Like Snow? Head To Northern Japan. They're Absolutely Buried

A recent street view of Aomori, Japan which
has been buried beneath a series of 
snowstorms coming off the Sea of Japan,
Photo by Larry Lane via Facebook

If you think you've gotten too much snow this winter, be glad you're not in northern Japan.  

Snow depth reached more than nine feet in some areas on Japan's northernmost island, leading to crushed buildings, impossible travel and the risk of avalanches and deaths from being buried by snow sliding off roofs. 

At least 35 people have died and nearly 400 are injured by recent extreme snows. Japanese emergency agencies have not said how the deaths and injuries occurred, but local media said that at least some of the deaths and injuries have involved falls from roofs as people try to remove snow from overburdened homes and businesses. 

Per AccuWeather:

"The deepest snow has been concentrated in northeastern Japan, home to more than 1 million people. In the city of Aomori, snow was piled near seven feet high, disrupting travel and for ing some rescue teams to enter homes through second-story windows. The snow depth was the most in 40 years, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency."

The Guardian reports that the winter weather has brought chaos to 15 of the country's 47 prefectures.  In some areas, the last time snow as this deep was not 40 years ago, but 1945. So it's been awhile since Japan has seen anything like this. 

Areas of northern Japan often get feet upon feet of snow in the winter. Cold winds coming from Russia and China pick up moisture as they cross the Sea of Japan and dump it as snow when it hits northern Japan. It's like the lake effect snow you see in western New York, but the Japan snows tend to be much deeper.

Aomori is sometimes described as the world's snowiest city. But this year is ridiculous. 

Frequent Arctic air outbreaks have caused numerous huge dumps of snow on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. The storms have been bigger and more frequent than usual, with few if any thaws in between. 

The snow has been relentless for weeks, and people are constantly trying to clear the snow. "I'm at my physical limit," one resident of Aomori said, probably speaking for everyone in town. 

 There was a few days of thawing in the past week, but that has temporarily ended. The above freezing temperatures created a risk of avalanches and flooding in areas where water can't drain because snow is blocking ditches and storm drains. There's even been some rain. 

The thaw also also allowed feet-thick chunks of snow to  slide off roofs, and that has been causing damage to some buildings. At least 40 structure in Aomori suffered at least some damage in just one day. The snow sliding off roofs has also collapsed power lines in some parts of the region. 

The snow reasserted itself and spread into many of the huge cities of Japan on Sunday. 

Some areas of western Japan not far from Kyoto reported up to 14 inches of snow within six hours.  In Hokuriku, a couple feet of snow fell within a 24 hours. The snow spread into Tokyo, where a couple inches fell.  Tokyo on average usually gets a snowfall that size only once, maybe twice per winter. 

Bullet trains in Japan were operating at reduced speeds due to the widespread snow and about 50,000 people were affected by train delays and cancelations around Tokyo.

The new round of snow was poorly timed because it came while national elections are being held and universities are doing entrance exams. Some of the universities have delayed those exams. 

A break in the weather, with a little more thawing even in hard-hit Hokkaido is expected later this week.

 Videos:

 Incredibly snowy scenes from Aomori, Japan. In recent weeks, up to 15 feet of snow has fallen in the areas Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Another very snowy news clip. Once again, click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that

 

European Heat Wave Killed Thousands In Disturbing Trend,, As Activists Refer To "Climate Breakdown." .

An attribution study says an early summer European 
heat wave was worsened by climate change and
killed thousands. Meanwhile, the world continues
to rack up more all time record heat waves this summer.

 A scientific group that does rapid analyses of extreme weather events to determine how climate change influenced the incidents concluded a late June and early July European heat wave killed thousands. 

Per the Guardian:

"Scientists estimate that high heat killed 2,300 people across 12 major cities as temperatures soared across Europe between June 23 and July 2.  They attributed 1,500 of the deaths to climate breakdown, which has heated the planet and made the worst extremes even hotter.

