An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man walks in the snow in Jerusalem, Israel. Click to view a slideshow of the event. (Getty Images)
A powerful winter storm system struck parts of the Middle East on Friday to the delight of some residents but causing havoc in other locations where snow is a rarity.
In Cairo, Egypt snow fell, reportedly for the first time in 112 years, covering parts of the city in a light blanket of white.
Parts of Israel saw heavy snow totaling up to three feet. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told The Times of Israel, “We’re facing a rare storm the likes of which we’ve never seen.”
The local meteorological agency said it was the worst snowstorm seen since at least 1953.
Screenshot of a video showing four angles just as a tornado strikes Washington, Illinois on November 17, 2013. (YouTube)
Last month a tornado outbreak visited death and destruction across multiple states in the nation’s midsection. Security camera footage just release by a homeowner in Illinois whose house was destroyed captures the destruction as it happens.
Over 100 tornadoes spanning seven states were reported on November 17. While the actual number of twisters was likely lower due to duplicates, it was an extraordinary tornado outbreak, particularly given how late in the year it occurred.
The tornado that struck Washington, IL on that fateful day has been determined to be an EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
This week a YouTube user by the name of ‘athlon770’ released security camera footage of the event.
From four different cameras , the video shows exterior views as the tornado approaches and the wind starts throwing debris. In the climax, the inside of the home virtually explodes as it takes a direct strike from the twister.
Following the video, the user adds still photos of the aftermath. It is truly a devastating scene.
In a video from Greenpeace, global warming has taken its toll on Santa Claus and the North Pole.
Global warming has prompted Santa Claus to issue an urgent appeal to children to help save his home in the Arctic. In a new video from the radical environmental group Greenpeace, the jolly old elf hardly looks like himself as he announces, “I bring bad tidings.”
With labored breaths, Santa says, “For some time now melting ice, here, at the North Pole has made our operations and our day to day life intolerable and impossible and there may be no alternative but to cancel Christmas.”
The timing of Greenpeace’s video is arguably not the best.
The Arctic sea ice minimum, reached in September, saw a 49% increase over the previous year. That represents an increase of 653,000 square miles giving Santa and the reindeer quite a bit more snow and ice to play on and use to prepare for Christmas.
Much of the nation’s mid-section was plunged into a deep freeze this past week with temperatures registering below zero in many locations. On the west coast where the weather is rarely dramatic, Los Angeles TV stations played up their version of ‘cold’ and late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made fun of them.
“Southern California is getting a bitter blast of cold weather this morning,” one news anchor proclaimed.
More hardy residents in other parts of the nation undoubtedly laughed at the attire of In-the-field reporters. While trying to hype the cold, reporters wore heavy coats, scarves and gloves to battle those cold 50 degree temperatures.
NOAA released its annual winter outlook and it contained few clues as to what the Centennial State can expect from Mother Nature in the coming months.
Lacking El Niño or La Niña conditions in the Pacific, the agency said climatic influences are at a minimum and as such nothing points to any particular trend in terms of temperature or precipitation for most of Colorado.
November 30 marks the unofficial end of the Atlantic hurricane season and it will go into the books as one of the least active on record and for the first time since 1994, a season without a major hurricane.
In data released by NOAA yesterday, the agency said there were 13 named storms in the Atlantic basin during the 2013 season, one above normal. However, only two became hurricanes and none were major hurricanes of Category 3 or greater.
Hurricane Ingrid approaches landfall in Mexico on September 14, 2013. The storm was one of only two hurricanes during the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. (NOAA)
9News KUSA anchor Kyle Clark expressed his disdain for weather photos of snow-covered patio furniture. Watch the video below. (9News)
On social media and local news media, when it snows you can be guaranteed to see multiple pictures of Colorado residents’ snow-covered patio furniture. In a broadcast rant Thursday, local news anchor Kyle Clark slams these boring photos and asks people to do better.
Watch Clark’s hillarious editorial below
The tongue-in-cheek editorial would be less funny were it not entirely accurate and true. As Clark points out, we live in one of the most beautiful states in the union and yet when it snows, people take pictures of outdoor furniture.
“Why is it that every time it snows we whip out photos of our patio furniture sets like we’re showing off baby photos of our kids? Is that the best we can do?” Clark asks rhetorically.
With soaring voice, inspiring music, and photos showcasing the Centennial Sate in winter, Clark tells Coloradans they can do much better.
“Are we really a state that takes the easy way out? We blasted a road through the Rockies, we put a cliff inside a Mexican restaurant, our welcome sign is a demon horse with crazy laser eyes. We don’t do easy around here.”
“C’mon Colorado,” Clark concludes. “We love winter. We own winter.”
It is hard to argue with Clark although thus far this snow season, there hasn’t been much of the white stuff to take photos of.
Denver’s official seasonal snowfall total is only at 3.4 inches. While November is historically our second snowiest month with an average of 8.7 snowfall, a paltry 2.0 inches has been recorded thus far.
Tornado outbreaks in November are not common, particularly in the United States Midwest, but Mother Nature unleashed her fury Sunday destroying entire parts of towns and claiming lives.
Forecasters had warned of a potential severe weather outbreak and it came to fruition by mid-morning. Damaging winds and tornadoes struck a dozen states with Illinois being hardest hit.
An entire neighbourhood is destroyed in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan on November 13, 2013 in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines. Click to view photo slideshow. (Getty Images)
The United States military is no stranger to disaster relief operations having been called to duty to offer humanitarian assistance frequently. In the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan’s strike on the Philippines however, the operations will take on a scale unlike any conducted in the Pacific before.
An entire neighbourhood is destroyed in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan on November 13, 2013 in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines. Click to view photo slideshow. (Getty Images)
The most powerful tropical cyclone of the year has its sights set on the Philippines and the island nation is rushing to prepare for its arrival. Super Typhoon Haiyan is on course to strike the central part of the nation Friday morning causing extensive damage and likely loss of life.
In the latest advisory from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Haiyan was reported to be packing sustained winds of 190 mph with gusts to an extraordinary 230 mph. The winds easily give the storm a Category 5 ranking (157 mph or higher) on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
