Bizarre weather thread

[uranian]

In the last few days, I've seen snow in the south of Spain (http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/18016/snow-heavy-rain-and-high-winds-continue-to-affect-country), rain at the north pole (http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/alaska-beat/309-may-3/5114-freak-april-rain-near-north-pole), snow in Saudi Arabia:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=py_Vf7FkrWc

(that was in february, to be fair), a heatwave in india (http://www.indiaedunews.net/Orissa/Heat_wave_forces_Orissa_to_close_schools_11353/) (temperatures up to 44 deg C), similar temperatures in abu dhabi, and it's currently snowing heavily in oslo, which is unusual even for norway in may.

http://www.youmakethis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/real20deep20snow20jt.jpg

not to mention the volcanic ash that's closed down some european air space again. strange days.

[uranian]

At least 29 dead as tornado, storms hit Chinese mega-city (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100506/wl_asia_afp/chinaweathertornado)


BEIJING (AFP) – At least 29 people were killed when a tornado, hail storms and torrential rains hit China's southwestern mega-city of Chongqing on Thursday, damaging thousands of homes and destroying crops.

The storms, accompanied by gale-force winds, hit two rural counties in the giant municipality at around 2:00 am (1800 GMT Wednesday), leaving more than 190 people injured and at least one missing, state press and officials said.

The death and injury tolls from the storms rose throughout Thursday, as officials worked to tally the total number of dead and injured, as well as the number of homes damaged.

"Tornados never happened here in the past -- this is the first time," Liu Fang, a local township official in Liangping county, one of the hardest-hit areas, told AFP by phone.

Up to 157 millimetres (over six inches) of rain had fallen in parts of the region -- stricken by a severe drought since last year -- from late Wednesday to Thursday afternoon, the China News Service said.

[Ifyouseekay]

More than 20 people died last week due to massive flooding in Tenn. They virtually had no warning...

[old steel]

We are into our third snow storm in the past 3 weeks here.

They all came in hard and fast with winds of 60-70mph from the north raising hell with anything not tied down even lots of things that are tied down like power lines, trees etc.

Right now it's -2 C and snowing with several inches on the ground.

Crops are going to be very late here this year.

Not a good sign.

[uranian]

A hellish heat wave (http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1498) hit Pakistan last week, sending the mercury to an astonishing 53.5°C (128.3°F) at the town of MohenjuDaro on Wednesday May 26, reported the Pakistani Meteorological Department. While this temperature reading must be reviewed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for authenticity, not only is the 128.3°F reading the hottest temperature ever recorded in Pakistan, it is the hottest reliably measured temperature ever recorded on the continent of Asia.

[uranian]

An entire year's worth of rain falls on Mexico City in only three days (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/an-entire-years-worth-of-rain-falls-on-city-in-only-three-days-2017911.html)

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad283/Reinaul/Alex/Alex3.jpg

http://s944.photobucket.com/albums/ad283/Reinaul/Alex/alex5.jpg

[Mouse]

Yet another hidden message.

Your posted URL:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/an-entire-years-worth-of-rain-falls-on-city-in-only-three-days-2017911.html

Fluke or had to be?

Could the fan be blowing to mexico city first? Look for weird health problems.......

[vacuum]

great thread

[Saul Mine]

An entire year's worth of rain falls on Mexico City in only three days (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/an-entire-years-worth-of-rain-falls-on-city-in-only-three-days-2017911.html)

(Images deleted)



You just have to expect that sort of scene when you build the biggest city in the country on an island in the biggest lake in the country.

[uranian]

check out the pool from about 2 minutes in, i've never seen a hail storm like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFv2W7Duqiw

[old steel]

Alberta walloped with snow

Enjoying the snow at Marmot Basin

Andrea Stockton, staff writer

July 13, 2010 — It's mid July and parts of Alberta are dealing with heavy snow.
Related Links

* Jasper, Alberta forecast
* Severe Prairies storms
* Alberta Ski Report

18cm of snow piling up

You're not seeing or hearing things. It's the middle of July and heavy snow is blanketing parts of Alberta.