Milan was the hardest hit city in absolute terms, with 317 out of 499 heat deaths attributed to climate breakdown, followed by Paris and Barcelona. Long had 273 heat deaths, 171 of which the researchers attributed to attributed to human influence on the climate."

People have always died in heat waves, of course, but the study led by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that climate change made the heat wave worse than it otherwise would be. That added heat intensity had a disproportionate effect on deaths. 

Essentially, the scientists concluded the heat wave nearly tripled the number of deaths from heat. 

The study was part of a growing body of science called rapid attribution, which seeks to assess the cost and effects of climate-related weather events shortly after they happen. 

CLIMATE TERMINOLOGY

 As an aside, The Guardian is describing climate change in a new way that I haven't seen too much previously, but has gained a lot of use among activists in recent years: The term is  "climate breakdown"

Climate activist Greta Thunberg have the term its currency about six years ago when she said this:

"It's 2019. Can we all now please stop saying 'climate change' and instead call it what it is: climate breakdown climate crisis, climate emergency, ecological breakdown, ecological crisis and ecological emergency?"

2025 HEAT WAVES WIDESPREAD

Whatever it is, this is another summer when heat is clearly killing people, and so far, we arguably haven't had quite as many extreme heat waves as last year or the year before. But there's been plenty of horrible and sometimes deadly hot spells all over the world.  

Some example:

Finland finally just came out of its longest, most intense heat wave on record. This far northern, Scandinavian nation, endured three weeks in which daily highs were 86 degrees or higher.  

A town north of the Arctic Circle in Norway was also 86 degrees or warmer daily for almost two week. 

People who live in northern areas like Scandinavia can be especially prone to heat as it's historically uncommon there.  Nighttime heat combined with the fact it doesn't really get dark overnight near and north of the Arctic Circle in summer cause sleep disruptions. Air conditioning is rare, which is especially dangerous in retirement communities or health care settings. 

Just this week, at least 25 Japanese cities hit all time record high temperatures. Last Wednesday, the temperature in Tamba in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture reached 106 degrees, the hottest temperature on record for the entire nation. 

China is already reporting nearly 70 stations setting new August high temperature records, with six of those places setting all time records. 

Parts of Iran and Iraq have gotten as warm as 124 degrees. 

A historic heat wave hit the Northeast U.S. a month and a half ago,  breaking or tying all time June record highs in all six New England states.  

I've said his previously and it's worth saying again: Heat waves are underreported risks of climate change in most of the media. Hot spells are not "sexy" like picturesque and dramatic images of flash floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. 

Media to a large extent depends on images. And media depends on clicks - eyeballs on web sites and podcasts and such. Which means, behind the scenes, heat waves cause a lot more deaths, a lot more harm than the storms you see on the news all the time.  

The Guardian again, going back to that attribution study of European heat: 

"'This study demonstrates why heat waves are know as silent killers,' said Malcolm Mistry, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-author of the study. 'While a handful of deaths have been reported in Spain, France and Italy, thousands more people are expected to have died as a result of the blistering temperatures." 

Japan Snowstorm Dumps Four Feet In Short Order

Incredible snowfall rates reported in Japan this week,
with one town reported receiving four feet of snow
in less than a day. 

It seems to be getting snowier and snowier here in Vermont as we head into late winter, but we are certainly not going to get anything like the northernmost parts of Japan have seen this week. 

Snowfall on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido was record-breaking with four feet of snow reported in the storm in Obihiro. 

It often does snow really hard on parts of Hokkaido as they deal with something akin to those lake effect blizzards we keep hearing about in places like western New York. 

Cold winds blow from the Asian continent from China and Russia and then across the Sea of Japan. The cold winds pick up moisture from the sea. Those cold, now wet winds are forced to ride up the slopes of mountains in northern Japan and dump heavy snow.

The same thing happens in western New York, when for example, cold winds pick up moisture from Lake Ontario and dump it as snow in New York near Watertown and on the Tug Hill Plateau.

