Wisconsin declares a state of emergency in 72 counties
Wind chill temperatures expected to drop to as low as minus 27 degrees F (- 33ºC).
Gov Jim Doyle of Wisconsin declared a state of emergency in 72 counties as a powerful snowstorm barreled through the upper Midwest depositing about 20 inches of snow, causing extensive power outages, closing many roads in several states and grounding thousands of flights across the region.
The deadly snowstorm which has claimed at least 4 lives so far, hit Wisconsin and Minnesota first and moved eastward toward Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio. In Minnesota the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis collapsed under about 2 feet of snow.
The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Chicago, northern, and north-western Illinois, as well as Michigan, North and South Dakota.
“In Wisconsin, wind gusts were as high as 70 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said, and an advisory was issued with wind chill temperatures expected to drop to minus 20 degrees F to minus 27 degrees F (minus 29ºC to minus 33ºC).” A report said.
Pacific Northwest
Extreme rain events in parts of the Pacific Northwest have triggered major mudslides, closing roads and blocking at least one railroad track in the state of Washington. Forecasters say storms could dump an additional 15cm (6 inches) or more of rain in the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains, a report said.
Middle East
Torrential rains, snow, fierce winds and a major sandstorm hit countries across the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean for a second day. The storms sunk a cargo ship off the Israeli port of Ashdod and disrupted shipping in the Suez canal and most Egyptian ports on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
A factory collapsed in the port of Alexandria killing at least three people and pushing the reported death toll from climate-related incidents to at least 6 in the region so far.
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