a thought, they're pretty benign and are good for small spaces. We've got three of the things now, and we're setting up in case we go without power again.

We're all in the same boat to one degree or another with this polar vortex, I think. We're going to stay around freezing or below for the next week, for heavens sake! Monday night into Tuesday we're all forecasted to go into the single digits in the entire Brazos Valley if the current forecast holds. This is NOT normal. Not by a long shot. The rest of the nights are in the teens and 20s. Even that is beyond odd. A few days or a day here and there, sure, that's normal here. But not an entire week! And for more fun, we're forecasted for snow and a few days of freezing rain here and there, too.

I'm starting to wonder how the peach varieties usually planted in this area will hold up. I've got to check them online. One favorite is Sam Houston. Come to think of it, I wonder how the pecans will hold up. Oh my....

 

[Martinhouse]

TxGal, it sounds like your ten-day forecast is nearly the same as mine, except I think I'll be having some lower daytime temps.

My house is too cluttered and messy for me to be comfortable with a heater that has a flame. My sister has a CozyWorld heater and she thinks I should have one of those, but I have always resisted. Maybe it's a mental block since I'd never experienced anything that used any sort of gas fuel until I left home. Most apartments and cheap rentals had natural gas heat, kitchen ranges and water heaters.

I'll be glad when February is over. I've never seen a cold system like this that will last so long! By March it should feel like spring is on the way. Even if we get a couple more cold spells, they shouldn't be as cold as this present one will be.

As I indicated earlier, that ol' Yankee groundhog is NOT on my list of best friends right now!

 

[TxGal]

Record snowfall in Braemar, Scotland - Ice Age Now

Record snowfall in Braemar, Scotland
February 10, 2021 by Robert

Still more snowy and icy weather to come.

Snow levels in Braemar have now reached more than 2ft – breaking all previous local records.

Keen weather watcher Chris Booth has measured 27.5ins (70cms) of snow in the Deeside village, which would exceed an unofficial record of 26.7ins (68cm) from 20 years ago.

Mr Booth, who has been documenting the snowfall in the area for numerous years, said temperatures dropped to as low as -14c in the area last night.

He said: “This is the worst I have ever seen it.

“I know everybody talks about 2010 but this dwarfs 2010 by quite a bit. It is just the sheer amount of snow.

“It has just been absolutely crazy.”

Weather warning extended

A yellow weather warning for snow along the east coast and through Orkney and Shetland is currently in place, however, the Met Office has warned that further disruption and delays are expected as snow and ice are to continue throughout Thursday and Friday.

The current weather warning was due to expire on Wednesday evening, however, forecasters are anticipating further snowy and icy weather to come.

'Record' snowfall in Braemar as weather warning extended

Snow levels in Braemar have now reached more than 2ft - breaking all previous local records. Keen weather watcher Chris Booth has measured 27.5ins (70cms)

www.pressandjournal.co.uk

 

[TxGal]

“The Beast” Came from the North - Ice Age Now

“The Beast” Came from the North
February 10, 2021 by Robert

Extreme cold dropping deeper and deeper into old Europe. Also videos of deep snow burying cars and streets.

European media are trying to connect the cold climate that reached foreign Europe with the “beast from the east”, according to meteonovosti.ru. But this time you shouldn’t be manipulating your favorite stereotypes. Abnormal frosts in February 2021 came from the ‘north’: a vast arctic anticyclone, which formed near the coast of Greenland, is being introduced deeper and deeper into Old Europe!

Cold records started in Europe. It’s logical to expect records of minimum temperature, especially in Scandinavian countries, when Arctic air invades from the north. They have already happened in Norway. In Ålesund, this is not the first cold record in February. The first was recorded on February 6, when the thermometers dropped to -8.2°C. On February 9, with an anticyclonic calm climate, the night temperature dropped even more, now for Ålesund the record minimum for February 9 is -10.8°C, which is 3.4 degrees below the previous daily minimum. registered in 1963.

