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While most of Ontario is under an extreme cold alert, the effects have resulted in some pretty incredible photo opportunities. Especially at Niagara Falls, which currently looks like a frozen winter wonderland. As of this morning [12/27], it felt like -19°C in Niagara, which has helped transform Niagara Falls into a frozen spectacle.

Days of bone-chilling temperatures in Canada have not frozen Niagara Falls yet, but locals predict the waterfalls could come to an icy halt this winter if the present cold snap continues. ... Days of snow and thick white mist have turned the area around Niagara Falls into a crystal palace, however, rushing water could still be seen flowing over the edge of the waterfalls on Friday. Many tourists, who continued to brave the bitterly cold December temperatures to enjoy the natural beauty of the falls, believe the coldest month of the year is actually January. "It's particularly cold today and...

Shivering, snowbound cities are scrapping their outdoor New Year’s Eve countdowns. Polar-bear plunges are being canceled because of fears of frostbite and hypothermia. Winter-hardened towns are gaping at their new lows: 32 degrees below zero in Watertown, N.Y. Minus 36 in International Falls, Minn. Record-breaking snowfalls have stranded older and disabled residents inside their homes for days. Cars are buried under mountains of snow, and lethally low temperatures are forcing cities across the Northeast and Midwest to open emergency “warming centers” for homeless residents and people whose furnaces are no match for the cold.

President Trump took to Twitter Thursday to note the record-breaking cold weather currently slamming much of the eastern U.S., saying the country could use some “global warming” during the cold snap. “In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record,” Trump tweeted. “Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!” Large swaths of the US are expected to see record-breaking cold temperatures over New Year’s weekend, with some areas expected to have...

FULL TITLE: Bundle up! Life-threatening bitter cold weather takes hold of northern US with record-breaking arctic blast bringing temperatures as low as 37 below zero Bitter cold weather has taken hold of much of the northern United States and is expected to stay put for days to come into the New Year. Forecasters warned of hypothermia and frostbite from arctic air settling in over the central U.S. and spreading east. The National Weather Service reported International Falls, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed Icebox of the Nation, plunged to 37 degrees below zero, breaking the old record of 32 below set in 1924....

In a little over a decade the world could be plunged into a 'mini ice age', scientists have warned. Temperatures will start dropping in 2021, according to a mathematical model of the Sun's magnetic energy. This, they say, will lead to a phenomenon known as the 'Maunder minimum' - which has previously been known as a mini ice age when it hit between 1646 and 1715, even causing London's River Thames to freeze over. The study says that between 2020 and 2030 solar cycles will cancel each other out. The model of the Sun's solar cycle is producing unprecedentedly accurate...

A stationary lake-effect snowband off Lake Erie dumped an incredible 34 inches of snow at Erie Airport on Christmas Day alone, quadrupling their previous record snowiest Christmas Day - 8.1 inches in 2002 - as well as smashing their all-time snowiest single day on record by over a foot - 20 inches on Nov. 11, 1956. That heavy snow continued into Tuesday, bringing their storm total since 7 p.m. EST Christmas Eve to an incredible 56.5 inches of snow - just over 4.5 feet - in 42 hours. This prolific event shattered all previous multi-day snowfall records in Erie dating...

Thanks to rising global temperatures, rapidly melting Arctic ice and growing human operations in the North, Santa Claus has signed an agreement with the International community to relocate his village next year to operate in an exclusive zone in the South Pole. Santa’s relocation agreement marks the first time that the international community agrees on a common legal definition of climate change that includes refugees as corporations, as well as individuals. This deal is expected to lead to the deployment of a global climate change refugee visa system that in the near future could help to more easily relocate individuals...

Post a seven day forecast for Christmas week at your locale.

The European Union has agreed a host of climate and energy targets this week: It’s set energy efficiency standards for new buildings, and agreed to climate targets for 2030. Europe has a history of progressive environmental legislation, and it political leaders often position themselves as climate heroes. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron appears to have moved in on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional territory as international climate champion, with public displays of support for climate science and attacks on US President Donald Trump’s regressive climate policies. But behind the bravado, is Europe doing enough to cut emissions? The short answer,...

