Weather of 2009

Winter storms of 2009–2010
A satellite photo of Great Britain, Ireland and Normany, in France, showing the extent of snow cover.
Seasonal statistics
Total fatalities	Unknown
Total damage	Unknown

The Winter storms of 2009–2010 profiles the major worldwide winter storms, including blizzards, ice storms, snowstorms and other winter events, from the weather pattern apparently started on August 21, 2009 and continuing through at least February 7, 2010. There were also intermittent rain storms, like those in Spain and Italy, which were part of the same event, despite not actually being a snow storm proper.

A winter storm is an event in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold temperatures, such as snow, hail or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are cold enough to allow ice to form (i.e. freezing rain).

Very cold and/or snowy weather was reported across the Northern Hemisphere, with many severe cases being reported in the USA, Canada, the UK, Poland, Finland, Russia, India, South Korea, China and Japan.

As this occurred, unusually heavy rain hit Brazil, southern Bangladesh, Italy, Spain and Argentina. A heat wave and unforeseen monsoon weather also hit Australia.

2009

August 21–28

A stream of moisture that emerged from the Gulf of California brought rain to Southern California. The result of the rain was some areas was a flash flood warning being issued for Central and Eastern San Diego County. Later on, the system moved north and started to move towards the east coast on Sunday, August 23. The remaining thunderstorms lingered around in Central and Eastern San Diego County until Friday, August 28 before finally moving towards the east coast.

September 2

A heavy and rainy cyclone hit the Bering sea, Choris Peninsula and parts of the Aleutian islands on September 2.

September 4

A heavy storm hit parts of the Beaufort Sea and parts of the Chukchi Sea on September 4.

October 1

A heavy and snowy cyclone hit the Kedrovaya River in Primorsky Krai and parts of the Aleutian islands on October 1.

October 3

A heavy and rainy cyclone hit the Bering sea and parts of the Chukchi Sea on October 3.

21 people were confirmed dead following rainstorms and landslides in Sicily . A fishing boat was damage at sea off the coast of Sicily.

October 11–15

Main article: October 2009 North American storm complex

Late on October 11, the remains of Super Typhoon Melor were absorbed by a newly formed low-pressure system just north of it , similar to the way how Typhoon Kujira's remains were absorbed. The low-pressure system slowly began to intensify as it crossed the Pacific Ocean. Several wind and flood watches/warnings were issued on October 17 in advance for the expected arrival of the winter storm. A high wave advisory was issued for the entire western seaboard. Just before midnight of October 18, the powerful winter storm struck California with gale-force winds and torrential rainfall. In Northern California, the rainfall never seemed to end. The San Francisco Bay area suffered the most damage, from 40-foot (12 m) high waves and reported gusts of 85 mph (140 km/h). A rare storm warning was posted for San Francisco Bay and subsequently, wind gusts were clocked at 75 mph (125 km/h) on Angel Island. Because the storm stayed stationary, it began to weaken, but soon, it moved east and then south. As it moved south, it rained moderately in some parts of California before moving towards the east coast. It caused heavy rainfall while it was moving towards the eastern seaboard. The winter storm moved off the eastern coast of the United States and into the Atlantic Ocean early on Saturday, November 7, 2009, and dissipated completely in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the Wednesday, November 11, 2009. The damage that the storm done to the west coast from Sunday, October 11, 2009 to Friday, October 15, 2009 is currently estimated at about $1.5 billion (2009 USD).

On 12 October 2009, Just over 200 herdsmen and 1,000 heads of livestock had been stranded by heavy snowfalls in Ali prefecture, The week-long snowfall had accumulated to about 30 centimetres in Pulan County of Ali, with some areas reaching as much as 1 meter depth, according to Xing Xiuyin, head of an armed police detachment stationed in the Tibetan region. 30 soldiers and two snow-clearing machines were sent on the way to Ali, according to Xing Xiuyin. Thousands of people were trapped as heavy snow fell in Tibet's Lhunze County, but rescue services managed to minimize the casualties and housing losses. The rescue services also managed to provide shelter and emergency fodder for 200 head of cattel. By October 13, snow was reported by Chinese authorities to be falling in both Qinghai and Heilongjiang Provinces.

On the 15th of October, 2009, Germany, Austria and Poland were hit by heavy snow-storms. 1 person died after falling in an Tyrolian lake by accident.