The latest storm in Japan, though, was much worse than usual. And more widespread. Plus, it's ongoing.   Some reports say the four feet of snow the dropped on Obihiro came within 12 hours. If verified, that would be the heaviest 12-hour snowfall on record in Japan.

Toyama, Japan had 20 inches of snow in just 12 hours. 

This storm is more widespread than most, even depositing some accumulations on the Pacific coast side of the northern island, which is pretty rare.  Several towns reported more than three feet of snow, and the same amount might fall on the region over the next couple days. 

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the storm and frigid air is "the strongest cold air in several years."

The Associated Press reported local governments had received dozens of calls for help from motorists whose vehicles were stuck in the snow.  Several main highways were shut down, as were airports in the hardest hit cities. 

So far, no major injuries or severe damage has been reported from all this Japanese snow. 

 A similar series of storms hit northern Japan in December  2020 and January, 2021, depositing up to seven feet of snow and stranding more them 1,000 motorists on a snow-buried expressway. 

 Video:

Scenes from the snow in northern Japan. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that:

Japanese Palm Tree Gains Big Fans After Surviving Punishing Typhoon

 There's something about certain trees that I become deeply emotionally attached to.

This palm tree in Japan, nicknamed Yasshi, was whipped
violently recently for hours by a typhoon. It was on a 
live camera feed and people became intensely interested
in its survival. It ended up doing fine and is
still standing after the typhoon. 

As a child, there was an immense sugar maple on our property. It had five main branches, each about the size of a mature old maple, sprouting from the most wide tree trunk I've ever seen. 

 My dad built a tree house in it for me. I'd spend hours up there, decompressing from the effects of a high strung mom. And inventing in my head adventure movies starring Yours Truly. 

My sister Lynn and I spent countless hours under that tree. In the fall, we'd jump off the swing into an immense pile of leaves from that maple. 

I still cherish the memory, I wept when it was cut down by the power company because they didn't like how close it was to their wires.

As an adult, I have three immense poplar trees in my St. Albans, Vermont back yard. I call them the triplets. Like all close friends, they can be a pain in the butt, like when wind storms prune some dead twigs from it, or it extends annoying roots into my summertime raised beds.

But the triplets are an ingrained part of my life. I can hear them outside now, a gusty wind whooshing through the thousands of leaves up there. 

All this is to say that humans love trees. Most of us, anyway. 

Which leads us to Kyushu, Japan. It's the nation's most southwestern-most main island, which was just hit by Typhoon Shanshan. 

It was a nasty storm, as typhoons usually are, causing devastating winds, floods and storm surges.  

As the Washington Post reports, thousands of people were drawn to a YouTube live stream showing the coast of Kyushu, in the throes of Typhoon Shanshan. In the video's foreground was a palm tree, whipping back and forth violently, always seemingly on the verge of snapping under the force of the hurricane winds. 

But the tree never succumbed. The typhoon's forward motion was slow, meaning the island - and the tree - were subject to horrendous winds for a longer period of time than people experience in most typhoons or hurricanes.

(Typhoons are what hurricanes are called in the western Pacific Ocean).

As WaPo reports, the tree's performance won worldwide fans. "The dramatic display of resilience won the hearts of thousands online, many of whom flooded the comments to root for the tree. - known affectionately as "Yasshi" - to survive."

The spoiler here is the tree indeed survived. The typhoon moved on and the live stream after the storm showed the tree with its fronds battered by the wind, but standing tall. 

There's something about trees, especially ones under duress, that we all root for. When I watch all those severe storm and tornadoes on YouTube (I'm a hopeless weather geek after all). I always root for the storm tossed trees to somehow survive.

When iconic trees die, or are killed, or are endangered, we all collective mourn. Some examples:

Hawaii Banyan

An enormous 150-year-old banyan tree in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii was badly burned during last August's   catastrophic wildfire that destroyed most of the tourist city.  People seemed almost more upset by the potential loss of the tree than the deaths and destruction in Lahaina.

