New Zealand Nears Record Low Temperature; Snow From Europe To North America Spoils Start Of Spring; They're Spraying Sea Water Over The Arctic; + The Polar Vortex Is Spinning Backwards
Today's 'ozone spike' —the opposite of an ozone hole— is the biggest in the month of March since record-keeping began in 1979.
New Zealand Nears Record Low Temperature
Thermometers in Whanganui dropped to 4C (39.2F) Wednesday morning, making for the city's second-coldest March reading on record.
Whanganui, located on the West coast of New Zealand's North Island, averages a March minimum of 12.8C (55F). Its coldest-ever March low remains the 2.5C (36.5F) set March 28, 1985 (solar minimum of cycle 21). Weather books date back to 1978.
This part of the world is forecast further shivers as the month progresses.
Latest GFS runs reveal that Australia, 2,500 miles to the west, is about to cop something of an early-onset of winter with pinks and purples dominating the picture over the next week, at least:
Snow From North America To Europe Spoils Start Of Spring
Starting in Alberta, Canada, the province is bracing for a multi-day snowfall event combined with a drastic drop in temperatures.
With the first full day of spring on Wednesday, the weather in the province will be anything but spring-like. Some areas will endure a foot+ of snow as cold air and an inflow of Pacific moisture fuel a multi-day event. Even Calgary could get close to a foot.
Bursts of locally heavy flurries, blowing snow and upsloping snow will make for hazardous driving conditions and reduced visibilities. Warnings and special weather statements are in effect. Major travel impacts are expected across the province.
It's a similar story south of the border, and all: "Return of the 'Polar Vortex'" is how many outlets are selling, as a massive winter storm delivers prepares to drop another round of heavy snow onto the likes of the Midwest, triggering warnings in multiple states ahead of a late-season Arctic Blast crashes in, sending temperatures plunging to record lows for much of the country.
Already, a pocket to the southeast has busted benchmarks over the past few hours:
But there is much more to come as additional and fierce Arctic air sinks south over the next few days:
The snow will also prove substantial, and widespread:
Likewise in Europe, the Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event we've been speaking to for weeks is also impacting there.
The UK is expecting a slow start to spring, and the British press are reporting on it in predictably exaggerated fashion, calling for "a 370-mile ice bomb to hit the country" by the weekend, dropping temperatures "in a final flurry of winter".
Snow is indeed expected, from Wales upwards through northern England and into Scotland, with accumulations at low levels, too.
Across the continent, heavier snows will continue pounding the usual suspects--of Scandinavia, the Alps, and mountain ranges from Spain to Turkey; areas that have been enjoying/enduring a tremendously snowy finish to the season.
They're Spraying Sea Water Over The Arctic
In a perfect encapsulation of the insanity of the day, and one that will echo through the ages and give humanity a face-palming fun-poke for decades to come, climate scarers are pumping salty water onto the Arctic to fight cLiMaTe ChAnGe.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Electroverse Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.