“There wasn't any snow on the ground last night when I went to bed,” says Megan Gibson from the Marmot Basin Ski Resort near Jasper. “I think it started snowing as early as this morning and since about 6:30 this morning, we've had around 18 centimetres fall at the lower chalet.”

Gibson adds that even heavier amounts are expected higher up. Usually at this time of year crews are preparing for the next ski season instead of actually partaking in winter-like activities.

While not completely impossible, heavy snow like this in July is pretty rare.

“This is totally out of the blue. To receive this much snow in July and have it stay on the ground is unheard of,” says Gibson.
A mid July snow storm

And it's all thanks to a cold front that's slicing through the province.

“The same low pressure system that has been bringing severe thunderstorms to parts of the Prairies has continued to push east,” says The Weather Network's meteorologist Michelle Cassar.

“And after the cold front swept through, Alberta is now getting winds out of the north, which are completely cooling down the temperatures to the freezing mark,” says Cassar.

Ploughs and snow removal crews are out in full force and are working to keep the base of the mountain and surrounding roads clear.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/pt/phpThumb.php?src=/common/images/uploadnewstorm/JasperSnow.jpg&h=240&w=320&iar=1&hash=8e11f3a1eb8fcee07beee078f7bd74d2

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/pt/phpThumb.php?src=/common/images/uploadnewstorm/JasperSnow2.jpg&h=180&w=240&iar=1&hash=331d729009dca4a57f4cb6e3e7607643

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/pt/phpThumb.php?src=/common/images/uploadnewstorm/JasperSnow3.jpg&h=180&w=240&iar=1&hash=b1836376669546942761b39a0a69d2cc

[MNeagle]

Hundreds drown in Russia heatwave

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russians sweltered Friday in record-breaking temperatures as hundreds drowned in bathing accidents often influenced by alcohol.

In Moscow, the temperature rose to 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking a record for the day set in 1938 under the rule of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, according to the state weather centre.

Temperatures in 10 central Russian regions will hit 38 degrees in a heatwave lasting at least until July 22, the state weather centre forecast.

As many cooled down by swimming in rivers and ponds, often with no lifeguards, hundreds have died from drowning.

The emergency ministry said more than 400 people had drowned since the beginning of July, while 1,244 people drowned in June.

"The main reasons for people drowning is swimming in places that are not equipped and the use of alcohol," an emergency ministry spokesman told the RIA Novosti news agency.

In a shocking case, two teachers at a Moscow school were charged with negligence this week after six children and an instructor drowned during a summer camp trip to a beach on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia.

The children were swept away by strong currents after the teachers allowed them to swim at a beach without any safety equipment. One of the teachers was drunk, investigators said.

An emergency drought situation has been declared in 19 of Russia's 83 regions with crops dying on an estimated 9.6 million hectares of fields.

The drought-struck areas were suffering "colossal destruction," Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said Tuesday at a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.

The coldest place on earth in winter, Oimyakon in the Sakha region, was forecast to swelter at 32 degrees centigrade on Friday, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

In Moscow, people paddled in fountains to escape the heat and bought record amounts of ice cream.

"Sales of fruit lollies have gone up 10 times," the general director of the Union of Ice Cream Makers, Valery Elkhov, told the RIA Novosti news agency, with Muscovites gobbling up 250 tons of ice cream per day.

Commuters in Moscow metro sizzled with temperatures inside some stations topping 29 degrees.

The Kremlin cancelled a weekly ceremonial performance by mounted troops from the presidential regiment, due to fears that the troops and horses would suffer in the heat.

Customers have flocked to buy air conditioners and fans to beat the heat in airless concrete office blocks and apartment buildings.

"The yearly stock of air conditioning systems and fans has already sold out, and we had to order extra," said Nadezhda Kiselyova, a spokeswoman for electronics chain M-Video.