People have been tracking the fate of the banyan tree ever since.  As the Associated Press reports, the sprawling tree survived and is coming back to life, gradually turning from ash gray and black scar he'd to green and growing back.  All thanks to intense efforts by arborists and volunteers. 

Half the tree's branches died in the fire. But arborists carefully removed those branches so the tree would redirect its energy toward the branches that might survive. Heavy irrigation and care has resulted in new green leaves and branches sprouting. The tree will survive.

British Vandalism Victim

International outrage erupted when some complete morons in 2023 cut down the Sycamore Gap tree in Britain. It was one of the most photographed places in the world. The tree sat between and at the base of two steep slopes. 

Two people were arrested, a 16 year old and man in his 60s. But they were subsequently freed. Two men in their 30s were then charged. They face fines equivalent to the estimated worth of the tree, which was about $785,000. No motive has been provided. 

Eight tiny shoots have since emerged from the stump of the tree, suggesting it might regenerate itself in some form. 

Washington DC's Stumpy 

The Tidal Basin in Washington DC is famed for its annual spring cherry blossoms. About 3,700 cherry trees put on a spectacular display every spring, usually in mid to late March. 

Climate change has made the Tidal Basin even more tidal. Sea level rise has caused more flooding, which affected some of the cherry trees.  The salt water damages the roots, and the trees get sick and eventually die. Earlier this year, the National Park Service cut down about 160 cherry trees due to rising tides and damage.

One of those trees was Stumpy. 

Stumpy, as a certain tree was dubbed, became something of a national treasure.  The salt damage made it gnarled, stunted and misshapen. Think the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, except worse. 

Stumpy's persistence and unique look won it tons of fans.  It was chopped down this year along with the 160 others. But right before that happened, Stumpy put on a blossom show that was its best in years. 

That tree wanted to go out with a bang.  God bless it. 

Meanwhile, in Japan, Typhoon Shanshan is long gone. Yasshi can recover in the tropical sun until the next typhoon comes along. 

Video: Yasshi the palm tree survives a typhoon. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

 

Cherry Blossoms, Now A Gorgeous, Sign Of Climate Change

UPDATE:

A past peak cherry tree bloom in Washington DC. This
year's is among the earliest on record. Same is
true with cherry blossoms in Japan

The cherry blossoms in Washington DC look like they 99 percent survived the frosty weather in the area over the past couple of days. 

Cherry blossoms start to die and turn brown when the temperature gets down to 28 degrees.

The temperature at nearby Reagan Airport got as low as 29 degrees. So it was a really close shave, but the blossoms managed to squeak through. 

The weather is turning warmer in Washington, and temperatures are expected to remain far above freezing for at least the next week.  

Peak bloom is expected during the second half of this week. 
 

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

A beloved harbinger of spring is extraordinarily early once again in two nations on opposite sides of the world. 

Cherry blossoms are out this year earlier than ever before  - or close to it - in Japan and Washington DC 

Cherry blossoms are already blooming in Tokyo, tying records set in 2020 and 2021 for earliest blooms since at least 1953. 

In Kyoto, Japan, the cherry blossoms might peak on March 26 or earlier. If that happens, it will be the earliest peak bloom there in at least 1,200 years. 

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, cherry blossoms are running at a near record early pace as well.

According to this March 7 report in the Washington Post:

"On Tuesday, the National Park Service declared the blossoms reached Stage 3 out of 6, known as "extension of florets." At this stage, the buds encasing the flowers begin to expand. March 7 marks the second-earliest date the buds have reached this stage since records began in 2004."

Since then, the blossoms continued to progress, and are heading toward peak bloom far ahead of schedule, despite weather that has not been as abnormally warm like it was in January through the opening days of March. 

As far north as Central Park in New York City, an early variety of cherry is blooming. No word on how this weekend's cold weather has affected those blossoms. 