In Germany, it didn’t break records, but last night became the coldest of almost the whole country since the beginning of the 21st century. In Saxony’s capital, Dresden, the temperature dropped to -16°C, in the country’s capital Berlin to -10°C, in northern Bavaria there were ten degrees of frost. The cold is going further south and east of Germany, the approaching night will be even colder.

An unusually cold climate in the second half of the week awaits the Apennines and the Balkans.
The frosts will reach this part of Europe not from the east, but from the northwest.

"Зверь" пришел с севера: Метеоновости о погоде

 

[TxGal]

In Moscow February goes into records not once, but twice - Ice Age Now

In Moscow February goes into records not once, but twice
February 10, 2021 by Robert

It’s possible that it will bring two records at once.

Frosts are approaching a record. In the east of the region, last night it was -27.7°C, and in the center of Moscow, protected from the cold by pairs of heating plants, only -16.5°C.

The first possible record is the amount of snow. Since February 12, 1973 there has been 7.4 mm of precipitation, and on Friday we expect at least 10-15 mm or 15 to 20 cm of snow.

The second is the height of the snow cover. It could approach 1999 records, when in Moscow, according to observations, there were 58 to 61 cm of snow. Now the capital is about 35 centimeters.

Февраль идёт на рекорды

 

[northern watch]

Americans Heating Outdoor Spaces Have Fired Up Propane Prices; Frigid weather in parts of U.S., on top of higher exports to Asia, could push levels even higher

Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 8:00 AM ET
By Ryan Dezember
Wall Street Journal

Propane prices have climbed more than 70% since late November, thanks to an explosion in patio heating and an uptick in exports to Asia.

Now, an arctic gust expected to deliver some of the coldest temperatures in decades to the Great Plains and upper Midwest could push prices for the rural heating fuel even higher.

Futures prices at propane-trading hubs in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and Conway, Kan., have risen to 86 cents a gallon and 95 cents, respectively, up from about 50 cents in late November. Spot prices at both hubs have been similar to those of futures.

Prices for propane, a byproduct of natural-gas drilling and crude-oil refining, are up more than fourfold from the bottom in March, when lockdowns sent energy prices crashing and the market hadn't yet contemplated cold-weather outdoor dining.

Without much winter weather until lately , the propane market has been buoyed by overseas buyers as well as sales to stuck-at-home Americans and restaurants trying to extend patio season with portable heaters . Residential prices are up about 20% since late November, averaging $2.21 a gallon last week, according to the Energy Information Administration .
Domestic demand rose to five-year highs this winter despite unusually warm weather. Stockpiles of the bottled fuel fell 50% faster than normal between October and February, said BofA Securities analysts.

"The continuation of work from home policies and increased small scale heating helped," they wrote in a note to clients.

Orders from restaurants and resellers—such as gas stations and hardware stores that portion out propane to homeowners with portable tanks—helped to counteract sluggish autumn and early winter sales to homes heated with propane, said Michael Stivala , chief executive of Suburban Propane Partners LP. Residential deliveries have picked up lately.

"There's still plenty of heating season ahead," Mr. Stivala told investors last week.

Sales during the three months ended Dec. 31 were up 25% from a year earlier at UGI Corp .'s AmeriGas subsidiary, which operates a tank-exchange business that is popular with backyard grillers. Sales are also booming at its home-delivery service, Cynch, which UGI plans to expand into twice as many markets as the 20 in which it now operates.

Many customers have been new, which means they aren't returning empty tanks. Others have stockpiled, leading to a shortage of cylinders, UGI executives told investors last week.

"This isn't unique to AmeriGas," said Roger Perreault , UGI president. "It's an industrywide complexity right now, where buying new cylinders has been very difficult."

As Americans spent autumn and the first half of winter heating the outdoors, Asia suffered a cold snap. Prices of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, soared to records in Asia and caused a weekslong traffic jam of specialized tankers at the Panama Canal.

Industrial buyers in China and South Korea able to switch from LNG to propane did so, analysts said. That prompted a jump in exports of simpler-to-ship propane, which usually costs more than natural gas.

The added demand coincided with the December completion of an expansion project at Energy Transfer LP 's export terminal in Nederland, Texas, which nearly doubled its shipping capacity. U.S. propane exports reached a record during the week of Jan. 8, according to BofA Securities .