"Over the past four weeks of unusual heat, the sales have been 10 times higher than last year's figures."

Gennady Onishchenko, the head of the state health and safety watchdog, called for Russians to take longer lunchbreaks to evade the midday sun.

"Given the heat, work could be carried out earlier or later while during the hottest hours of the day we can institute a prolonged pause," Onishchenko was quoted by state mouthpiece Rosskiskaya Gazeta as saying on Tuesday.

July could be a record-breaking month for Moscow, with the average temperature more than six degrees Celsius above the norm so far, according to the state weather centre.

The last records were set in 1972 when temperatures soared over 30 degrees for 13 days.

Alexei Lyakhov, the head of the Moscow and Moscow region weather centre, said in televised comments on Friday that temperatures would hit 36 degrees in Moscow on Saturday and no rain was expected over the next five days.

"It's very serious, very unfavourable weather, and I call for everyone to take care," Lyakhov said.

link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100716/wl_afp/russiaweatherheatwave;_ylt=AlDmlB3A8ta2IMNuS3c4KvO s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNxcGo0ODVmBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDc xNi9ydXNzaWF3ZWF0aGVyaGVhdHdhdmUEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvc HVsYXIEY3BvcwM0BHBvcwMxBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5 faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDaHVuZHJlZHNkcm93)

[JDRock]

hail in boseman mont ,literally the size of baseballs :imskerd:

[TheNocturnalEgyptian]

Yesterday it was over 100 degrees all day. Today I woke up at 6:30 am to take the dog outside and it was pouring rain. That makes sense, however. Doesn't it usually rain when it's the first super hot spell of the season and all the water evaporates?

[MNeagle]

World simmers in hottest year so far

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The world is enduring the hottest year on record, according to a U.S. national weather analysis, causing droughts worldwide and a concern for U.S. farmers counting on another bumper year.

For the first six months of the year, 2010 has been warmer than the first half of 1998, the previous record holder, by 0.03 degree Fahrenheit, said Jay Lawrimore, chief of climate analysis at the federal National Climatic Data Center.

Period of a El Nino weather pattern is being blamed for the hot temperatures globally.

"We had an El Nino episode in the early part of the year that's now faded but that has contributed to the warmth not only in equatorial Pacific but also contributed to anomalously warm global temperatures as well," Lawrimore said.

Abnormally warm temperatures have been registered in large parts of Canada, Africa, tropical oceans and parts of the Middle East.

Northern Thailand is struggling through the worst drought in 20 years, while Israel is in the middle of the longest and most severe drought since 1920s. In Britain, this year has been the driest since 1929.

Also, Arctic sea ice has melted to its thinnest state in June.

However, as cooler temperatures may set in later this year, it remains to be seen whether 2010 will overtake 2005 as the hottest year overall.

"This year the fact that the El Nino episode has ended and is likely to transition into La Nina, which has a cooling influence on the global average temperature, it's possible that we will not end up with the warmest year as a whole."

EFFECTS ON THE U.S. STATES, FARMERS

The record-warm weather globally hasn't translated into the same in the United States, where June was only eighth hottest to date.

"For the U.S., January to June, this is only slightly warmer than average," Lawrimore said.

What may tip the scale is the development of La Nina, possibly coming in July and August, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

.

Although La Nina means cooling globally, the transition commonly brings hotter and drier weather to the farming belt of the U.S. Midwest region.

"It's going to be pretty warm across eastern Nebraska, Iowa, western portions of Missouri, mid to upper 90s (F)," said Donald Keeney, senior agriculture meteorologist with CROPCAST Ag Services.

The hot temperatures will especially hurt corn pollination, while dry weather will affect soy bean crops, Keeney said.

