Stephen Cook: Record-breaking wild winter weather is currently sweeping the US and the UK, so our energies go out to those who are affected and/or housebound by snow. ice and floods.
Note from Wes: Here in beautiful, snowy Illinois, we’re dealing with a record snow storm that has temperatures in the negative.
‘Polar Vortex’ Grips the US in Coldest Temperatures in Decades
By Raf Sanchez, Washington, The Telegraph, UK – Jaunary 4, 2014 | Thanks to Golden Age of Gaia.
The United States is spending the first days of 2014 in the grips of record-breaking cold and snow as freezing Arctic winds sweep across the country. Around 140 million people, slightly less than half of the American population, were set to face subzero conditions as the aptly-named winter storm Hercules overran the northern US and threatened to push into the usually balmy Deep South.
In Minnesota the temperature was predicted to reach -31F (-35C) but meteorologists warned that accompanying wind chill could make it feel twice as cold, bringing frostbite to exposed skin within minutes.
Eleven people have died in weather-related incidents in the last week, including a 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s who wandered away from her home in upstate New York and was found frozen to death in woods only 100 yards away.
American football fans were layering up for what is expected to be the coldest game in recorded history when the Green Bay Packers take the field against the San Francisco 49ers in -51F (-46C) conditions on Sunday.
The extreme weather began on Thursday with blizzards of snow across the north east, dumping nearly two feet onto areas around Boston and parts of New York.
The deluge of snow has led to around 4,000 flights being cancelled, including many from London to New York. Thousands of stranded passengers were curled up in hallways of New York’s airports as they waited for conditions to improve.
But the real cold is expected to set in on Sunday when a “polar vortex” freezing, dense air that has collected at the North Pole will reach the American mainland, meeting already frigid conditions on the ground.
“All the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak,” said Ryan Maue, a meteorologist for Weather Bell. “If you’re under 40, you’ve not seen this stuff before.”
Schools across the northern US have already been closed for the first part of the week and the state government in North Dakota warned of “life-threatening chills” through Tuesday.
Although the cold spell is expected to pass within days it could leave lingering effects, including freezing over the Great Lakes on the Canadian border, which could exacerbate cold weather for weeks to come.
The cold is expected to drive as far south as Florida, where temperatures in the single digits are almost unheard of and few own serious winter clothes.
The snow posed an early test for Bill de Blasio, the new Mayor of New York City, who took office only one day before the blizzard arrived in the Big Apple.
A snow plough clears New York street
Mr de Blasio, the Left-wing successor to billionaire Michael Bloomberg, showcased his populist style by shovelling his own pavement in front of the cameras.
Asked by a reporter how many layers he was wearing, Mr de Blasio coquettishly unzipped his jacket in a mock striptease and asked: “Do you want me to go farther?”
Mr de Blasio gave the order to close the city’s schools but denied that he had been influenced by his 16-year-old son Dante, whose friends asked him to lobby his father for a snow day.
So far the new mayor has received favourable marks for his response to the storm, with most of New York’s major roads quickly cleared by teams of snow ploughs.
Mr Bloomberg was panned three years for his slow response to the snow and for flippantly saying that Broadway theatres were still full as evidence that conditions were not that bad.
The frigid temperatures in Washington will make for a jarring return for President Barack Obama, who has been on holiday for the last two weeks in Hawaii.
The commander-in-chief spent much of his time in Honolulu in shorts on the golf course – a decidedly less attractive option in the snowy US capital.
Brutal conditions are expected in Detroit, the bankrupt home of the American auto industry. In its history the city has had only five days where temperatures stayed below below zero all day. Tuesday is expected to add a sixth.
UK Storms ‘Worst in 20 years’ – More on Way
Record Storms: US Freezes; UK Floods
Weather experts predict more flooding, with 96 warnings for England and Wales on Sunday and another storm due
By Press Association – January 5, 2014
Buildings surrounded by floods near Tewkesbury after the Severn burst its banks. Photograph: Demotix/Corbis
The UK is enduring the worst series of winter storms in more than 20 years, weather experts have said, as the country prepares for even more flooding.
The Environment Agency has issued 96 flood warnings throughout England and Wales urging people to take immediate action, while a further 244 areas are on flood alert.
Coastal areas – particularly in southern England – are most at risk as they cope with a combination of unusually high tides and another Atlantic storm on Sunday.
Forecaster Matt Dobson for MeteoGroup said the rain “simply has nowhere to go” after weeks of severe weather has saturated the ground and swelled rivers.
“It’s very unusual to have so many powerful storms come in one after the other in such a short space of time, he said. “We haven’t seen anything like this since about 1991.
“The nasty weather of the last few days is going to continue across the UK, with the combination of high tides and a powerful storm putting coastal areas particularly at risk.
“Any rain will mean more flooding as the ground is saturated and swollen rivers are coming up against strong waves. The water simply has nowhere to go.”
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings of ice and rain, predicting river and surface flooding as well as travel disruption mainly in south Wales and the south west and south east of England. Up to 40mm of rain could fall in higher ground.
Inland rainfall will put pressure on rivers, particularly the Medway in Kent, the Thames in Oxford and Osney and the Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire.
The Thames barrier will remain closed to protect land near the river.
Strong winds, persistent rain and tidal waves are predicted for at least another two days, as emergency services attempt to cope with the trail of devastation already created by the severe weather.
More than 200 homes have been flooded from Cornwall to Scotland, with miles of coastline battered and roads and fields across the country left under water.
The prime minister, David Cameron, praised the “great work” of the emergency services and Environment Agency in responding to the latest floods and defended the government’s flooding policy in protecting 200,000 homes.
Meanwhile, searches resumed in south Devon for missing 18-year-old university student Harry Martin who was last seen leaving his home to take photographs of the weather, with more than 100 people volunteering to look for him.
Officials around the country have pleaded with people to keep away as dozens put their life at risk by going to coastal areas to watch as the storm brought waves up to 40ft high crashing on to land.
A man and child were almost swept away by a huge wave at Mullion Cove in Cornwall as they peered over the sea wall to watch the raging sea, and elsewhere in Cornwall vehicles driving on a coastal road were swamped and almost washed away by a tidal surge.
Elsewhere in Cornwall, Sergeant Regie Butler pulled a man who had been drinking from the sea at Towan Beach, Newquay, after he had ignored police warnings.
In Aberystwyth, Dyfed a man was rescued by lifeboat after he defied police warnings and became trapped when photographing waves from a harbour jetty.
In the town debris was strewn across the promenade, rail lines in north Wales were left buckled by the power of the sea and a road collapsed in Amroth, Pembrokeshire.
The strong tides were said to be the worst to hit the Welsh coast in 15 years.
Aberystwyth University has deferred the start of exams by a week and was advising students not to travel to the coastal town until the middle of next week.
Emergency services rescued four people from a flooded farm in Llanbedr near Barmouth, north-west Wales, the Severn burst its banks in Gloucestershire for the second day running and a pregnant woman was rescued after 30 properties were flooded in Cardigan, mid-Wales. Part of the sea wall behind the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe collapsed because of the storms.
The environment secretary, Owen Paterson, said: “The worst of the bad weather is not yet over so I’ve chaired an emergency meeting of all departments involved to make sure that preparations to respond are in hand.
“Our flood defences have worked very well and have protected 205,000 homes at risk.”
Openhearted Rebellion 