Fuel prices in Asia have retreated in recent weeks. Meanwhile, domestic propane demand has risen with the arrival of icy weather.

Seven winters ago, during a similarly frigid spell, propane prices shot up to nearly $5 a gallon at the Conway, Kan., trading hub, which serves the region where below-zero temperatures are expected. Back then, in the winter that straddled 2013 and 2014, a lot of the supply had been used to dry a bumper crop of corn just ahead of a cold front.

Supplies aren't so depleted this year, and a lot of propane headed overseas can be held back for domestic use, said Rusty Braziel, CEO of consultancy RBN Energy LLC. Still, prices could pop if the freezing weather drags on.

Unlike natural gas, which moves around the country in pipelines , propane often reaches consumers by truck. Several states, including Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania, have in recent days lifted restrictions on how many hours truck drivers can be on the road so that propane can reach households during the big freeze.

"We think most of the industry is prepared for a supply-chain disruption of a week or two," Mr. Braziel said. "But forecasts are showing sustained cold in the Midwest through the end of the month. That could be a problem."

Write to Ryan Dezember at ryan.dezember@wsj.com

Americans Heating Outdoor Spaces Have Fired Up Propane Prices - WSJ

 

[TxGal]

Berlin On The Brink! Winter Blackouts Loom - Ice Age Now

Berlin On The Brink! Winter Blackouts Loom
February 10, 2021 by Robert

Coal Plants Run At 100% Capacity, Struggle To Keep Lights On

Wintertime wind and solar energy “between 0 and 2 or 3 percent – that is de facto zero,” says German power distribution professor.

Berlin’s power supply severely strained

Germany now finds itself in the dead of winter. Much of the country has seen considerable snowfall, meaning solar panels are often covered by snow and thus rendered useless. Even without snow cover, the weeks-long overcast sky prevents any noteworthy solar power generation.

Moreover, this winter there have been many long windless periods, and so Germany’s approx. 30,000 wind turbines have been largely out of operation. In a world 100% reliant on green energies, this would mean near 100% darkness at home.

Terrible snowstorm hits Germany, Berlin, and Holland
.

View: https://youtu.be/rIj6qq9Uqb4
Run time is 2:47

View: https://youtu.be/TWzigUipeOg
Run time is 3:08

German RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg) public broadcasting recently aired a report on the region’s winter energy woes titled: “Germany’s green energies strained by winter.”

Coal to the rescue

The report acknowledges that all the power is “currently coming mainly from coal, and the power plants in Lausitz” are now “running at full capacity”.

Physical reality “totally neglected” by policymakers

According to Prof. Harald Schwarz, professor of power distribution at the University of Cottbus:

With this supply of wind and photovoltaic energy, it’s between 0 and 2 or 3 percent – that is de facto zero. You can see it in many diagrams that we have days, weeks, in the year where we have neither wind nor PV. Especially this time for example – there is no wind and PV, and there are often times when the wind is very miniscule. These are things, I must say, that have been physically established and known for centuries, and we’ve simply totally neglected this during the green energies discussion.”

Will have to rely on foreign energy in the future

RBB then warns of the increased odds of blackouts for the region, like the blackout in Berlin in 2019.

Berlin On The Brink! Winter Blackouts Loom As Coal Plants Run At 100% Capacity, Struggle To Keep Lights On In

 

[TxGal]

TxGal, it woulds like your ten-day forecast is nearly the same as mine, except I think I'll be having some lower daytime temps.

My house is too cluttered and messy for me to be comfortable with a heater that has a flame. My sister has a CozyWorld heater and she thinks I should have one of those, but I have always resisted. Maybe it's a mental block since I'd neverexperienced anything that used any sort of gas fuel until I left home. Most apartments and cheap rentals had natural gas heat, kitchen ranges and water heaters.

I'll be glad when February is over. I've never seen a cold system like this that will last so long! By March it should feel like spring is on the way. Even if we get a couple more cold spells, they shouldn't be as cold as this present one will be.

