Deadly Ice Storm Paralyzes Eastern Canada

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

“One of the worst storms in Toronto history,” kills at least 12, cuts power to 400,000 homes

A severe ice storm paralyzed eastern Canada with massive snow and freezing rain, leaving at least a dozen people dead and cutting power to at least 400,000 homes.

The system severely impacted Toronto, Canada’s largest city, as well as Ottawa and Montreal, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations and stranding thousands of people.

Toronto’s Mayor called the ice storm “one of the worst storms in Toronto history,” adding that he may declare a state of emergency.

Flooding caused by the storm killed at least four people in Kentucky earlier, while a tornado caused extensive damage in Arkansas.

At least three others have been killed in storm related incidents across the U.S.

The ice storm also battered New York state, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, forcing New York Governor to declare a winter ice storm emergency in four counties where were more than 2 inches of ice covered the roads.

The storm left about half a million homes in the region without power and forced the closure of large section of public transport system.

The complex storm system brought a minor heatwave to the northeast, raising the mercury to record highs in New York City and Philadelphia on Saturday. The temperature in New York’s Central Park rose above 65 degrees, breaking a 2011 record of 62 degrees on Saturday and 71 degrees on Sunday, smashing a 1998 record of 63 degrees, while Philadelphia reported a record 68 degrees on Sunday, said NWS.

Other States of Emergency Declaration

Dozens of other counties, cities, towns and communities have also declared states of emergency for ice and snow due to the extreme weather brought by the ice storm including

• Cities of Beloit and Sun Prairie in Wisconsin
• City of Rockford, Illinois
• City of North Liberty, Iowa

National High and Low Temperature (for the contiguous United States)

High Temperature for Sunday:  88 degrees at Punta Gorda, FL

Low Temperature for Sunday:  -24 at Williston, NC

NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD Issued 1 am EST Monday, December 23, 2013

Temperature Range for Sunday: 112 degrees

Related News

• Toronto and eastern Canada battered by winter storm
• New York City enjoys record highs amid volatile winter weather

Related Links

• Ice Storm Emergency Declared for NY December 22, 2013
• Multiple Hazard Warnings in Effect Across Much of The U.S. December 21, 2013

Massive Lake of Meltwater Discovered Under Greenland Ice

Researchers discover a meltwater aquifer beneath the southern Greenland ice sheet

The aquifer, representing a previously unknown storage mode for water within the ice sheet, was discovered in 2011, when researchers drilled deep beneath the ice layer and found water flowing back to the surface despite the freezing air temperatures of -15ºC.

The aquifer covers an area of about 70,000 km², an area the size of Ireland, with depth to the top of the water table of 5 to 50m.

The liquid water is held in firn—partially compacted snow—which has the “capacity to store significant amounts of meltwater in liquid or frozen form,” researchers said, “and thus delay its contribution to sea level. Here we present direct observations from ground and airborne radar, as well as ice cores, of liquid water within firn in the southern Greenland ice sheet.”

Meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet significantly contributes to the  rise in sea levels. About half of Greenland’s mass loss has been attributed to meltwater runoff.

“Surface melt has been spreading and intensifying in Greenland, with the highest ever surface area melt and runoff recorded in 2012,” say the researchers.

A Surprise Discovery

“This discovery was a surprise,” said Prof Rick Forster the lead author from the University of Utah.

“Instead of the water being stored in the air space between subsurface rock particles, the water is stored in the air space between the ice particles, like the juice in a snow cone.”

Scientists are puzzled about the speed, direction and final destination of the meltwater.

“It depends on whether it is currently connected to a system that is draining into the ocean or if it is a bit isolated and completely acting as a storage source without a current connection,” said Forster.

“We don’t know the answer to this right now. It’s massive, it’s a new system we haven’t seen before – we need to understand it more completely if we are to predict sea level rise.”

The research is published in the journal, Nature Geoscience, Published online 22 December 2013.

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Greenland’s Surface Ice Melt

An all-time record high temperature for Greenland may have been set in 2013, according to NSIDC.

The graph above shows the daily percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface that has shown melt, as of August 19, 2013 (red), along with the daily surface melt extent for 2012 (blue) and the average melt extent for 1981 to 2010 (dashed line). Two peak extent days are noted. Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center/Thomas Mote, University of Georgia – High-resolution image

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Title: Extensive liquid meltwater storage in firn within the Greenland ice sheet
Authors: Richard R. Forster et al.
Abstract:

Mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet contributes significantly to present sea level rise. High meltwater runoff is responsible for half of Greenland’s mass loss. Surface melt has been spreading and intensifying in Greenland, with the highest ever surface area melt and runoff recorded in 2012. However, how surface melt water reaches the ocean, and how fast it does so, is poorly understood. Firn—partially compacted snow from previous years—potentially has the capacity to store significant amounts of melt water in liquid or frozen form, and thus delay its contribution to sea level. Here we present direct observations from ground and airborne radar, as well as ice cores, of liquid water within firn in the southern Greenland ice sheet. We find a substantial amount of water in this firn aquifer that persists throughout the winter, when snow accumulation and melt rates are high. This represents a previously unknown storage mode for water within the ice sheet. We estimate, using a regional climate model, aquifer area at about 70,000 km² and the depth to the top of the water table as 5–50 m. The perennial firn aquifer could be important for estimates of ice sheet mass and energy budget.