Snow Emergencies Declared in Midwest, Northeast

EXTREME WEATHER EVENT

Heavy snow affects 18 States in Midwest, Northeast

About 53 percent of the continental U.S. was covered by snow, including all or parts of 18 states in the Midwest and Northeast exactly a week before the first official day of winter.

Heavy snow prompted authorities in dozens of counties, cities and towns across Midwest and Northeast to declare snow emergencies. The snowstorm trekked more than 1,000 miles across the Midwest on Saturday and into the Northeast states overnight, affecting every major city, town and rural area in the region. States affected include Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Snow Cover by Region [December 15, 2013]

• Continental U.S.: 53.0%
• Northeast: 99.1%
• Midwest: 61.3%
• Allegheny Front: 99.6%
• Northern Great Lakes: 100%
• Southern Great Lakes: 100%
• Southern Appalachia: 23.3%
• Upper Midwest: 95.5%
• Great Basin: 77.7%
• Northwest: 50%
• Intermountains: 81.4%
• Northern Rockies: 95.5%
• Sierra Nevada: 54.0%

Map of National Snow Cover. Source: nohrsc.noaa (Animate: Season – Two weeks – One Day)

Flight Delays and Cancellations

Extreme Weather Events have forced thousands of flight cancellations as well as very many delays.

• Total flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States so far this week:  8,141
• Total flight cancellations globally: 11,609
• Total flight delays this week:  100,373 -source: FlightAware

40,000 Abandon Their Homes in Gaza Flooding

EXTREME WEATHER EVENT

Winter storm ALEXA dumps heavy snow on parts of the West Bank and Israel

ALEXA has dumped the heaviest storm in living memory on parts of the West Bank and Israel since Wednesday, paralyzing Jerusalem and leaving thousands in Israel without power, as severe flooding forced tens of thousands from their homes in Gaza Strip.

Severe flooding triggered by  extreme rain events  has forced about 40,000 Gaza Strip residents from their homes, including more than 5,200 who were evacuated to safety, officials said Saturday.

“Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see,” said UNRWA that administers refugee camps in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

GAZA Strip: Rescue workers  had to use boats to evacuate people trapped in flooded homes. Source: UNRWA

Areas near a refugee camp in northern Gaza “have become a massive lake with two-meter-high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands,” said an UNRWA spokesman.

With a population of 1.8 million people, Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth, home to mostly impoverished refugees and their descendants.

The strip has experienced 12-hour blackouts daily since the lone power plant was switched off in November due to a fuel shortage, said a report.

Unprecedented winter weather has wreaked havoc, causing major disruptions across the region, AP reported.

Related Links

• Mass Evacuations from Flooded Northern Gaza December 14, 2013

Recent Disasters in Gaza Strip

• Egypt’s FMD outbreak reaches Gaza, threatening entire Middle East May 2, 2012
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [February]
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [January]