As I indicated earlier, that ol' Ynakee groundhog is NOT on my list of best friends right now!

Just a quick reply, I've got potatoes on to boil :-)

Actually, the Buddy heaters are radiant heaters, no flame. That would worry me, too! It took me a few yrs to convince DH that we should get a few....the last storm that brought us over 8" of snow and several days of power outages did it.

Finding the little bottles of propane right now is a true challenge...tried to get a few extra today - they're sold out. Will try again on Friday at a different WalMart. Expect the same results, though.

 

[Martinhouse]

If the radiant heaters are the infrared ones, they just do not keep me warm. I need the type that has a heating element and blows warm or hot air right at me. I don't want my furniture to get warmed up. I want ME to get warmed up! And then not chilled right back down because the fan has to keep running a while to cool the unit down after it is turned off.

 

[TxGal]

If the radiant heaters are the infrared ones, they just do not keep me warm. I need the type that has a heating element and blows warm or hot air right at me. I don't want my furniture to get warmed up. I want ME to get warmed up! And then not chilled right back down because the fan has to keep running a while to cool the unit down after it is turned off.

Yep, that's them..and I do know what you mean :-)

 

[TxGal]

A new one from the Oppenheimer Ranch Project:

Brutal Ice Storm Threatens 100K+ With Dark & Cold - Record Snow Follows - Peter Ridd Records Victory - YouTube

Brutal Ice Storm Threatens 100K+ With Dark & Cold - Record Snow Follows - Peter Ridd Records Victory
4,633 views • Premiered 6 hours ago

View: https://youtu.be/yiBc3IZYD8g
Run time is 23:23

Synopsis provided:

Five storms in 10 days loom amid bitter cold in north United States http://yhoo.it/3jFbGqd
Brutal ice storm could leave hundreds of thousands in the dark, cold https://bit.ly/33RzeRc
https://poweroutage.us/
Winter Storm Wa rning, storm bringing snow and freezing rain to Portland http://bit.ly/2Z88SIN
Winter storm warning in effect for parts of Ohio, Kentucky http://bit.ly/3a6wILt
Tracking 3 wintry storms in Central Virginia over the next 3 days https://bit.ly/3jKDrOj
More snow, 4 inches, is expected in the Philly area into Thursday morning http://bit.ly/3qcfPEy
Houston will be 'dangerously cold' with temperatures in the 20s; ice, sleet, snow possible http://bit.ly/3aWwp4T
Dangerous ice storm lashes South ahead of snow and record cold http://yhoo.it/3tGSxcl
Polar vortex to unleash frigid Arctic blast http://cbsn.ws/3rIuJmo
Winter Temperatures and Weather For Much Of The U.S. https://www.weather.gov/
GFS Model Total Snow US http://bit.ly/3tOcwpy
RECORD COLD INVADES MOSCOW, EIFFEL TOWER REQUIRES BLOWTORCH, AUTOBAHN CHAOS IN GERMANY, AND SUMMER CHILLS BLAMED FOR MASS BIRD DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA http://bit.ly/3rHd8v5
GFS Model Total Snoe Europe http://bit.ly/332e83w
Hail! It’s America’s Most Underrated Climate Risk https://bit.ly/3d0ztzK
Storms Bring Ping Pong Ball Size Hail, Power Outages; And Here’s How Much It Rained http://bit.ly/3rHUNOF
and more

 

[TxGal]

41 Record Lows Set in Alberta, as Britain suffers -22.9C (-9.2F) - Electroverse

41 RECORD LOWS SET IN ALBERTA, AS BRITAIN SUFFERS -22.9C (-9.2F)
FEBRUARY 11, 2021 CAP ALLON

Extreme cold has been gripping our planet for the past few months, driving its average temperature down (UAH) and the NH snow mass up (FMI).

41 RECORD LOWS SET IN ALBERTA

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says 15 new record lows were set in Alberta on Monday alone due to an “unseasonably cold” arctic ridge of high pressure.

These are in addition to the 26 new lows set over the weekend.