October 29–31

Between October 29 and 30 a very powerful winter storm battered the west coast of the USA, although it did not affect Southern California. It was very windy in the places that it hit, but the storm only stayed there for 2 days. The storm left and traveled towards the east coast after that day. The only affect the storm had on Southern California was bringing a cloudy day with very cold temperatures.

Main article: East Asian snowstorms of 2009-2010

Heavy snowfall hit Russia's Primorsky Territory on October 31, as the cold wind storm moved from the Sea of Okhotsk to the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, bringing heavy snow and rain to the region that meteorologists expected to last another 24 hours. They also warned that temperatures would fall by up to 15 degrees and that weather conditions could make traveling difficult as snowfall in the Vladivostok area had already significantly impeded travel by larger vehicles. The city administration's official Yevgeny Kolpinets told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass the inclement weather had stopped bus traffic in the city, but luckily no energy supply service problems had been reported . Weather forecasters expected more cyclone-generated snow fall over the next few days..

November 3 – January 5th, 2010

Main article: East Asian snowstorms of 2009-2010

On November 3, the Harbin Snow Festival took place in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, admits unusually heavy snow. The festival was first started in 1985 and had never seen such heavy snow fall since it's foundation. Harbin is China's 10th biggest city with a population of about 4,500,000, so planned electricity rationing would hit this usually busy city badly, as would the planned rationing in Beijing. The worst snow storms since 1949 have claimed 40 lives, destroyed thousands of buildings and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (202,343 ha) (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, according to the Civil Affairs Ministry. The snowfall has been the heaviest in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since the establishment of the Communist state in 1949 .

On November the 10th heavy rain and intermittent snow hit the Cheviot Hills, Pennines, Dee Valley in Wales and The Wash on November the 10th. Light snow fell in the Grampian Mountains and Aberdeenshire . Passing Sleet was also recorded in Lincolnshire on the 10th. A flood watch was put on the River Tay and the River Dee . Minor surface flooding had already occurred in parts of Lincolnshire and Cumbria after the previous two days flooding .

The 11th of November, 2009, saw snow and/or rain storms menicing both Hungary, Iceland, India's part of the Himalayas (rain and snow), parts of Indonesia (rain only), north western Iran, northern Iraq, Mt Fuji in Japan and Armenia. Yet more snow storms hit the People's Republic Of China, disrupting traffic across the north eastern provinces, Beijing and Tibet on November the 10th and 11th . Most of Bulgaria's poor draneage systems and scond rate storm drains failed during the day's heavy rain and wind storms . Snow was also present in most of the mountain regions.

Heavy snowfall in China caused school building collapses and the death of 38 people on the 18th.

Main article: November 11 to December 30 Icelandic snow storms

After a rather snowy November 11, between 12 November and December 30 Icelandic weather had become rather unusual. Iceland's rather warm November weather gave way and December became rather snowy with the town of Akureyri receiving 35cm of snow over the night of December 1–2. Snow fell intermitantly through out a rather windy December.

Main article: December 2009 North American snowstorms

The December 2009 North American snowstorms was a meteorological event in North America that started on December the 11th. The snowstorms brought record amounts of snow to the Midwest and contributed to deaths of 16 people. The storm affected a number of US states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and New York, as well as Canada. Although the initial storm had virtually subsided by December 11, further snow was expected to fall.

For the main article see the 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods.

Many properties were flooded in Ambleside on November 18, leaving the main road impassible for most vehicles.. Over 200 people in Cockermouth were rescued from their homes by the emergency services..

The approach to Calva Bridge, Workington, 20 November 2009.

As a result of the loss of all road and footbridges in Workington on November 19, it was announced that a new railway station, Workington North, would be built on waste land leased for two years from Allerdale Council. The station was scheduled to open by 28 November with services provided by Northern Rail. Workington North opened on 30 November 2009. On the Isle of Man, there were brief power cuts on the 18th, in Ballaragh and Laxey but Manx Electricity restored power to all affected properties by the afternoon.

County Fermanagh was hit by heavy rain on November the 23rd. Many roads were flooded or hit by landslides. The B36 Dernawilt Road between Enniskillen and Killyfole was one of many that were affected by storm. Both Lough Erne and the Colebrooke River were put on flood alert.

A min-tornado tore through Maypole Lane in the Derbyshire village of Littleover on the next day. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service reported moderate damage in the Village on the 24th. A small waterspout was reported of the coast of Aberdeenshire.

