Heavy Snow Hits Iran; Himachal Pradesh Suffers Intense Lows/Snows; Rare Low-Elevation Flurries In Taiwan; Japan Ski Resort Surpasses 20 Feet; Antarctic Sea Ice Recovery: Climate Models In Crisis; + Clowns, All
Heavy Snow Hits Iran
On the evening of Feb 7, the Ghoshchi Pass near Urmia, Iran, experienced a significant snowstorm, resulting in numerous vehicles becoming stranded.
The storm dropped about a foot of snow, with flurries and fog persisting into the morning.
Tonight, Vehicles Stuck Due to Heavy Snow in Ghoshchi Pass, Urmia, Iran 🇮🇷 pic.twitter.com/htD0YRBcRw
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) February 7, 2025
This winter in Iran has been marked by severe conditions. Back in December, the country faced a bought of heavy snow and freezing temperatures, leading to widespread shutdowns across multiple provinces due to energy shortages.
Residents are advised to exercise caution during this latest freeze event.
Himachal Pradesh Suffers Intense Lows/Snows
Himachal Pradesh, India is in the grips of a severe cold wave, with sub-zero lows and heavy snows leading to widespread disruptions.
Keylong recently registered a low of -12.2C (10F), Kukumseri saw -11.6C (11F), Tabo shivered at -10.8C (12F), Kalpa at -3.1C (26F), Bharmour saw -1.9C (28F), and Manali dipped below the freezing mark at -1.5C (29F) — all well-below seasonal norms.
Recent snow in these parts has exceeded 6 inches, with larger totals in the mountains.
More than 100 roads are currently blocked, mostly across Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, and Chamba. Heavy snow and strong winds have also damaged power lines, causing widespread outages across the northern Indian state.
The cold wave will persist, with the Indian Meteorological Department forecasting additional snow Feb 8-12.
Rare Low-Elevation Flurries In Taiwan
Taiwan is facing a rare cold blast as a powerful front descends, one expected to deliver snowfall at record-low elevations.
This surge will bring snow to elevations as low as 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) in northern Taiwan, an exceptionally rare occurrence.
Flakes have already blanketed peaks above 3,000 meters (9,843 feet), on Thursday, with the Central Weather Administration (CWA) warning of the snow-line potentially dipping to unprecedented levels Friday and into the weekend.
Temperatures are currently plummeting across Taiwan, with northern parts and the Yilan-Hualien region posting single digit (C) readings. The anomalous cold is leading to icy conditions, especially from Taoyuan northward and in the eastern regions.
Japan Ski Resort Surpasses 20 Feet
Hopping across the East China Sea, to Japan, ski resorts here have now surpassed 6 meters in snow depth.
Arai Resort in Niigata now stands at 610 cm (20+ feet), according to snowjapan.com — a historic feat for early-Feb.
Across Hokkaido, for example, the snow has proved disruptive, trapping people in their homes and collapsing bridges. Below are scenes from Obihiro Airport, which earlier in the week posted all-time record-breaking totals: 120+cm in 12 hours.
Global Picture
Asia’s accumulations are aiding Northern Hemisphere cover, which has seen a sharp increase of late—as per FMI data (see below). Total snow mass for the NH (excluding the mountains) is now all-but back to the 1982-2012 average, and climbing fast:
Antarctic Sea Ice Recovery: Climate Models In Crisis
The same climate models that confidently proclaimed the record-low Antarctic sea ice extent in 2023 was “extremely unlikely” without human-induced CO2 emissions now stand awkwardly silent in the face of a dramatic recovery.
In fact, by Jan 2025, Antarctic sea ice levels surpassed those recorded in January 1980.
Climate models, such as those spewing from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), claimed that 2023’s sea ice low made four times more likely by climate change.
However, the BAS’s own models now undercut their alarmist assertions. The stark rebound in 2024/25 was found to be about as close to impossible as you can get, rendering the models junk. Mother Nature has once again made fools of the doom-sayers. I’m waiting on the update where the BAS admit all this.
Also, what is “strong climate change”?
“Four times more likely”?
These people are clowns.
Clowns, All
This about sums it up:
The Guardian are just the worst, all flappy arms and emotion and no logic.
They’re constantly mad, and all, this week at Jeff Bezos, whose ‘Earth Fund’ has stopped its support for the ‘Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),’ an international body that assesses if companies are decarbonizing in line with the Paris agreement.
No loss there then.
Furthermore, I expect to see The Guardian on the ‘payoff list’:
The grift is collapsing.
The charlatans are being exposed.
But expect a fight.
Thank you for your continued support.
Enjoy your weekend.
I’ll be back Monday, as always.
Best,
Cap
CAP seem to disagree with this point that snow in places outside of the normal snow patter are becoming fire hazards. I personal believe that it is true, so much so that I’m seeing a new threat. As the temperature declines in the event of a Grand Solar Minimum the Alpine regions of mountains will move down to a lower altitude leaving a lot of pine 🌲 that will just succumb to the vicious cold temperature. Like wise
southern pines that can’t grow in northern latitudes will suddenly be facing northern latitude like temperatures and die off as well.
That sounds like a lot of carbon based fuel
laying around waiting on an ignition source. In an electrified atmosphere brought on by increased cosmic rays they won’t be waiting longe. Those caves in Kentucky May get pretty crowded.
What I do not understand is that in the last 5 months Cap has regularly reported extreme snow falls yet the graph of total snow mass for NH has doggedly remained below average.