Climate change is contributing to the warm winters and the premature springs that create these early blooms. The trouble is, it's just mid-March. Climate change or not, we can still see some brutal, blossom killing cold snaps.

As it is, Washington DC is having a chilly weekend, and early blossoms are at risk of being damaged or destroyed if it gets too cold. It got down to 29 degrees at Reagan National Airport this morning, and the expect low in Washington Monday morning is 28 degrees.  

Central Park Conservatory reports some early varieties of
cherry blossoms are already blooming in New York City. 

Those temperatures could damage some early blossoms, but many more would survive. But real trouble hits if it gets any colder than that. 

March, 2017 was another year in which Washington's cherry trees bloomed almost two weeks earlier than normal. Then, from March 11 to 17, Washington DC endured seven mornings in a row in the 20s, with temperatures dipping to as low as 22 degrees.

 Half of the city's cherry blossoms were killed just before they would have fully bloomed, the first time in the then-105 year history of spring cherry trees near the Tidal Basin.   

Washington's cherry trees face other log term threats due to climate change. Sea level rise is causing higher water in the Tidal Basin. This can make salt infiltrate the ground where the cherry trees are, eventually killing the roots, and thus the trees.

This isn't an imminent problem but it's one that will be an increasing threat in the coming decades. 

Hurricanes, Typhoons, Big Storms And Downpours, Oh My!

Radar image shows the eye of Hurricane Fiona and 
torrential rains spreading into Puerto Rico.

 Big storms are in the news today, with a soon to be hurricane near Puerto Rico, a powerful typhoon in Japan, an even bigger storm that used to be a typhoon in Alaska, and an upcoming soaking here in Vermont. 

We'll take 'em one at a time, with Vermont up last. I always save the best for last.

FIONA

What was Tropical Storm Fiona had struggled with strong upper level winds that prevented it from developing into a proper hurricane. Wouldn't you know right before Fiona gets to hapless Puerto Rico, it gets its act together. 

Puerto Rico is still trying to recover from 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria and a series of strong earthquakes since 2019 along the south coast of the island. 

As of late this morning, Fiona's top winds had increased to 80 mph, so it is now a full-fledged hurricane. The hurricane should come ashore in Puerto Rico later today. 

Winds will be destructive, and Puerto Rico's rickety power grid has already partially failed in the storm. However, the main problem with Fiona will be the rains. Most of Puerto Rico should receive five to 10 inches of rain with a few spots closing in on 20 inches. 

This will naturally cause big time flash floods and mudslides in the U.S. territory.  Fiona will move on to clip the Dominican Republic with more flash floods and land slides tonight and tomorrow. 

From there, Fiona is forecast to strengthen further east of the Bahamas. For those of you who hate the idea of a powerful hurricane hitting the U.S. East Coast, some good news: A strong cold front that will bring frost to northern New England late this week will also nudge Fiona to the north and east, keeping it over open water far off the coast. 

JAPAN TYPHOON

Satellite view of Typhoon Nanmadol on
approach to Japan.

Japan is often affected by typhoons, but one expected to strike today might be the nation's worst in decades.  

Super Typhoon Nanmadol is set to strike the southernmost of Japan's main islands with wind gusts exceeding 150 mph and 20 or more inches of rain. The winds are expected to be enough to collapse some houses. Meteorologists fear the flooding will be catastrophic.

The typhoon is also forecast to move over the megalopolis of Tokyo. Though winds will have diminished a little by the time Nanmadol reaches Tokyo, it still would be destructive. 

Japan has ordered large scale evacuations from coastal areas ahead of an expected destructive storm surge. At least four million people had been evacuated as the storm was making landfall this morning. 

Japan is well prepared for typhoons, but you can only do so much when a storm is this powerful. 

ALASKA STORM

Screen grab from a web cam of Nome, Alaska Saturday
shows an angry Pacific Ocean with waves 
crashing into the town. 