As reported by globalnews.ca, of the 15 communities with new record lows on Monday, the coldest was in Red Deer, which saw its thermometers sink to -43.9C (47F) and bust the city’s previous record of -40.6C (-41F), set back in 1936 (solar minimum of cycle 16).

Below is a full list of Monday’s fallen low temperature records (courtesy of ECCC and globalnews.ca):

Breton
New record of -37.5C
Old record of -32.0C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1939

Cold Lake
New record of -36.6C
Old record of -35.8C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1952

Edmonton (at the Edmonton International Airport)
New record of -40.8C
Old record of -35.8C set in 1979
Records in this area have been kept since 1959

Elk Island National Park
New record of -40.9C
Old record of -35.6C set in 1979
Records in this area have been kept since 1966

Hendrickson Creek
New record of -41.2C
Old record of -35.5C set in 2017
Records in this area have been kept since 1995

High River
New record of -33.2C
Old record of -33.0C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1913

Highvale
New record of -33.8C
Old record of -32.0C set in 1979
Records in this area have been kept since 1977

Lac La Biche
New record of -39.2C
Old record of -38.9C set in 1979
Records in this area have been kept since 1944

Lacombe
New record of -40.5C
Old record of -39.4C set in 1936
Records in this area have been kept since 1907

Milk River
New record of -32.4C
Old record of -31.7C set in 2017
Records in this area have been kept since 1994

Red Deer
New record of -43.9C
Old record of -40.6C set in 1936
Records in this area have been kept since 1904

Red Earth Creek
New record of -39.5C
Old record of -35.8C set in 2019
Records in this area have been kept since 1994

Taber
New record of -35.7C
Old record of -35.5C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1947

Vegreville
New record of -41.7 C
Old record of -37.0 C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1918

Wainwright
New record of -37.5C
Old record of -36.0C set in 1994
Records in this area have been kept since 1966

Alberta’s brutal freeze is ongoing.

And on Tuesday evening the province set a new all-time record for electricity usage as folks cranked up the heating in their homes.

According to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), 11,729 MW of power was used at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, eclipsing the previous all-time record set in January of last year by 31 MW.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1358237558262620161

View: https://twitter.com/ReliableAB/status/1358237558262620161

BRITAIN SUFFERS -22.9C (-9.2F)

Across the South, West, East and North East of the UK, snow and ice warnings have been extended into Thursday as February’s blast of extreme wintry weather shows no signs of abating.

The UK has just recorded its lowest temperature since 1995 (solar minimum of cycle 22) after the mercury in Scotland plunged to almost -23C (-9.4F).

The UK Met Office, who recently declared extreme low temperatures were a thing of the past, registered a low of -22.9C (-9.2F) in Braemar overnight Wednesday–a reading not far off the coldest-ever temperature for the date, which still stands as the -25.6C (14F) set way back in 1895 (during the Centennial Minimum).

The below tweet shows more than 200 people queuing for a soup kitchen in blowing snow — a shocking depiction of both our society AND climate:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1359783854249230338

View: https://twitter.com/FreeMyMeal/status/1359783854249230338

The COLD TIMES are returning, the mid-latitudes are REFREEZING in line with the great conjunction, historically low solar activity, cloud-nucleating Cosmic Rays, and a meridional jet stream flow (among other forcings).

Both NOAA and NASA appear to agree, if you read between the lines, with NOAA saying we’re entering a ‘full-blown’ Grand Solar Minimum in the late-2020s, and NASA seeing this upcoming solar cycle (25) as “the weakest of the past 200 years”, with the agency correlating previous solar shutdowns to prolonged periods of global cooling here.

Furthermore, we can’t ignore the slew of new scientific papers stating the immense impact The Beaufort Gyre could have on the Gulf Stream, and therefore the climate overall.





Prepare accordingly— learn the facts, relocate if need be, and grow your own.

 

[TxGal]

Has anyone seen anything from Ice Age Farmer? He doesn't seem to be posting much, not even political stuff anymore. I'm wondering if I'm missing him on a different site since he's off Twitter and rarely posts on Facebook (I don't do the Facebook thing).