Two die as high winds sweep the region
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Winds of up to 100mph in Scotland and other parts of Britain 3 January are causing considerable damage, with some areas suffering power cuts and transport disrupted, including the London-Edinburgh trains. A man died in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in southern England when a tree fell on his van and a sailor, one of three injured on a boat in the Channel, died after they were rescued.
Weather alerts remain in place, with strong winds expected throughout the night.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A “superstorm” is advancing on Alaska and expected to arrive Wednesday night 9 November, according to the US National Weather Service: “Damaging winds, coastal flooding, and blizzard conditions are among the expected impacts of a Bering Sea “superstorm” expected to slam into Alaska this evening.” Residents are being warned to take precautions, with most of the western edge of the state affected.
Source: US Weather Service, Alaska division
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (GenevaLunch) – The biggest snowfall in Minnesota since 1991, with 43 cm of fresh snow, nearly two feet, caused the inflatable roof of the Metrodome to collapse about 05:00 Sunday. The Metrodome is home to the several sports teams, including the Minnesota Vikings. Their game with the New York Giants was postponed to Tuesday 14 December and moved to Detroit after the Vikings found their flight diverted to Kansas City. The storm was followed Sunday afternoon by a wind chill advisory: the 7F/-14C temperatures are expected to have the impact of -15F.
The snow was accompanied by strong winds and gusts up to 64 kph.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, NFL video news, Star & Tribune (Minneapolis)
Northern England and Scotland are expecting to have a foot of snow dumped on them in the pre-Easter holidays period. Northern Ireland was hit Tuesday night and the Met Office in the UK says unconfirmed reports of 20-30 cm of snow on the ground are coming in from that area. Meanwhile, the BBC reports the death of a teenager when her school bus crashed on icy roads, and thousands without electricity in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Strong winds are causing drifting and generally treacherous conditions in the northern British Isles.
Valais, Switzerland (click on image to view larger)
Davos, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The danger of avalanches in the Swiss Alps has been at level 3 (“considerable danger”) for the past few days in many areas and is set to rise on Wednesday 30 December. Fresh snow and winds have created drifts, some of which are building up to dangerous levels. The greatest danger areas are above 1,800 metres on northern flanks of the Alps.
“The avalanche-prone locations are to be found on steep slopes of all aspects above approximately 2000 m,” according to the late Monday report from SLF, part of the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.
The UK weather service has told Britain to expect heavy rain Thursday and Friday, accompanied by widespread flooding in northwest England and southwest Scotland. A tidal surge in the Irish Sea could spell flooding in and north of Aberystwyth, Wales and gusting up to 70 miles per hour in some areas could add to the weather woes.
Lake Geneva, afternoon 26 May: storm lights warn sailors
Bern, Lucerne, Zurich, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Several areas in eastern Switzerland were hard hit by heavy thunderstorms and winds Tuesday afternoon 26 May. A man was killed when a tree blew down and landed on the car he was driving in Romanshorn, Thurgau and a woman is in stable condition at a Bern hospital after she was hit by a falling branch. Lucerne was hit by flash floods that swamped cellars and Zurich had several minutes of hail. Fribourg suffered heavy damage from falling trees.
The Lake Geneva area had gusting winds and rain, but was spared the strength of the storm that hit further east.
