Gangwon buried in most snow in a century [ Korea ]

The biggest snowfall in 100 years in Gangwon paralyzed coastal cities and mountain villages near the East Sea, isolating about 1,280 residents in 640 households and leading to the collapse of 75 structures. The local military office sent 11 helicopters and roughly 12,000 soldiers on rescue operations.

And more snow was predicted for the region overnight, up to 50 additional centimeters (19.7 inches), by the Korea Meteorological Administration yesterday. The administration issued heavy snow warnings to most cities and villages in the province.

“As the temperature will plunge tonight, leading to icy roads in the morning, drivers and pedestrians should take special cautions,” the state-run weather agency said. “We advise residents to prepare for additional snowfall and to prevent their roofs or structures from collapsing.”

Snow began falling on Friday and stopped at about 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Gangneung saw 77.7 centimeters of snow on Friday, the heaviest since the city began weather observations in 1911. Samcheok was hit with 120 centimeters of snow, Donghae 100.1 centimers, and Daegwallyeong 56.3 centimeters, according to the KMA.

“I couldn’t open the front door of my house because piles of snow blocked it,” said Hong Jong-won, a 62-year-old resident of Gangneung. “I had to push away snow piles as if I were wading in water just to reach the shovel, which was 10 meters away from the front door.”

The Gangwon provincial government’s Disaster and Safety Management Office said yesterday that 67 greenhouses, seven livestock facilities and one warehouse collapsed from the weight of accumulated snow on their roofs.

Roughly 4.5 billion won ($4 million) worth of damage was estimated, the office said.

The ROK Eighth Corps, deployed near the east coast, sent 11 helicopters to Donghae, Gangwon. The helicopters flew over snow-inundated regions and communicated with soldiers on the ground, who delivered necessities to isolated residents. Some helicopters dropped soldiers on ropes to deliver relief supplies or give medical support to the cut-off houses.

The corps also sent 57 snowplows and 330 other equipment to clear snow from roads.

Soldiers rescued about 450 vehicles stuck in thigh-high snow on highways since Friday.

On highway No. 7, connecting Imwon-ri and Hosan-ri in Samcheock, a 26-ton tanker truck skidded on an icy road and blocked the two-lane highway. About 300 people in 100 cars were stuck on the road for 34 hours until 5:00 a.m. on Saturday when enough snow was cleared. Local officials said the drivers were stranded without water or food until policemen arrived with bread and drinks early Saturday.

At 9:00 p.m. on Friday, an express bus skidded on the highway near Sonyang-myeon, Sokcho, trapping some 150 vehicles for seven hours.

Traffic officials and local police officers finally restricted access to the highway to vehicles equipped for heavy snow.

According to the local government, about 400 local buses running 293 routes in the province were suspended or ran limited routes.

In order to remove the snow on the roads and expressways, the Gangwon provincial government dispatched 1,560 plows, 5,400 workers and 2,000 policemen to scatter salt and control traffic. “The northeastern wind, created by the low pressure in southwest, brought the snow clouds to the East Sea,” an official at the Korea Meteorological Administration said yesterday.

Thanx Ernest_at_the_Beach !

While this event does not qualify for a Gore Effect citation (as it is not coincident with an event to promote draconian global warming legislation) it is further experiential evidence that at least as strong a case can be made anecdotally for global cooling as for global warming. Lest we forget...

The Gore Effect
(Links may expire over time.)

