Heavy snow blasts south New Zealand
Much of the South experienced snowfall overnight causing several state highways to close as severe gales look set to follow.
Wind would continue today with the potential for severe gales, but the weather should begin to clear tomorrow, forecasters said.
It was expected snow would fall to as low as 100m and the wind would be “bitterly cold”.
Snow settled is suburbs throughout Dunedin last night, including in the Town Belt before it was washed away by rain. Several centimetres of snow is still on the ground in the hill suburbs which contractors are in the process of clearing.
The weather caused disruptions in the South yesterday, with flights affected, and roads and schools closed as the polar blast swept through.
Snow began to fall in parts of Dunedin at 3pm yesterday.
MetService has several severe weather watches and warning still in place for today.
A heavy snow watch is in place for Fiordland south of Charles Sound.
A strong wind watch is in place for most of the South, including North Otago, Dunedin, Clutha, Southland about and south of Mossburn and Stewart Island.
The forecast for Dunedin today is showers, snow to 100m and possible squally thunderstorms before dawn, becoming isolated by afternoon with fine spells. Strong southwest, gale gusting 100 km/h in exposed places at first.
Meanwhile Queenstowners have been advised that if they do not need to drive that they shouldn’t.
The Queenstown District Council advised there was snow throughout the Wakatipu Basin and driving conditions were “extreme”.
The Crown Range Rd remains closed and the Orbus service in the town has been suspended.
Grit trucks are out and snow ploughs are being sent about the region to clear state highways and alpine roads.
If you must drive today, here’s the deal: snow chains, go slow, keep a safe following distance,” the QLDC said.
The Central Otago District Council said only essential travel should be undertaken in the Maniototo & Manuherikia area.
“Snow has fallen here, and freezing temperatures making conditions unfavourable. Crews will be focusing on the townships and sealed roads first.
Areas surrounding Roxburgh, Alexandra and Cromwell townships, especially the higher altitude roads, are heavily affected by snow and travel is not recommended.
Courtesy of odt.co.nz
Impossible travel across parts of Newfoundland as winter storm hangs on
March certainly roared in like a lion across the East Coast on Monday, with a powerful winter storm that delivered strong winds, heavy snow, and rain across the Maritimes. The storm left behind frigid temperatures and wind chills throughout the Maritimes Tuesday, as well as intense wind gusts, while northern parts of Newfoundland and Labrador are still dealing with heavy snow and howling winds through Tuesday night. This will make for dangerous blizzard-like conditions and treacherous travel. Peak wind gusts have come down, but parts of the Maritimes could see them in the 90 km/h range, with 60-80 km/h gusts for Newfoundland. More on the impact and timing, below.
The intense winter storm that powered through the Maritimes and Newfoundland to kick-start the first week of March is on winding down Tuesday after bringing a healthy dose of snow, powerful winds and rain.
“It’s the winter storm that does not want to quit,” says Weather Network meteorologist Jessie Uppal. “It continues to show signs of strengthening as it spins and sits over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.”
What’s left of the storm will see lingering impacts through Tuesday evening along the northern coast of Newfoundland, as well as along the Gulf St. Lawrence.
Courtesy of ca.news.yahoo.com
Russia’s Crimean Bridge closed for first-ever time due to heavy snow and state of emergency declared
For the first time since its completion in 2018, Europe’s longest bridge has been closed due to a heavy snowfall. The Black Sea region is currently going through an uncharacteristic cold spell.
On Thursday night, Crimea saw a snowstorm cover the peninsula, prompting warnings from local authorities to refrain from travel. The bridge itself was shut due to “lack of visibility, heavy snowfall, and strong side winds.”
Construction of the Crimean Bridge started in 2016 and was completed two years later. The multibillion-dollar infrastructure project connects Taman in Krasnodar Region, on the Russian mainland, to Kerch in Crimea. As well as cars, the structure allows for trains to cross. At 19km, it is the longest bridge in Europe.
As of Friday afternoon, around 280 vehicles were stuck on the crossing, with many more in a traffic jam on either side of the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from the neighbouring Krasnodar Region. Although it was initially shut in both directions, the traffic police have opened travel towards mainland Russia but won’t allow cars to pass over to the Black Sea peninsula.
According to Taman, the local highway management agency, traffic will be restored after the evacuation of vehicles damaged by the snowfall.
Southern Russia has seen uncharacteristically chilly temperatures in recent weeks. While Moscow is known for its cold winters, Crimea and other parts of the region are normally above zero in February. On Thursday, Kerch saw 27mm of snowfall overnight, almost reaching the month’s norm of 31mm in just one day. However, temperatures are expected to be positive next week.
On Friday afternoon, the peninsula’s authorities decided to declare a state of emergency in four areas.
Courtesy of rt.com
Heavy snowfall, gales as winter storm hits Middle East
Snow blanketed parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel on Wednesday, covering areas it has not reached in years, disrupting traffic and postponing vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 and even exams at some universities.
It snowed for the first time in years in Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, and in Bayda in northeast Libya.
Gale force winds knocked out electricity in vast parts of Lebanon, forcing many Lebanese, already used to power cuts, to rely on generators for longer hours. Rescuers pulled four motorists out of their snow-covered cars, the National News Agency said.
The first snow this winter in the Syrian capital, Damascus, did not prevent the Premier League soccer tournament from going ahead, as Army Sports Club and Al-Karamah faced off despite the snow that covered the pitch, the Syrian Al-Watan daily reported .
In the mountains of Syria’s Sweida province, snow was as high as 15 cm (6 inches), according to the official state news agency SANA. Roads in some provinces were blocked. In the central province of Hama, bulldozers shoveled snow to open roads while vehicles skidded on ice, causing traffic disruption.