25 November saw fierce winds rattled Dublin Airport and parts of the east coast of Ireland, leading to the diversion of ten aircraft—seven aircraft to Shannon Airport and three aircraft to Manchester Airport. Some of the affected aircraft were transatlantic flights from destinations such as Chicago and New York.

Calva Bridge, Workington in Cumbria, which was condemned as a result of damage received in the flooding.

On November 25, the cold cyclone came to Russia's Primorsky Territory from the Yellow Sea. Weather forecasters correctly predicted both snow, gale-strength wind and a temperature would be 0 to -2°C, with one night's temperature drop to -25 °С. Over the next week the day temperature was predicted to be between 2 degrees above zero to 10 degrees below zero, with a night time temperature of between -24 and -25 °C. The wind speed was expected to be between 0 and 11 meters per second. Both Ice and avalanche warnings were issued as a week (to December 2) heavy snow was predicted for both Primorsky Krai and Amur Krai, but significantly less than expected actually occurred over the week and it finally cleared up on 30 November, rather than on December 2.

A powerful winter storm (probably the ealyer one from Primorsky Krai) stalled in the Gulf of Alaska in November 25. On the 26th, its wind field caused high tides in the western seaboard. The storm weakened significantly on the 27th and moved towards Southern California, bringing heavy rainfall starting early in the morning and causing strong winds. The storm left Southern California and moved on to batter the east coast during the afternoon of Sunday, November 29, 2009. A heavy and snowy cyclone hit the Aleutian islands on November 30.

By the 27th heavy rain was moving over the Irish Sea is set to give some heavy rain then turning to snow over parts of the peak district, with altitudes above 1000 feet (300 m), giving over 2 inches (5.1 cm) of snow in some places. This is the usual snowfall for parts of Scotland, including the West Highlands and the East Highlands.

On December 1 and 2 heavy rain fell in the British Isles, into the night, the rain band hit the cold air and turned to snow giving about 1 foot (30 cm) on some hilltops and mountains across Scotland.

On 2 December, thousands of acres of Irish farmland remained underwater, floodwaters were still rising in some Galway villages and roads in Clare and Galway were still impassable.. Floods were still in situ across the UK and both bus and train services were disrupted in Essex, Cumbria and Pembrokeshire. The River Severn and Derwent were put on flood watch by the Enviroment Agency.

Main article: December 2009 North American snowstorms

The 2009 North American snowstorms was an on-going meteorological event in North America. The snowstorms brought record amounts of snow to the Midwest and contributed to deaths of 16 people. The storm affected a number of US states, including Arizona, Wisconsin and New York, as well as Canada. Although the initial storm had virtually subsided by December 11, further snow was expected to fall.

Toronto, Canada was hit by both a cold front and 2 extreme cold weather warnings between December 3 and January 1.. A strong arctic front moved through Alberta from the northwest, bringing from 4 inches to 1 foot (10 cm to 30 cm) of snowfall. Winds gusted to 50 mph (80 km/h), causing whiteout and blizzard conditions across most of Alberta. The southern half of the province got the worst of the storm. The winds blew the snow into massive drifts and snowbanks up to 10 feet (3m) in height. Numerous communities in Calgary were completely snowed in for three days, from December 5 to 7. Numerous cars and trucks were forced to be abandoned and many were buried up to their roofs in snow.

A weak disturbance that moved in during the night of Sunday, December 6, 2009 stalls over the western United States and intensifies rapidly. Heavy downpours beginning early in the morning of Monday, the 7th and continues nonstop until 5:00 p.m. PST, triggering flash-flood watches, and 40 mph (65 km/h) winds cause high wind watches. The storm dropped as much as 4.5 in (110 mm) of rain in Cuyamaca, San Diego, and caused blackouts in a few locations. The storm left late that night and moved on. A small, but semi-tropical winter storm moved in late during the night of Thursday, December 10, 2009, causing heavy downpours, with breaks in between. The storm stalled and intensified rapidly the next day, although it did not bring as much rain or wind damage to Southern California as the previous system did. The storm caused a few bursts of pea-sized-hail and gusty winds at times. The storm dropped about 4 inches of rain before weakening and moving away from Southern California during the afternoon of Sunday, December 13, 2009. Over December 10, 11 and 12 also witnessed a major snowstorm hit U.S. East Coast, disrupting holiday travel and leaving five dead, only for the storm to lift as it vanished out to sea after 3 days .

