Southern California gets a white Thanksgiving with several inches of snow

It was a white Thanksgiving in Southern California, as a "Weather whiplash" storm dumped several inches of snow in some regions - and helped to extinguish a wildfire, according to a new report.

Up to 8 inches of snow fell in some parts of the Antelope Valley, at the western tip of the Mojave Desert, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Over the last two days, Lancaster has seen 4 to 5 inches of snow and 3 inches fell in nearby Palmdale, the paper reported.

The snow helped extinguish a blaze known as the Cave Fire in Santa Barbara County that had threatened homes earlier in the week, authorities told the outlet.

The snow brought a mixture of glee and dismay to Californians on Twitter.

"It's been so so long since we last had snow where I live! THIS IS AMAZING!!!! It's SOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!".

"People are excited about snow in California," another user shared.

https://nypost.com/2019/11/28/southern-california-gets-a-white-thanksgiving-with-several-inches-of-snow/

A 'screaming' weather map basically captures France's extreme heat

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/europe/france-heat-map-intl/index.html

France is in the sweaty grasp of a hot weather phenomenon known as la canicule -- and forecasters are running out of ways to describe both its immediate danger and ominous long-term significance.

Last week, meteorologist Ruben Hallali found an apt metaphor in this image: a weather forecast model for Thursday, June 27, whose patterns of temperatures across France just happened to create the image of a screaming skull.

Naturally he tweeted it paired with Edvard Munch's 1893 painting, "The Scream".

Storms cause travel nightmare for millions ahead of Thanksgiving

Denver - Just hours before millions of Americans head home for Thanksgiving, back-to-back storms may be ruining their plans.

Two out of three people will feel the impact from heavy snow and rain to hurricane force finds.

Snow is flying and flights are finally getting off the ground in Denver.

Those two storms could mess up travel plans until the Monday morning commute.

A CBS News team stopped to help one driver who ran off the road. But it's not just the snow, it's the powerful winds.

As CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz reports, the snow has already started in northwest Iowa and it won't stop until Wednesday morning, dumping at least nine inches in Sioux City.

The storm will continue it's march east impacting travel during Wednesday's busy travel day.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thanksgiving-weather-storms-cause-travel-nightmare-for-millions-across-the-country-2019-11-26/

Stalled weather patterns will get bigger due to climate change: Relationship between jet stream, atmospheric blocking events

Climate change will increase the size of stalled high-pressure weather systems called "Blocking events" that have already produced some of the 21st century's deadliest heat waves, according to a Rice University study.

Using data from two sets of comprehensive climate model simulations, Rice fluid dynamicists Ebrahim Nabizadeh and Pedram Hassanzadeh, and colleagues found that the area of blocking events in the northern hemisphere will increase by as much as 17% due to anthropogenic climate change.

He said researchers have increasingly been interested in learning how climate change might affect blocking events, but most studies have focused on whether blocking events will become more frequent as the atmosphere warms because of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Studies in the past have looked at whether you get more or less blocking events with climate change," he said.

"The question nobody had asked is whether the size of these events will change or not. And the size is very important because the blocking events are more impactful when they are larger. For example, if the high-pressure system becomes bigger, you are going to get bigger heat waves that affect more people, and you are likely going to get stronger heat waves."

Nabizadeh said the scaling law predicted changes in the size of future winter blocking events in comprehensive climate model simulations with remarkable accuracy.

"Our results suggest future studies should focus on better understanding summer blocks and also how larger blocking events might affect the size, magnitude and persistence of extreme-weather events like heat waves."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191113075107.htm

Cyclones in Indian Ocean

Year 2018 was the Indian Ocean cyclone season and the most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.

Kyarr and Maha are the 2 cyclones at same time developed over the past 10 days in the Arabian Sea. Cyclone Kyarr moved towards the towards the Gulf of Aden from Indian coast while cyclone Maha is coming to the west coast of India, There have been four cyclones in the Arabian in 2019 – Vayu, Hikka, Kyarr and now Maha.

Cyclone Vayu in northwestern India caused moderate damage in the states, form in the Arabian Sea and did damage in the state of Gujarat.

Cyclone Fani is Extremely Severe cyclone and storm in the shape of hood of a snake, threatening Indian states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and the first severe cyclonic storm of the 2019 in India.

Cyclone Phethai is part of the ongoing 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season over the Bay of Bengal.

The Orissa cyclone in the year of 1999 was the strongest storm to hit the Indian coast and also the strongest tropical cyclones that affected India, Here is the list of strong tropical cyclones that affected India.

Cyclone Maarutha – 2017
Gujarat Cyclone – 2015
Cyclone Viyaru – 2013
Cyclone Laila – 2010
Cyclone Bijli – 2009
Cyclone Nisha – 2008
Machilipatnam Cyclone – 1990
Andhra Pradesh cyclone – 1977

http://www.walkthroughindia.com/offbeat/top-9-intense-strongest-cyclones-india/

Extreme Heat and Drought in Middle East

Temperature records have been repeatedly broken in the MENA region in recent years. The highest recorded temperature in the region to date was 129.2 degrees F at Mitribah,Kuwait in 2016. In the same week, Basra in Iraq recorded 128.8 degrees F.

In June 2017, Sweihan, Abu Dhabi reached a record high of 122 degrees F. In Dubai, authorities warned drivers not to leave aerosols in their vehicles after several cars caught fire in the extreme heat.

The region has been subject to an almost continuous drought since 1998, according to NASA, which says the current dry period is the worst for 900 years. The World Bank, which is spending $1.5 billion to fight climate change in the region, estimates that 80-100 million people will be exposed to water stress by 2025.

By 2050, temperatures in the MENA will be 39.2 degrees F or higher, according to Germany’s Max Planck Institute. By the end of the century, daytime highs could reach 122 degrees F, with 200 days of exceptional heat every year. And without urgent action to curb global emissions, according to research, cities in the region may become uninhabitable before 2100.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/middle-east-front-lines-climate-change-mena/

6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Albania

At least 23 people have been killed, several more are missing and hundreds have been injured after an earthquake struck Albania on Tuesday, November 26,2019.

The quake, which had a preliminary rating of 6.4 magnitude, hit the European nation at an approximate depth of 12 miles early Tuesday local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. It is the strongest to hit Albania in 40 years. 

The epicenter was in the port city of Durres, about 22 miles from the capital. Social media videos from the area show several buildings have collapsed.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's office revised the death toll upwards several times on Tuesday. At least four victims died in Durres, spokesman Endri Fuga told CNN. Another two died in Thumane, one person died after jumping from a building in panic in Kurbin, and one victim died while driving on a badly damaged road in Lezhe, the spokesperson added.

Around 45 people were rescued from the rubble, Fuga told CNN, and more than 650 people have received medical attention throughout the day. He added that 30 people are being treated in hospitals.

Fuga did not want to speculate on how many people may still be missing but added that search and rescue teams would continue working throughout the night in the affected areas.

Nearby Bosnia and Herzegovina were also struck by an earthquake on Tuesday morning, the country's interior ministry told CNN. That quake had a 5.4 magnitude rating.

Rama said nearby countries, including Italy and Greece, have been assisting Albania with the recovery operation, while other European leaders have also offered their assistance.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/26/europe/albania-earthquake-tirana-intl-hnk/index.html