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- BBC News World
December 30, 2021
image source, http://karstenhaustein.com/climate
Meters of snow in California and summer heat in Alaska.
The northern hemisphere of America is experiencing a strange December, with tornadoes, snowfall in places where there are usually pleasant temperatures at this time, and heat where there is usually snow.
Alaska, the coldest US state, recorded the hottest December day on record on Sunday, with a temperature of 19,4 °C Recorded on Kodiak Island.
While in Seattle, in the state of Washington, the same day a temperature of -6.7 ° C was reported, which broke a record set in 1948, according to the US National Weather Service.
But there was no need to go that far, in Alaska itself, in the southeastern city of Ketchikan, temperatures dipped to -18°C on December 25, which was considered one of the city’s coldest Christmas days in the last century.
Nearly 16 feet of snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada in California this week, making this month the snowiest December in that location and the third-snowiest month overall, according to scientists.
As temperatures experience extremes, the Federal Storm Prediction Center warned Wednesday of the probability of severe storms, strong winds and tornadoes in several states in the southeastern United States in the coming days, unusual phenomena in this time of the year.
The new forecasts come just weeks following intense tornadoes ripped through parts of Nebraska and Kansas, leaving at least five people dead and 438,000 homes and businesses without power.
alerts
image source, Getty Images
Weather extremes have prompted warnings of potential “Icemageddon” in places like Alaska, as torrents of rain and snow have left the ice as hard as cement that coats roads.
“Ice is extremely difficult to remove once it has adhered to the road surface. Despite warm air temperatures, the roads were below freezing, causing ice to adhere to the surface. “explained the Alaska weather department on Twitter.
Experts say warm air from Hawaii has made Alaskan air, usually cool and dry during December, more humid.
This has meant that heavy rain and snow storms are more likely in inland regions, away from coastal areas.
Heavy snowfall has caused widespread power outages and road closures across the US and Canada.
image source, Getty Images
In the latter country, the Environment Canada meteorological agency issued extreme weather warnings for most of British Columbia (west) and warned that the “historic cold snap” is likely to continue until the end of the week.
According to experts, this is one of the coldest periods that Canada has experienced in the last half century.
“If you’re under 50, this might be the longest cold snap you’ve ever experienced in southern British Columbia,” tweeted Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist with the Canadian Weather Network.
image source, Getty Images
Kodiak saw record heat over the weekend
Further south, in the United States, winter storms have also affected parts of Nevada and have even led to the closure of ski resorts, but although they have been abundant in the west, it has barely snowed in the east of the country.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered non-essential state workers, in addition to public safety and corrections personnel, to stay home due to the storm.
In other places in the south, such as Dallas, record high temperatures have been reported for the time.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport hit 80 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, breaking the record for Christmas Day in North Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Climate scientist Rick Thoman of the Alaska Climate Policy and Assessment Center told the BBC that these abrupt temperature differences have become more marked over the past two decades and he believes they are a sign of climate change.
“In a warming world, we’re going to have more of these unprecedented events, that’s what we’re hoping for,” he said.
“2021 really seems to be the year that these extreme events have really come to the fore,” he told the BBC.
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