Drought is developing in some parts of the Mid-Atlantic states, Lawrimore said, but for now it's moderate and contained in 8 percent of the country. For comparison, 15 percent of the contiguous United States was in drought last year at this time, 27 percent in 2008 and almost half in 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100716/ts_nm/us_weather_hottest_record

[uranian]

some of the flooding in china:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOiMD8fzUAI

[MNeagle]

Cold temperatures cause death, damage in South America

(CNN) -- An intense cold front in southern Latin America continues to blanket the region, causing deaths, school and highway closures, and other woes.

A total of 18 people have died in Bolivia as a direct or indirect consequence of low temperatures, the Peruvian state-run Andina news agency reported. The deaths were spread out throughout the country.

On Monday, Bolivian officials said temperatures in the major city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra would reach 3 C (37 F), the lowest in 29 years, and in other regions the mercury dropped below freezing, Andina reported.

As a precaution, Bolivian authorities canceled school from Monday to Wednesday, the official Bolivian news agency ABI reported.

Police in Paraguay reported eight deaths from hypothermia and two from carbon dioxide poisoning from the use of heating devices. The government opened shelters for the poor, who are picked up at night by military trucks.

Paraguayan authorities also estimated that 1,000 cattle died because of the cold.

In Uruguay, local media reported two weather-related fatalities.

The cold front hit the region on Saturday and was responsible for eight deaths in Argentina over the weekend.

An area of low pressure in the southern hemisphere jet stream pushed deeper north allowing for cold Antarctic air to pool over Chile and Argentina. Below-normal temperatures are expected over the next 48 hours across the region.

Argentina reported Monday that nine of its provinces were feeling temperatures below freezing.

The intense cold will remain in the area at least through Tuesday, Argentina's official news agency, Telam, reported.

Similarly, in Peru, the country's southern Amazon region was experiencing the coldest weather in three years, Andina reported, citing the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

In the city of Puerto Maldonado, the temperatures fell to 9 C (48 F). In the Amazon region, the usual lows are in the 20s C (high-60s F).

The cold was also affecting farmers in the Peruvian city of Arequipa, in the Andes Mountains. With temperatures falling there to -17 C (1 F), the cold was too much for the region's Alpaca herds.

Pregnant Alpacas were losing their babies, and young Alpacas were dying, Andina reported. Some 10 percent of the region's 40,000 Alpacas were affected, the news agency reported.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/19/latin.america.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

[uranian]

More than 700 dead in Chinese floods (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/20/china.floods/)


Torrential flooding across much of the nation has left 701 dead and hundreds missing, China's vice minister of water resources said.

At least 347 people are missing, Liu Ning told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

Ninety-percent of the casualties were caused by mountain floods, mudslides and landslides triggered by heavy downpours. About 645,500 houses had collapsed, he said.

More than 230 rivers were above warning levels; 25 of them saw their highest levels ever, he said.

More than 100 cities flooded, he said.

Liu cited torrential downpours between June 13 and June 27, and heavy rain on July 8 in southern China as particularly damaging.

"In southern China, the rainfall is 30 to 100 percent higher than the historical average," he said.

The Three Gorges Dam saw its biggest peak runoff and the rains resulted in "various disasters hitting many regions," he said.

The floods have affected 117 million people in 27 provinces and seven cities.

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00147/AVN_CHINA_147040f.jpg

[uranian]

Flooding shuts down airport, closes roads in Wis. (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-DfJKSSI2UcwUSA08Baiq2kUt-gD9H4IRB00)


MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Powerful thunderstorms are causing widespread flooding in southern Wisconsin, closing down Milwaukee's airport and blocking roads, and two people have been struck by lightning.

Heavy rains pounded the region Thursday, with parts of Milwaukee seeing up to 7.5 inches of rain in just two hours. The National Weather Service received several reports of tornadoes.

State emergency management officials say two people hit by lightning were taken to a Milwaukee hospital. Their conditions haven't been released.

They also say a massive sink hole opened up at an intersection north of downtown — and swallowed a Cadillac Escalade.