The University of Damascus called off mid-term exams scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in all its branches around Syria because of the extreme weather conditions. The country’s ports remained open. Later, local authorities in the provinces of Sweida, Quneitra, Daraa and Tartous suspend school on Thursday due to the storm and heavy snowfall.
In the opposition-held northwestern Syria, civil defense teams have been building dirt mounds since Tuesday around camps for the displaced to prevent rain from flooding the crowded areas. Nearly 3 million displaced people live in northwestern Syria, mostly in tents and temporary shelters. Heavy rainfall last month damaged over 190 displacement sites, destroying and damaging over 10,000 tents.
In neighboring Lebanon, Storm Joyce hit late Tuesday with gale force winds registering between 85 km/h (52 miles/h) and 100 km/h (62 miles/h). The storm is expected to get stronger Thursday.
Breaking a warm spell, the storm brought heavy rainfall, a sharp drop in temperatures and the heaviest snow fall in Lebanon this year. Snow is expected to cover areas of altitudes as low as 400 meters, according to the meteorological department. Nearly a dozen roads in eastern and northern Lebanon were closed to traffic because of the snow. A beachside club and restaurant were submerged in water as waves nearly 4 meters (13 feet) high slammed onto the shore.
The Israeli Meteorological Service forecast heavy thunderstorms and cold temperatures across much of the country, with snowfall at higher altitudes expected later on Wednesday, including in Jerusalem. On Wednesday night, Israeli police closed the main road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem due to snow.
Heavy snowfall covered the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria.
In Jordan, the COVID-19 vaccination drive was suspended due to severe weather conditions. Schools and universities also put off classes. Jordan’s Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh announced that Thursday will be an official holiday for both the public and private sector due to the snow storm.
Osama al-Tarifi, director of the operating room of the Arabia Weather site, said snow has reached 20 cm (8 inches) in the mountains of Ajloun in northern Jordan, where snowfall has been non-stop since Tuesday night. Heavy snow is expected in the capital, Amman, on Wednesday.
Wind exceeded 100 km/hour (62 miles/h) in some areas in Jordan.
In Libya, snow blanketed the country’s northeast mountains as snowfall continued since Tuesday, covering forests and roads in some areas in the North African country.
Residents of the Jabal al-Akhdar area in the far northeast part of Libya took their children out for fun, some making snowmen and others starting snowball fights.
“I was surprised, actually, by the number of families who came here to take pictures to remember the snow,” said Ali al-Shairi, an amateur photographer from the eastern city of Bayda, which is known for recurrent snow in Libya but has not seen any for a couple of years.
In neighboring Egypt, heavy rain and windy weather prevailed on Wednesday and was expected to last into Thursday, the country’s meteorological agency said. Authorities in South Sinai province, which includes touristic hubs, canceled touristic activities, including safaris and cruises to weather the storm.
Courtesy of startribune.com
“Unprecedented” situation; no storm like it in decades in Greece
The snow storm “Medea,” which left Athens covered in snow Tuesday, passed through the city on Wednesday and is making its way toward Crete.
The winter storm has left over 40,000 homes in Attica, especially in Athens’ suburbs, without electricity for a second day.
After heavy snowfall and strong winds downed trees across the region, Attica’s power grids faced widespread damage.
Unable to fight the frigid temperatures by turning on their heaters, many people across the region, mainly in the northern suburbs of Athens, have faced a chilly blackout lasting for days.
Greece’s power grid operator, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO), announced that the regions of Dionysos, Anoixi, Ekali, and Agios Stefanos have been particularly affected.
Nikos Hardalias, Deputy Minister for Civil Protection, stated that the blackouts across Attica are expected to last until Wednesday evening as crews work tirelessly to restore power during the day.
Hardalias noted that HEDNO has led a massive effort to fix damaged power grids and restore electricity as quickly as possible, but faces extraordinary difficulties, since the storm impacted all of Greece:
“I want to make it clear that there has been an enormous effort made by HEDNO’s crews,” he stated.
“This is the first time that we have had a weather phenomenon impact all of Greece, as the snow storm did not just affect Attica.”
Anastasios Manos, CEO of HEDNO, highlighted that such a severe snow storm has not been seen in Attica for many years: “HEDNO found itself facing an unprecedented situation, one that has not recurred for decades.”
HEDNO has sent out over 600 teams of 1,500 workers to restore power to Greeks who have been left in the darkness.
In the northern suburbs of Athens alone, there are 400 crew members working on a 24-hour-basis to fix the area’s power grids.
Due to the severity of the situation, Greece’s military has also provided aid in removing downed trees that are blocking major roads and fixing damaged power grids.
Courtesy of greekreporter.com
Winter snow storm hits Lebanon
A snow storm engulfed Lebanon on Wednesday along with heavy winds and torrential rainfalls, the National News Agency reported.
Temperatures on the coast reached 7 degrees Celsius compared to previous years when the average temperature did not drop below 11 degrees.
Abdel Rahman al-Zawawi, head of the weather department at Rafic Hariri International Airport, was quoted by Elnashra news website as saying that this is the coldest storm to hit Lebanon this year.
He also indicated that Thursday will be the coldest day of the year so far in Lebanon, with snow expected to fall at altitudes of less than 600 meters in some areas.
Also, the report said snow fell for the first time in years in some villages in Marjeyoun, southern Lebanon.
Civil Defense teams intervened in several areas of the country including Faqra and Kfardebian in Mount Lebanon to remove the snow and allow smooth transportation of citizens in the area.
Courtesy of xinhuanet.com
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