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This is just a sampling of the strange
and destructive weather plaguing the U.S., plus other parts of the country
and other countries as
well, starting in December 2002 and getting worse into 2003.
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Snow Storm in Middle East
2.25.2003
A snow storm has caused havoc
in the Middle East, forcing the closure of major roads and schools.
Israel, Lebanon and Jordan
were blanketed with snow on Tuesday, with heavier falls expected on
Wednesday.
In Syria, six people are
reported to have died when their house collapsed in heavy rain.
Jerusalem was also paralysed
by heavy snow storms, with more than 20 centimetres (eight inches) cutting
the hilltop Holy City off from the rest of the country.
Main routes from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem
and Beirut to Damascus were closed by the bad weather and temperatures in
Jordan plunged below freezing.
* * * * * * *
Winter
Weather Causes Havoc Across Nation
2.24.2003
Residents of the southern Plains were digging out from under more than a
foot of snow that caused deadly traffic accidents and closed schools for the
day Monday.
The fast-moving snowstorm, which was speeding through the upper Ohio Valley
by Monday morning, followed in the tracks of an early storm that spread
snow, ice and high wind through the Appalachians and the Northeast.
Up to 20 inches of snow fell Sunday in northern Oklahoma, and southern
Kansas got as much as 15 inches. Around a foot piled up in southwest
Missouri and northern Arkansas reported 8 inches.
The blinding, slippery snow caused hundreds of traffic accidents, including
at least 100 in just over three hours in southwest Missouri. A 75-vehicle
pileup during blizzard conditions in Oklahoma injured five people and
stranded dozens for hours, authorities said.
Many schools called off classes for Monday and dozens of churches canceled
Sunday's services.
Earlier, the storm dropped as much as 2 feet of badly needed snow on much of
Colorado, triggering dozens of avalanches.
One slide swept a backcountry skier over a 20-foot cliff and buried him.
A ski tip sticking out of the snow marked his location and a companion was
able to rescue him.
The snowstorm was blamed for four traffic deaths in Kansas and one in
Missouri. In the East during the weekend, two people were killed in flooding
in Virginia, two died as wind wrecked mobile homes in eastern Kentucky, one
was killed in a West Virginia plane crash linked to wind, and three people
died on slippery roads in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
The Northeast, which was buried in as much as 4 feet of snow just one week
earlier, was hit again during the weekend by rain, wind, ice, freezing rain,
sleet, fog and snow.
Maine even had thunderstorms. An estimated 12,300 customers of Central Maine
Power Co. were without electricity.
Heavy ice pulled down tree limbs in upstate New York and collapsed several
roofs. Dense fog closed the entire New Jersey Turnpike for about three
hours.
Nine people were injured when the roof of a Toys 'R' Us store collapsed at
Lanham, Md., under the weight of heavy rain and the remnants of last week's
heavy snow.
Minor flooding was reported throughout West Virginia and in parts of
Virginia as the heavy rain and melting snow swelled rivers and streams out
of their banks.
* * * * * * *
Deadly
Blizzard Wreaks Havoc in Northeast
2.17.2003
A powerful winter
blizzard barreled into New England on Monday after it closed most major
airports between Washington and New York, stranded thousands of travelers
and brought holiday sales to a halt.
About two
feet of snow on the nation's capital blamed for at least 10 deaths
from Kentucky to New Jersey.
Two people died of heart attacks while
shoveling snow in Maryland and West Virginia. Another person was killed and
four were injured when the roof of a building collapsed in Edison, New
Jersey.
The storm cut power to more than
100,000 homes and businesses in Ohio and Kentucky.
More than 23 inches of snow had fallen
at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport as of 3 p.m. EST.
New York City police closed streets
near the United Nations because of falling debris from buildings that was
blamed on the storm. Heavy winds led to whiteout conditions and snow drifts,
with blizzard warnings in effect from New York to Boston.
* * * * * * *
Bizarre Weather Ravages
Africans' Crops
1.7.2003
THABA-TSEKA, Lesotho -- The
crops here in the rugged mountains of Lesotho are failing because the rain
came much too early. And much too late.
There were hailstorms and
tornadoes, too. Then an early frost killed most of the maize sprouts that
had survived the earlier bizarre weather.
Now this tiny kingdom of
subsistence farmers tucked into southeastern South Africa is in the midst of
a famine; the World Food Program estimates that nearly one-third of
Lesotho's 2.1 million residents will need emergency handouts this year.