A spokeswoman says Milwaukee-General Mitchell International closed around 9:30 p.m. when floodwaters began covering the runways.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/07/milwaukee_wi_sinkhole_2.jpg

[Book]

Bizarre weather thread

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ckBlasgNSzg/SkqmZEY3hsI/AAAAAAAANBQ/xW_yhWyvIZU/s400/middle+finger+cloud.jpg

[JDRock]

Bizarre weather thread

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ckBlasgNSzg/SkqmZEY3hsI/AAAAAAAANBQ/xW_yhWyvIZU/s400/middle+finger+cloud.jpg


bwaaahahaa... :lol

[MNeagle]

South Dakota hailstone might be world record


ABERDEEN, S.D. — A hailstone that fell south of the South Dakota capital of Pierre might be a world record, the National Weather Service says.

The chunk of ice was found by a ranch hand near the town of Vivian on Friday night. It unofficially measured 8 inches in diameter with an 18.5-inch circumference.

The record-holding hailstone fell in Aurora, Neb., on June 22, 2003. It was 7 inches in diameter with a circumference of 18.75 inches.

Members of the National Climate Extremes Committee will meet this week to evaluate the South Dakota stone and determine whether it is a record, said Jim Scarlett, weather service meteorologist in Aberdeen. The committee that reports to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assesses the scientific merit of extreme weather and validates meteorological measurements.

Leslie Scott, who found the possible record hailstone, said it lost about 3 inches because he was without electricity for several hours after the storm. Weather service staffers told him to put it in a sealed plastic bag and to stop opening the freezer door to show it to people, he said.

"If I knew it might be a record, I would have looked for a bigger one," he said. "There was lots of bigger ones than the one I got. My mother seen one as big as a football, she claims."

Hail from the storm led to at least five reports of people being injured on Interstate 90 when hailstones crashed through vehicle windshields.

"It was an extreme event," Scarlett said.

The hail also damaged buildings in the area.

"I've got 19 holes in my roof. Three of them go all the way through my ceiling," said Lisa Patrick, who lives in Vivian. "And it wasn't just my house; it was every house in town."





http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_15612519?source=rss&nclick_check=1

[StackerKen]

South Dakota hailstone might be world record



Roofers and body shops will be busy for while

[MNeagle]

Worst floods in a decade in China, 30,000 trapped

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100727/capt.36dfa042af2e40fead8e451225d10919-36dfa042af2e40fead8e451225d10919-0.jpg?x=213&y=139&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=268&q=85&sig=g26AUCw_ZZSfcPhEPL_iTw--
AP – In this photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, flood water gushes from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir …

By CHI-CHI ZHANG, Associated Press Writer Chi-chi Zhang, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 13 mins ago
BEIJING – Floods caused by heavy rains in northeastern China stranded tens of thousands of residents without power Wednesday, as the worst flooding in more than a decade continued to besiege many areas of the country.

Floods this year have killed at least 928 people with 477 missing and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, the State Flood Control and Drought Prevention office reported. More heavy rains were expected for the southeast, southwest and northeast parts of the country through Thursday.

About 30,000 residents in Kouqian town were trapped in their homes after torrential rains drenched the northeastern province of Jilin on Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Water began flooding the town after the nearby Xingshan Reservoir and the Wende and Songhua rivers overflowed and rescue crews were delivering supplies by boat and moving people to higher ground, state television reported.

Flooding has hit areas all over China. Thousands of workers sandbagged riverbanks and checked reservoirs in preparation for potential floods expected to flow from the swollen Yangtze and Han rivers, an official with the Yangtze Water Resources Commission said Wednesday. He gave only his surname, Zhang, as is common with Chinese officials.

"Right now, the Han river in Hubei province is on the verge breaching warning levels," Zhang said.

The Han is expected to rise this week to its highest level in two decades, Xinhua reported. The flood threat was greater than usual because the Yangtze, into which the Han flows, was also reaching peak levels, it said.