Typhoon Merbok sideswiped China a week ago. When typhoons and hurricanes head north, the often turn into powerful non-tropical storms. Merbok is an extreme example of that. 

Former typhoon Merbok has caused some of the worst storm damage western Alaska has ever seen. The storm's size is immense - at least the size of the entire state.  

Villages along much of Alaska's west coast have already been experiencing episodes of flooding and severe coastal erosion due to sea level rise and more powerful storms induced by climate change. 

This storm is worsening things exponentially. Photos on social media depict entire villages under water, with some houses and buildings swept away. A web cam from Nome shows enormous Pacific Ocean waves, some of which were crashing into oceanfront streets.  Many villages along more than a 400 miles stretch of Alaska's west coast received extensive damage. 

VERMONT SOAKING

National Weather Service office in South Burlington has
released this rainfall forecast map through Monday,
showing more than two inches of rain in norther
Vermont. Lines depict their prediction of rain
onset today.

Less than a week after a slow moving storm dumped up to four inches of rain on some Vermont communities, another super soaker is in the offing today and especially on Monday. 

It's not a hurricane. Or a typhoon. Or a mega storm. Instead, the culprit is a stalling front near the International border, lots of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and disturbances riding along the front could easily dump three or more inches of rain at least a few towns.  

Vermont somehow escaped flash flooding from last Tuesday's episode of heavy rain. This time, if any strings of downpours repeatedly hit a particular spot in the Green Mountain State, we might not be so lucky. 

Before we get ahead ourselves, for most of us, the heavy rain will be good news. Despite recent rains, we could still use more rain to erase the dry conditions that built up all summer. Of course, southern Vermont is most in need of rain, but this next episode is mostly going to drench northern Vermont.

The first round of rain was coming at us from the north and west late this morning and it will be rainy Sunday afternoon and evening. Some of the rain could come down pretty hard in northern areas, but it won't be anything extreme. Don't worry about any local flooding or washouts today. 

By late tonight, northern areas should have received a half inch to an inch of rain. Southern Vermont should only get a quarter inch or so.

Consider today a pre-soak. 

Monday, the rain should come down harder, especially in the afternoon.  We might see some embedded thunderstorms as well. One or two of those storms could be on the strong side, so most of Vermont is under a marginal risk (level one of five) of severe storms. 

The main issue will be the rains. The air will be plenty humid. The nearly stalled front with disturbances riding along it will really be efficient at dropping a good amount of rain. 

Between now and late Monday night, most of northern Vermont should have received more than two inches of rain. That amount would be beneficial, and not create any real flooding concerns.

The problem is, much like last Tuesday, certain areas could really over-perform and receive three or even four inches of rain. It would be a rather small area, and we don't know exactly where. Since the ground is wetter than it was a week ago, it will be a little easier for washouts and some local flooding to creep in. 

Not a guarantee, but a possibility. If we do see any flooding, it wouldn't be an Irene-style calamity, but still something to watch out for. We'll have more details on this Monday morning. 

Hot Weekend Here, But Elsewhere In The World, Ridiculous! Our Time Will Come, Though

People in Tokyo's Ginza district use umbrellas to shield
themselves from the intense sun during a record heat
wave last Saturday. Photo from AFP-JIJI

We had our first spell of 90 degree weather in the Champlain Valley over the weekend, but it wasn't as hot as it could be. We didn't set any real record highs.  

If you don't like heat, we got off easy. Especially since the hot spell in Vermont was brief, and it wasn't all that humid during this episode.

Elsewhere in the world, though, we're already having another summer of insane record high temperatures. I've already posted about the extreme European heat of a week or two ago, but since then, there have been other incredible hot spots. 

So let's dive in and look.

As the Associated Press reports:

"In China's northern Henan province Friday, Xuchang hit 107.8 degrees and Dengfeng hit 106.9 for their hottest days on record, according to global extreme weather tracker Maximiliano Herrera. And in Japan Friday, Tokamachi and Tsuanan set a time heat records while several cities broke monthly marks, he said." 