* * * * * * *
'Mangled mess of trees and
power lines'
Some may not get power restored until Sunday
12.6.2002
 RALEIGH,
North Carolina (CNN) -- More
than 1.5 million people in the Carolinas remained without power late
Thursday after a winter storm swept through the region, leaving behind a
sheen of ice and a "mangled mess of trees and power lines."
North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley
declared a state of emergency, and authorities said the outages would likely
continue through the weekend as thousands of utility crews work to restore
power.
* * * * * * *
Residents of North
Carolina Face Up To Live Without Power
12.6.2002
Ice-laden
tree limbs falling on power lines left millions of people in the Carolinas
without electricity for lights and heat Thursday.
The sound of
breaking limbs and trees was common throughout much of North Carolina as the
storm pummeled the state. Even after the ice and sleet changed to rain,
branches continued cracking under the weight of accumulated ice.
North Carolina State
University in Raleigh closed for the day.
Charlotte also
opened its convention center and coliseum to allow residents to sleep in
warmth, although they had to bring their own sleeping bags.
* * * * * * *
Snow and ice
storm's effects on states
12.6.2002
ARKANSAS: Two
storm-related deaths, power outages down Thursday from peak of 60,000
customers, up to 4 inches of snow, some schools closed.
CONNECTICUT: Some
schools closed and most on half-day schedule, up to 8 inches of snow by
evening.
KENTUCKY: Six
deaths, about 4,200 customers blacked out Thursday, up to 8 inches of snow,
at least 55 of the 176 school districts closed.
MISSOURI: Four
deaths, more than 100 schools closed, up to 10 inches of snow in Ozarks.
NEW JERSEY: Up to 7
inches of snow, at least 240 of state's 597 school districts closed, state
and county government offices closed early. Delays and cancelations at
Newark airport.
NEW YORK: One death,
some New York City suburban schools closed and some upstate schools sent
kids home early, up to 10 inches of snow forecast on Long Island, flights
delayed up to three hours.
NORTH CAROLINA: Four
deaths, about 1.3 million customers blacked out, 7 inches of snow on Blue
Ridge Parkway, hundreds of schools and businesses and many government
offices closed.
OKLAHOMA: Several
schools closed for second day, up to foot of snow and half-inch of ice,
about 60,000 customers without power at peak of storm but most service
restored by Thursday.
PENNSYLVANIA: All
Philadelphia schools closed and many others statewide, rash of accidents
closed section of Pennsylvania Turnpike east of Pittsburgh.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Two
deaths, nearly 300,000 customers lost power, some schools closed for second
day.
TENNESSEE: One
death, about 25,000 customers lost power Wednesday but most restored by
Thursday, up to 6 inches of snow and half-inch of ice, dozens of schools
closed Wednesday.
VIRGINIA: Two
deaths, snow up to 10 inches deep, schools closed, about 13,000 customers
without electricity, many government offices and courts closed.
WEST VIRGINIA:
Schools closed in all 55 counties, heaviest snow 7 inches deep, some flights
canceled at Charleston's Yeager Airport.
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Nation's Capital Slowed By
Snow
12.5.2002
Washington is bundling up under its first snowfall of the year,
with federal agencies open even as many staffers and students stay home —
and off of the region's icy roads.
The storm, glazing
the East and South with icy precipitation, was dumping up to 10 inches of
snow on the Washington area. It knocked out power to thousands of homes,
prompted virtually every school to declare a snow day and mucked up roads
for the relatively few commuters who ventured to work. The federal
government remained open, but school closings inspired most parents to stay
home.
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Storm Knocks Power for Millions,
20 Dead
12.5.2002
Millions of
people shivered without electricity Thursday in the Carolinas as one of the
worst ice- and snowstorms in years snapped tree limbs, snarled air travel
around the country and kept children home from school in a large part of the
East.
At least 20
deaths had been blamed on the storm since it blew across the southern Plains
earlier in the week. Up to a foot of snow fell in places from New Mexico to
North Carolina.
"We've got
wrecks everywhere," Virginia State Police Sgt. D.A. Shaver said.
Schools closed
in parts of the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware,
New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee
and Kentucky.
The Carolinas
were the hardest hit as the weight of ice and snow snapped tree limbs and
sent them crashing onto power lines. In Raleigh, N.C., the crack of buckling
pines and oaks sounded like gunfire during hunting season.
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