Workers were prepared to blast holes in the Han embankment to divert flood waters into a low-lying area of farms and fish ponds, from which more than 5,000 people were evacuated, Xinhua said.

Although China experiences heavy rains every summer, flooding this year is the worst in more than a decade because the flood-prone Yangtze River Basin has seen 15 percent more rain than in an average year, Duan Yihong, director of the National Meteorological Center, said in a transcript of an interview Wednesday posted on the Xinhua website.

"Rains should begin to slow down in August, but it is hard to predict now what exactly will happen, said Duan. "We have to be vigilant and closely monitor the weather ... do a better job of forecasting."

Thousands of rescuers in central China's Henan province searched for survivors Wednesday after a bridge collapsed from heaving flooding in the Yi River over the weekend, killing 37 people with 29 missing, Xinhua reported.

Floods have also put China's massive Three Gorges Dam to the test. On Wednesday morning, the dam's water flow reached 1.96 million cubic feet (56,000 cubic meters) per second, the biggest peak flow this year, with the water level reaching 518 feet (158 meters), Xinhua said, about 10 percent less than the dam's maximum capacity.

Chinese officials have for years boasted the dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project, would end centuries of devastating floods along the Yangtze.

Around China, a total of 875,000 homes have been destroyed, 9.61 million people evacuated, and 22 million acres (8.76 million hectares) of crops ruined in this year's flooding, according to the state flood control office.

China's worst flooding in recent years occurred in 1998, when 4,150 people were killed, most along the Yangtze.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100728/ap_on_re_as/as_china_floods

[MNeagle]

slideshow of landslide in China (http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Torrential-rains-trigger-huge-China-landslide/ss/events/wl/072710landslide#photoViewer=/100727/ids_photos_wl/r3337650040.jpg)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100728/capt.866a5990652b4bcdb3efdb6cea5e27bd-866a5990652b4bcdb3efdb6cea5e27bd-0.jpg?x=400&y=241&q=85&sig=52R_OkiYOupuqPycpe9dQw--

[uranian]

Temperature hits record 37.2 degrees Celsius in E Finland (http://newsroom.finland.fi/public/default.aspx?app=803&newsid=28141)


7/29/2010 at 16:12

The Finnish Institute of Meteorology (FMI) said Thursday that a weather station in Liperi near Joensuu in eastern Finland had logged a temperature of 37.2 degrees Celsius, marking the highest reading on record in Finland.

The previous record, 35.9C, had been set in Turku in 1914.

The FMI added that this July might become the warmest month on record in Finland. The current record is 22.1C, set in 1925.

[MNeagle]

Had to go check my thermometer: nearly 100 F!

[uranian]

Moscow wilts in record heat (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10807746)


For the past four weeks temperatures across much of western Russia have soared past 37C in the hottest and longest heatwave in decades. Russia is also suffering what is thought to be the worst drought in more than 100 years.

China: 2nd heatwave warning (http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_559253.html)


The warning is the second in the month, and comes as tens of thousands of Chinese are struggling to cope with the worst flooding seen in more than a decade. The capital has been sweltering in its longest hot weather spell in a decade, with temperatures reaching a daily high of 35 deg C for 10 consecutive days.

At Least 66 Die in Japan Heat Wave (http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=105351&code=Ne2&category=2)


This past week was especially brutal, with over 9,000 people receiving hospital treatment and 57 deaths related to heat stroke and drowning. According to the Japanese Meterological Agency this summer is on track to be the hottest in 100 years.

it's over 40 degrees celsius in southern europe now, last i read over 1000 dead in portugal from the heat. regrettably the UK remains overcast!

[MNeagle]

With blazing summers, wildfires in one hemisphere and a deep freeze in the other, is, 2010 the year of extreme weather?

While Pakistan has been hit by catastrophic flooding, Russia has endured a lethal heatwave.
Some 1,200 people have been killed in the deluges sweeping Pakistan, but in Moscow more than 30 are reported to have died in wildfires as temperatures have soared to a new record for the region of 38C (100F).