GORE HEARING ON WARMING MAY BE PUT ON ICE
Mon Jan 26 2009 17:59:26 ET
Al Gore is scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning to once again testify on the 'urgent need' to combat global warming.
But Mother Nature seems ready to freeze the proceedings.
A 'Winter Storm Watch' has been posted for the nation's capitol and there is a potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations.
"I can't imagine the Democrats would want to showcase Mr. Gore and his new findings on global warming as a winter storm rages outside," a Republican lawmaker emailed the DRUDGE REPORT. "And if the ice really piles up, it will not be safe to travel."
A spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, who chairs the committee, was not immediately available to comment on contingency plans.
Global warming advocates have suggested this year's wild winter spells are proof of climate change.
Developing...
HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER ICE STORM (Drudge Report ) February 13, 2007
March 1, 2007 --- Minnesota Public Radio's "Global Warming: The Home Front" scheduled for March 1 was cancelled due to insufficient global warming ("based on current travel advisories ").
March 7, 2007 --- A Congressional subcommittee meeting on Energy and Air Quality Hearing on "Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?" was cancelled due to a snow advisory. "A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING."
Recall that greenhouse hypothesis maintains that warming due to increases in the greenhouse effect is anticipated to be greatest in the winter.
Frostbite, equipment damage end latest Bancroft-Arnesen trek
PATRICK CONDON
Associated Press
March 12, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS - A North Pole expedition meant to bring attention to global warming was called off after one of the explorers got frostbite.
What follows is a sampling of how Mother Nature enjoys ridiculing promoters of the global warming scam.

• The Gore Effect: Politico, November 2008

• First October snow since 1922 blankets London as global warming bill debated: Register, October 2008

• Global Warming Vote on Snowy Day in Washington - Senate committee debates expensive climate change bill as snow blankets D.C.:
First October snow since 1922 blankets London as global warming bill debated: Register, October 2008
Global Warming Vote on Snowy Day in Washington - Senate committee debates expensive climate change bill as snow blankets D.C.: Business and Media, December 2007
HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER SNOW/ICE STORM: Drudge Report, February 2007
NOT AGAIN! DC 'Snow Advisory' Issued on Day of Congressional Global Warming Hearing: Times, March 2007
Gore decries 'global warming' in bitterly cold NYC: WND, December 2006
Gore delivers environmental message at Harvard ...with near 125-year record breaking low temps: MOTLS, October 2008
Global warming activists urged to focus on Earth Day rallies and ignore snow as it 'piles up outside our windows': Alarmism, April 17, 2007
No Joke! Cyclists 'braved freezing cold temps' to promote global warming awareness in New York: WKTV, October 22, 2008
Global warming protest in Maryland frosted with snow: Baltimore Sun, January 2008
Global warming rally in the snow: Alarmism, April 2007
Snow won't dampen global-warming rallies: Live Daily, April 2007
Brrrr - Obama to global warming demonstrators: 'This is probably not the weather to hold up those signs...it's a little chilly today', Space Daily, October 28, 2008
Global Warming Awareness Walk Braves Snow Storm: Nashua Telegraph, March 2007
The Gore Effect, Cont. - Gore speaks in Italy during 'rare' cold and snow: Planet Gore, December 16, 2008
Climate protest canceled 'due to rain and cold': Telegraph (Australia), Nov. 23, 2008
Penguin Ice Sculptures refuse to melt 1997
Three British explorers trying to ski to the North Pole to measure the thickness of sea ice only have one day's food left as bad weather hampers supply flights March 17, 2009
Texas Email Subject Line: 'Global Warming Lecture Postponed Due to Cooling' Houston Chronicle via NewsBusters, December 5, 2009
Al Gore Warns of Global Warming Doom Seconds Before CNN Reports 'Monster' Winter Storm (NewsBusters) December 9, 2009
Record Cold To hit Global Warming Conference (Copenhagen To Break Dec 17th Record by 7 Degrees!) December 17, 2009
Snowstorm squelches climate change protest Copenhagen, December 30, 2009 ... A downtown protest of the climate change talks in Copenhagen became a victim of Wednesday's snowstorm. "Not many people showed up because of the blizzard conditions," said organizer Clea Major, an international studies student at the University of Utah... She called Wednesday evening's effort a success and possibly the first in a series. As for the snow, it's not entirely new; a protest she attended last year in Washington, D.C., suffered a similar fate..."There is always the irony element," Major said. (There is also the reality element of the globe's current 11 year cooling cycle, Clea.)
“Gore effect” strikes Cancun Climate Conference 3 days in a row December 8, 2010
“Gore Effect” on Steroids: Six straight days of record low temperatures during COP16 in Cancun Mexico – more coming December 10, 2010, Watts Up With That
Record Cold at Cancun Climate Confab 11 Dec 10, New American

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