No fewer than 25 cities in China recorded their hottest temperature on record for any date of the year Froday. Beijing roasted at 102 degrees.

Tokyo, Japan just tied its record for the hottest June day with a high of 97 degrees, which was also hottest for so early in the season. At least nine other Japanese cities established new all time highs for June. 

Isesaki, a city about 50 miles north of Tokyo, reached 104 degrees Saturday, setting a new June record high for the entire nation of Japan.  

 Way up in Siberia, The town of Tazovskoe set a June record of 90 degrees. Some Arctic islands way up near the North Pole, near 80N have lost all of their snow, the earliest on record that it has disappeared in the summer. 

Parts of the Middle East and central Asia area also baking.  The port cit of Bander-e-Dayyer in Iran reached a whopping 127 degrees this past week.  The temperature reached 113 in Turkmenistan and 112 in Kazakhstan.  

The heat in the United States hasn't set all time records, but it has certainly been widespread.  No fewer than 15 states reported high temperatures of at least 100 degrees on Thursday. 

The hot weather is temporarily easing in the U.S. for the next couple of days, though heat advisories remained in effect for the Pacific Northwest through Monday.  No really extreme heat waves are in store for the nation at least through July 1.

But remember, there's plenty of time for renewed heat waves in July and August throughout the northern hemisphere.

The heat records I mentioned above have been coming fast and furiously.  Same has been true in the last few years, as I've noted above.

Of course, records are made to be broken, so you're always going to see a few record highs and a few record lows broken from time to time. But the fast pace of these heat waves - especially monthly and all time - is a hallmark of climate change.

Climate change is super charging heat waves. What would otherwise be forgettable hot spells have become unprecedented blasts of torrid conditions.

It can happen anywhere, anytime. I've said that so far, we in Vermont have had a Goldilocks summer. Sure it was hot this past weekend and chilly the weekend before, but we haven't had any kind of unprecedented weather so far. 

Overall, this summer is at least starting out cooler than recent ones. But there's nothing stopping us for experiencing heat Vermont has never seen before. It's really a matter of time with climate change. 

I don't know if that will happen this summer, next summer or a few or several summers from now. But eventually, Vermont's all time hottest reading of 105 degrees, set way back in 1911, and Burlington's all time record of 101 set during the World War II year of 1944, will seem quaint and cool. 

 

Missing Out On Snow? Here's Where You Should Have Been

At least somebody has snow.
Wenatchee, Washington picked
up two feet this week. Photo by
Eve Hanson via KIRO.

 So far at least, it's turning out to be kind of a dud snow year here in Vermont. 

As of midnight Friday night, snowfall this winter has amounted to just 19.1 inches which is nearly a foot below normal or this time of year. Snow depth atop Mount Mansfield is a paltry 25 inches.  

No big snows seem to be on the horizon for us, either. 

Every snow season has its winners and losers. Based on latest news reports, here's some places you should have been if you really wanted to see snow:

Wenatchee, Washington.  This city in central Washington State received right around two feet of snow within 24 hours earlier this week  That's the most on record for the area.  Wenatchee is east of the Cascade Mountains, which normally block moisture.  This means Wenatchee is not used to big snows. I guess they'll have to get used to it now.

Buffalo, New York.  Buffalo IS used to big snows, as most of us know.  Thursday was quite the big snow day there, however, as a persistent lake effect snow band dumped 17.8 inches of snow in one day.  That's the second biggest January snowfall on record for Buffalo, falling just short of the month's record of 18.3 inches, set on January 11, 1982.

Soda Springs, California: The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs, California, right there in Donner Pass, recorded 202.1 inches of snow in December, making it the snowiest December on record there. 

This snow in the Sierras, coming all at once, caused huge power outages, snowed people in and blocked major highways for days.  The snow put a dent in California's punishing drought. However, the weather pattern has flipped, and it hasn't snowed much at all in January and very little snow is in the forecast there for the remainder of the month. 