For the main article see- Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom.

Light snow began to fall in the Grampian Mountains during December the 8th.

The Cold weather began in ernest, in Scotland with temperatures in many areas around 2c and a night low of -4.9c in Braemar on the 10th. Between the 11 and 16 December cold air from the north and east brought subzero temperatures to many northern parts of the UK and the southern county of Oxfordshire with dense fog.

During the night of the 11th a Temperature of −7 °C (19 °F) was recorded in Braemar. Scotland had maximum temperatures of 0c with dense fog patches in the Central Belt as Scotland had the beginning to the "Big Freeze".On the 12th a low of −8.9 °C (16.0 °F) was recorded in Braemar, Aberdeenshire. Fog patches lingered around Inverness and Scottish Central Belt with highs of 0c.Fog Patches caused minor disruption in the Central Belt of Scotland. Highs of -0.5c were recorded in many areas of Scotland.

Main article: European winter storms of 2009–2010

Paris, France, on 17 December

Peterborough, England, on 18 December

A major blizzard killed 11 people in Romania between December 14 and 21

Wintery showers of rain, sleet and snow affecting East and South-East parts of the United Kingdom. Heavy snow affecting East Anglia on 17 December and leaving a substantial covering in places. On 18 December heavy snowfall caused widespread disruption across large parts of Lancashire, South East England, East Anglia, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, causing travel chaos, forcing schools to close early for the upcoming Christmas holiday, and cutting power supplies in some areas. Heaviest snowfall for 20 years also causes heavy disruption across Scotland with temperatures falling to −16 °C (3 °F) in the Highlands. Heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures killed at least 192 people across Europe as temperatures fall to a low −33 °C (−27 °F) in Germany as many homeless die of hypothermia on the streets and others are killed in road accidents in Austria. Flights are either suspended or cancelled stranding thousands of passengers needing to return home for Christmas. As many as 40% of flights are cancelled from Paris's two airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle. Berlin Tegel Airport is forced to close due to ice on the runway as does Amsterdam Schipol Airport, and Frankfurt International Airport.

More heavy snow showers followed on the 18th. Heavy overnight caused widespread disruption across England in the South East, East Anglia, the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber. East Winds brought further snowfalls in the northern half of the UK. Overnight, five Eurostar trains were stuck in the Channel Tunnel, trapping 2,000 people for 16 hours after electrical failures due to cold temperatures. Many schools in England were closed on December 18.

Main article: North American blizzard of 2009

Cars buried by nearly 24 inches (61 cm) of snow in Woodley Park, Washington, D.C., on December the 19th.

A powerful nor'easter brought blizzard conditions to the northeastern and mid-atlantic United States, as well as Nova Scotia in Canada on the 16th of December. Washington, D.C. received nearly two feet (over 60 cm) of snow, setting a city record for December snowfall. New York City and southern New England were forecast to receive over a foot of snow. The snow covers most of New England and disrupts travel in New York and Pennsylvania as local record low temperatures are recorded as snow falls in Florida on the 17th.

On December 20, both the Leicester and on parts of Asheville and western North Carolina on Friday and Saturday, the most snow the city has seen since 1996. Accumulations were substantial enough to rank it in the top 15 biggest snowfalls in the city’s history and the National Guard units were mobilized to help stranded drivers and clear roads. Nearly a foot and a half in parts of Buncombe County and around the region, with the highest amounts seen north and east of Transylvania County. Two feet of snow was recorded on Mt. Mitchell. Traffic jams wee rife as fallen tree limbs and snow drifts were cleared. The Red Cross and National Guard shelters were opened in Buncombe, Madison and McDowell counties to accommodate travellers stranded by miles-long backups on the congested and debris strewn I-40 and I-26. Hundreds of trees and limbs fell under the weight of the snow, blocking roads and leaving tens of thousands without power or phones

Wrocław, Poland, on 20 December.

On December 20, 3 people froze to death in Steienmark, Austria , and blizzards hit S.W. Norway . December 21 and 22 saw 20 cm of snow fall in Moscow and near by towns Temperatures of up to -20C. killed 47 in Poland on December 20. In northern Italy, some locations recorded the lowest temperature since 1985, with one low reaching −17 °C (1.4 °F).. A homeless bloke also froze to death in southern Kosovo during a localized snowstorm. Both Finland, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands also recorded record low temperatures.

