Austria
As reported by thelocal.at, snow levels nationwide are nearing a ten-year high, about to surpass it, with Carinthia suffering power outages due to more a foot+ of freshly fallen snow.
In the eastern state of Burgenland, totals surpassed 30cm (a foot) overnight Wednesday; while in the southern state of Carinthia, power outages are impacting homes after 40cm (1.3ft) accumulated — these are heaviest snowfalls (of any month) in nine years.
Far higher totals were logged in the mountains, as you’d expect, with 60+cm (2ft) noted up there.
In response, Austria’s Centre for Severe Weather has issued its highest alert, in Vorarlberg, East Tyrol and Carinthia–where snow-clearing operations are working nonstop to keep roads open.
Even the capital city of Vienna has registered several inches of early season snow this week, which caused disruptions.
Turkey
Heavy snow has also been noted in Europe’s far southeast, particularly in transcontinental Turkey were drifts have reportedly blocked roads and cut off a number of towns and villages from the outside world.
Snowstorms have taken hold in Turkey’s eastern and western regions, blocking hundreds of roads, including 43 in Başkale, 11 in Digor, and a further 31 in Erzincan, according to dailysabah.com.
Snow depth has now surpassed 80cm (2.63ft) in Turkey’s higher elevations, thanks to persistent falls which began back in late-Nov/early-Dec:
“Unprecedented” Cold Wave Is Hitting Scandinavia
As reported by softballnews.com, an unprecedented cold wave is hitting Scandinavia, bringing historically cold temperatures for the month of December.
The chill is proving so pervasive, and long-lasting, that authorities are advising northern Swede’s to use precautions when venturing outside–and not only because of the intense cold, but also due to heavy snow and high winds which are leading to blizzard conditions.
This week, temperatures across large swathes of Sweden tanked well-below -35C (-31F)
An astonishing –43.8C was registered in the municipality of Naimakka on Dec 6 — a new all-time December low for not only Sweden, but for Scandinavia as a whole;
while a number of other locales also busted Dec lows, including in Karesuando with its -41.9C (-43.4F) on Dec 7 and then its -42C (-43.6F) just a day later, on Dec 8.
The only previous occasions when the municipality of Karesuando saw December lows south of -40C (-40F) was back in 1885, 1898, 1915, 1919, 1969, and 1986.
Note: Sweden’s lowest-ever temperature remains the -52.6C (-62.7F) set on Feb 2, 1966 in Vuoggatjålme, in the northern province of Lapland ...
... “Zombie Fires” & Historic Temp Disparity In Russia
Even when the mercury sinks to -75C (-103F), “zombie fires” can still burn below Siberia’s snowy terrain.
Russia has been suffering historically low temperatures of late; however, a number of wildfires (aka peat fires) are burning beneath a deep layer of snow and ice — such fires can actually burn for months or even years at a time ...
The snow and ice acts as a thermal insulator and barrier.
The more snow and ice, the better the insulation and, potentially, the bigger the fire — the phenomenon has nothing to do with the failed global warming hypothesis, as some ill-informed sluice-sayers out there would have you believe.
In fact, and as touched on above, this region of the world –Siberia– is currently experiencing all-time December cold.
Temperatures have held below -50C (-58F) for weeks, forcing schools and industry to close, and life to effectively pause.
On Wednesday, December 8 a low of -61.1C (-78F) was suffered at Delyankir — this was the first time in a decade that such a low was logged in the city. However, more than the one-off records, it’s the persistence of the cold that has proved challenging.
Similar to last year –which turned out to be one of Siberia’s longest and harshest winters on record
— punishing temperatures of -30C below the norm have lingered since early-November, as Arctic air has been transported unusually far south on the back of a weak and wavy meridional jet stream flow — a setup which is forecast to persist for the remainder of December, at least."