Parts of Japan have been hit by heavy snow recently, too
as you can see in this aerial photo. 

Asago, Japan: This Japanese city received 71 centimeters, or 28 inches snow recently, the most ever recorded there. 

Snoqualmie Pass, Washington:  Back up to Washington State, this time in the Cascade Mountains, is where Interstate 90 cuts through the mountain range. The highway has been closed much of this week due to heavy snow and avalanches. 

It snows a lot at Snoqualmie Pass, but this year is off the chain. As of this morning, they've had 286 inches of snow Through yesterday morning, Snoqualmie Pass has had a whopping 286 inches of snow (nearly 12 feet). Normally, they would have had 148 inches by now. A lot, but not like this year! 

Blue Hill, Massachusetts:  The most reported snow in that nor'easter that came tantalizingly close to Vermont without actually dumping much snow here, reported 15.2 inches, the most reported Friday from the storm. 

Vermont's winter is still quite young, and there's plenty of time in which snow lovers can potentially rejoice. Half of Burlington's 20 biggest snowstorms have occurred in February or March.  

Who knows? Maybe Vermont still has a shot at being in one of these "big snow" lists. For the time being at least, though, we're not going to be buried.

 

 

You Want Snow? Head To Japan

Via Twitter: About five feet of snow atop
a northern Japan phone booth this week.

A lot of us don't think of Japan as particularly snowy. 

Our biases tilt toward what is most familiar, so maybe we think of relatively warm and wet Tokyo, where the average annual snowfall is just two inches.

Head north into some mountainous areas, though, and they really get blitzed by snow.

An example just hit in recent days. 

As meteorologist Matthew Cappucci with the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang writes, one town about 200 miles north of Tokyo reported 85 inches of new snow. That's seven feet of snow in one storm! 

Shovel that out of your driveway, folks. 

Epic snowstorms like this are actually pretty common in northern Japan.  It's basically lake effect snow, except it's the Sea of Japan that helps create the snow. 

We're familiar with lake effect snows from the Great Lakes.  Cold winds often blow across the relatively warm waters of those lakes.  The cold air can then take up the moisture from the lakes and dump it as heavy snows in places like Buffalo, Cleveland or more extensively in New York's Tug Hill Plateau. 

It works the same way in Japan.  Cold  west and northwest winds blow off the chilly mainland of China and Russia. Those winds cross the tepid waters of the Sea of Japan, and pick up boatloads of moisture. Those now moisture laden, cold winds then smack into the hills and mountains of northern Japan, and you get snowstorms you measure in feet, not inches. 

As Cappucci notes, the recent snows in Japan were more widespread and heavier than usual due to unusually sharp cold air and oddly strong storms that really bolstered those west and northwest winds. 

Japan was sandwiched between record breaking high pressure in Mongolia with its packet of frigid an a Pacific Ocean storm that eventually brought record low pressure to Alaska. T

That was a perfect setup for those intense snows. It created strong, frigid west winds that blew across the Sea of Japan. The rest is snow drifts and history.

Even when there's not such a perfect setup for northern Japan snows, frequent sea-effect snows over the course of a winter really pile up.

For instance, on February 21, 2013, there was 17 feet of snow on the ground in one northern Japan town. Up in the mountains, above the elevation where people live,  There's been as much as 38 feet of snow on the ground at a 4,000 foot above sea level in an area known as the Japanese Alps, as noted by Christopher Burt.

In the early spring, tourists flock to high mountain passes in northern Japan as tour buses navigate roads at the base of what looks like snow canyons.  The snow depth is sometimes three or four times the height of the tour buses on the roads. 

All this makes the 42 inches of snow in southern Vermont last month seem like just a flurry. 

By the way, just a flurry is all you'll get in Vermont for the next several days. That atmospheric traffic jam I told you about yesterday is still in place, leaving us with cloudy skies, freezing fog this morning, and scattered flurries today through Wednesday.