Xtreme Weather Watch: A rare winter storm shut roads and schools and brought cities to a grinding halt in the Middle East last week – though children enjoyed throwing snowballs and using makeshift sleds. The roads were empty at rush hour in Jerusalem, banks closed in Damascus, and torrential rain and hail pummeled Beirut. In Ramallah, some told reporters they had never seen snow before. Jerusalem sees it a couple of times a year, but it usually is light and melts right away. On Thursday there were several inches on the ground for the second day. (Agence France-Presse, New York Times, Daily Mail UK, Reuters)
Afghanistan suffered severe cold and snow in January, leaving more than 100 people and 35,000 cattle dead. As if they didn’t already have enough problems. Roads were blocked by avalanches and three regions were inaccessible to rescue workers for some time. (PlanetArk)
Strong winds pushed Lake Erie up 9 feet at Buffalo last week, then the lake sloshed back to its normal position. But it was enough to suggest what weird things could happen if our climate goes berserk. (New York Times)
eMailbag: John from Indiana writes: “We had another winter tornado in Evansville this week. That is the third since 2003. Never had one before.”
Comment: Skeptics say cold and blizzards fly in the face of global warming. It’s the extremes, stupid – both wet and dry, and hot and cold. Unusual record-breaking weather events are predicted for the future, and to some extent the future is already here.
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