Radioactive Fallout: "Radiological Defense" 1961 US Department of Defense, Civil DefenseOld Time Civil Defense movie for explanation of the effects of nuclear weaponry and radiation. Enjoy!

BackgroundThe sea level records since the start of the twentieth century show oscillations with many periodicities up to multi-decadal. The sea level may then change because of local factors such as subsidence or uplift, and global factors such as mass addition and thermal expansion of the oceans.PurposeWe use non-aligned data from the tide gauges of Aden, and the tide gauges of Mumbai and Karachi, to reconstruct the most likely pattern of sea levels for these three locations of the west Indian Ocean.MethodsLinear and parabolic fittings of monthly average mean sea levels (MSL) from the different tide gauges of the three...

French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stark warning on climate change at a summit in Paris on Tuesday, telling world leaders “we are losing the battle” against global warming. “We’re not moving fast enough, that’s the problem,” Macron told the One Planet Summit called to boost the 2015 Paris climate accord, which US President Donald Trump has renounced. “We must all act because we will all be held to account,” Macron told the gathering on an island in the River Seine, adding: “We cannot say we did not know.” Dozens of world leaders and hundreds of ministers, company bosses, and...

SNOW-MAGEDDON! Britain paralysed with 50,000 BA passengers stranded, hundreds of schools shut and dangerous icy roads on 'Black Monday' - after lows of -12.2C overnight with WORSE still to come. 'Black Monday' with more snow due and swathes of ice on the roads as temperatures dropped to -8C, Schools across the UK have been shut today after the country was hit by a so-called 'snowbomb' yesterday. Thousands of homes were left without power and Brits faced travel chaos as trains and flights were cancelled. In particular, Birmingham will grind to a halt on Monday after all of its schools will...

Forecasters cautioned that it could be the strongest and longest Santa Ana wind event so far this season, with winds as high as 50 to 70 miles per hour and guests as strong as 80 mph in the mountains. The dry and windy conditions are expected to last through at least Thursday. Carol Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that people should be especially careful to avoid setting off any kind of spark.

Link only: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/moody-s-warns-cities-to-address-climate-risks-or-face-downgrades

Much of France is getting its first taste of winter this week, with 50 departments placed on alert for snow and ice. Snow and ice is expected to hit much of France, with national weather agency Météo France placing 50 departments on yellow alert — the third highest warning level. The departments, including nine in Brittany, Normandy and the Pays de la Loire were placed on yellow alert — the third highest warning which advises people to be careful and stay up-to-date with the situation — at 6 am on Wednesday morning. Drivers are warned to be particularly vigilant. “Our...

Met Éireann has issued a nationwide snow and ice warning as a “polar low” sweeps over the country over the next two days. The yellow alert comes into force on Friday at 5 am and will remain in place until midday on Saturday. Snow showers are expected across the country during the alert, but the heaviest snowfall is forecast for counties in Connacht and in Ulster. Met Éireann said this “polar low” would begin to track down the country from the North. Friday and Saturday are set be bitterly cold, with widespread frost and ice and temperatures falling as low...

Records for Nov. 23 temperatures were also set in Long Beach and at Los Angeles International Airport, which both reached 91 degrees to top previous records set in 1990, the agency said. Above-90-degree weather also set records in Westwood, Burbank, Camarillo, Oxnard, Woodland Hills, Palmdale, Escondido, El Cajon and Alpine. A temperature of 97 degrees was recorded in Lake Elsinore. Meteorologists had predicted temperatures would drop slightly Thursday after an unseasonably hot Wednesday that also saw records break across Southern California.

Small tsunamis were detected and waves may have reached up to one metre (three feet) above the high tide level in parts of New Caledonia and smaller in Vanuatu, the PTWC said. “Minor sea level fluctuations...may continue over the next few hours,” a statement from the agency said. Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office advised people in southern provinces to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.. New Caledonia’s civil security agency made no plans to evacuate coastal places immediately. Authorities in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii said there were no tsunami threats to the coastlines of those countries.