It marks out 2010 as the year of extreme weather - - and experts predict the pronounced conditions will continue across the globe.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/03/article-1300043-0AACC0AC000005DC-274_634x286.jpg
Floods: In Pakistan, onlookers perched on a damaged bridge watch a flood survivor climb a rope to cross a river in the Swat Valley

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/03/article-1300043-0AAD0FFC000005DC-70_634x286.jpg
Scorched earth: The shell of a motorcycle, which was torched in wildfires, sits in the Verkhnyaya Vereya village, about 300 km from Moscow

Last month alone the UK was hit by a hosepipe ban, saw tarmac melting on roads and the population was issued health warnings about the dangers of too much sun.

Yet despite the heatwave, it was also the wettest July ever recorded.
According to provisional statistics from the Met Office, the country was 46 per cent wetter than average and some areas faced devastating floods.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/03/article-1300043-0AAC1126000005DC-959_634x426.jpg
Wildfires: An Envisat satellite image gives an aerial view of the wildfires raging east of Moscow

Britain was not alone. The mercury climbed to its highest point in decades in other parts of Europe, the U.S. and Japan as record temperatures were recorded.
In Russia the army was drafted in to battle the wildfires which threatening dozens of towns and villages.

Thick smoke and ash slowed firefighting efforts and thousands of people were being evacuated.

A state of emergency was declared after swathes of the country were engulfed in flames and thousands were left homeless.

The city has been veiled in acrid smoke causing landmarks to disappear from view and meteorologists expect the scorching temperatures will continue to rise.

More than 2,000 people are said to have died in the region since the beginning of July as they tried to cool down in lakes and rivers.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/03/article-1300043-0AAA95F5000005DC-287_634x344.jpg
Burning: Smoke threatens to block out the sun over the village of Marathokampo, Eastern Greece, where extreme heat has also caused wildfires

Meanwhile in Pakistan dozens of villages have been completely submerged by the deadly flooding.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300043/With-Russias-wildfires-Pakistans-floods-2010-year-extreme-weather.html#ixzz0vlcxgyZE

[MNeagle]

Argentina Has Colder Winter Than Antartica, Spurring Record Power Imports


Argentina is importing record amounts of energy as the coldest winter in 40 years drives up demand and causes natural-gas shortages, prompting Dow Chemical Co. and steelmaker Siderar SAIC to scale back production.

Electricity supplied from Brazil and Paraguay rose to a daily combined record of about 1,000 megawatts on July 12, while consumption peaked at 20,396 megawatts three days later, according to Buenos Aires-based energy broker Cammesa. Shipments of liquefied natural gas are set to double this year.

Dow, Siderar and aluminum maker Aluar Aluminio Argentino SAIC are among companies closing plants, cutting output or seeking alternative energy sources after temperatures in parts of Argentina fell below those of Antarctica on July 15. Rising demand is exacerbating a shortage that began six years ago as economic growth accelerated and energy investment fell. The shortage is boosting costs as companies spend more to guarantee supplies.

“The situation is getting worse, because the shortage period is growing every year,” Gerardo Rabinovich, a director at the General Mosconi Energy Institute in Buenos Aires and an adviser to the opposition Radical Party, said in a telephone interview. “When this started in 2004, it lasted for about a week, then it was two weeks and now it’s more than a month.”


more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-03/argentina-colder-than-antarctica-spurs-record-power-imports-shuts-plants.html

[DMac]

Extreme cold leaves dozens dead in South America

CNN (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/19/latin.america.weather/?hpt=Sbin#fbid=u3JU1FS1dyF&wom=false)

Around 6 Million dead fish and other aquatic life in Bolivian rivers due to extreme cold
"Ecological Disaster"
Cold wave kills six million fish in Bolivia (http://www.boliviabella.com/1-million-fish-dead-in-bolivian-ecological-disaster.html)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWIzUwZ1Spk