Climate and Weather Extremes Plaguing the World

EXTREME CLIMATIC & WEATHER EVENTS
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Deadly cold and heavy snow pervade U.S. northeast

Deadly cold and heavy snowfall have paralyzed much of the U.S. northeast, leaving at least 12 people dead, closing  schools and government, disrupting  transport networks, and forcing thousands of flight cancellations and delays.

• No of people affected  in the U.S. by the extreme winter storm: 110 million

Up to 46cm  (18in) of snow blanketed major cities including New York, Washington, D.C., Boston and Portland, Maine, as dangerously low temperature continued to dip into the frigid zone.

The governors of New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency and advised residents to stay indoors.

On Friday, the Office of Personnel Management in Washington told more than half million federal employees they could work from home or take the day off because of the deadly storm. “The United Nations in New York and federal courts in New York, New Jersey, and Boston shut down. Schools closed across much of the region,” said a report.

Minnesota Governor ordered all public schools to close on Monday as forecasters warned of extreme low temperatures. It will be the first time Minnesota public schools will be closed statewide since January 1997.

The national Weather Service (NWS) issued a Blizzard Warning for the entire state of North Dakota, parts of South Dakota, and Minnesota on Friday.

U.S. Satellite Composite – 04:30UTC on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Source: SSEC

Meantime, NWS has warned of yet another round of dangerous storms barreling throughCentral and Eastern U.S. this Weekend.

Dangerous Winter Blast Plunging into Central and Eastern U.S. this Weekend

On the heels of the departing Northeast winter storm is yet another powerful blast of winter this weekend. This storm will bring blizzard conditions and extreme cold to parts of the northern Plains and Midwest. Significant snow is forecast from the central Plains to the Great Lakes as the bitter cold spreads eastward.

Highlights from NWS Forecast

• Well below normal temperatures will impact the Northeast on Friday

• The next arctic surge will plunge into the Northern Plains by Saturday

• Lows across the Mid Atlantic and Northeast will be 20 to 30 degrees below normal Friday night [into Saturday]

• A strong cold front will push southward out of Canada this evening leading to temperatures plummeting as much as 50 degrees across the region tonight. By Sunday, high temperatures will be in the -20s and -30s with wind chills as cold as -50s.

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

High Temperature for Friday, January 3, 2014

• 80 degrees (30.5ºC) at Riverside, CA

Low Temperature for Friday, January 3, 2014

• -36 degrees at Embarrass, MN

Issued 7 pm EST Friday, January 3, 2014 – NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD

Temperature Spread: 116 degrees [The spread does NOT appear to be consistent.  Editor]