In the United Kingdom, many major Motorways like the M25, M4, M40 and M1 were brought to a standstill due to snow drifts, the cold and ice until late into the night, and many towns were gridlocked. The UK's Highways Agency tried to grit the M11 and M1, only to have a gritter van skid off the M11 and into a deep snow drift, and where it then broke down. Some people were able to travel from London Victoria Station to Ashford International railway station courtesy of a steam train hauled by Tornado. Widespread transport disruption to both roads, railways, buses and airports affected parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In Zagreb, Croatia, around 50 passengers were injured when a train failed to stop due to black ice on the rails and hit a buffer at the city's main railway station. The accident involved a train travelling from the central town of Sisak to Zagreb. One person suffered life-threatening injuries, while some 40 others required medical attention. And in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 3 people were found dead from hypothermia in Sarajevo and Teslić.

Mongolia'a snowstorms of December 2009 also killed 2,000 cattel and 2 people. The worst was between December 21 and January 3.

A blanket of heavy snow fell upon large parts of Japan and South Korea, causing the deaths of about 10 Japanese and 3 South Korean people on the 22nd. The storm also brought chaos to roads and airports in both countries . North Korea, was probably affected to, but no reports were forthcoming.

Japan’s north western prefecture of Niigata saw snow piled as high as 184 centimetres in places and 650,000 homes and businesses in the prefecture were with out electricity at one point and most trains in the prefecture were halted temporarily due to the power outage on the 22nd and 23rd. The black out also affected about 1,000 traffic lights went out in Niigata city. The western prefecture of Fukui had two of it’s nuclear power plants automatically shut down due to technical problems caused by the unusually heavy snowfalls. South Korea deployed several thousand troops to clear highways and remove snow from the roofs of weak buildings after severe damage was reported on the south coastal, after up to a metre of by then unmelted snow had fallen in two previous weeks. More snow was expected in both countries coming days.

Both Washington DC, Leicestershire and Warsaw froze in blizzard conditions on the 22nd to.

A Winter storm hit Moscow, Saint Petersburg and parts of Tannu Tuva on the 22nd, while a Siberian cyclone started up over Yakutia on the 22nd and headed for Khabarovsk Krai. December 23 to 26 saw heavy snow hit both Primorsky (Primorye) Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, Sakhalin Oblast, Kamchatka Krai . The weekend saw migratory cyclone bringing a warm spell and snowstorms reaching Primorsky on the Friday . Heavy snow badly disrupted life in Vladivostok on December the expected snow, sleet and gale-force wind occurred on Primorsky Krai’s south coast . Over the two days temperatures rose from 4 degrees C. below zero up to 2 degrees C. below zero. On the night of December 26 the strengthening cyclone began drifting to the southern coast of Primorsky and over Sakhalin Krai . Snow also falls in Amur Oblast.President Vladimir Putin visited Vladivostok on the 25th.

Heavy snowfall began in Saint Petersburg, Russia. By 26 December the city was under 35 cm of snow, creating the most December snowfall seen in the city since 1881.. A snowstorm also occered in parts of the Barents sea.

December 30 saw Italy, hundreds of homes in Tuscany were evacuated because of flooding and Spain’s, rescue services are on yellow danger alert after flash floods destroyed roads and landslides swept railways away. Transport Links between Almeria, Granada, Malaga and Sevilla were severed. Drought-blighted Andalusia has had its fifth day of rain where and of Portugal is on orange flood alert. Authorities said the rain has destroyed millions of euros worth of agricultural produce. The harbour is are closed and the Madeira archipelago islands is also under threat of both flooding and gale force winds, as 110- kilometre-winds whip up six metre high waves.

Main article: 2009 North American Christmas winter storm

The 2009 American Christmas Winter Storm on December 24 over the Southeast United States.

Starting on December 22, a large winter storm began moving across the Great Plains and Midwest. It has claimed 21 lives, canceled hundreds of flights and knocked out power across most of West Virginia. The storm stalled and spun around itself for a few days before continuing northeast. Many parts of the Great Plains experienced heavy snowfall, while places further north such as Chicago and Ottawa received freezing rain. As the snow and rain subsided on the 27th, it left record rainfalls in Texas to the Upper Midwest dumped 23.9 ins (60.7 cm) of snow in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and 18 ins (45.7 cm) near Norfolk, Nebraska. In the East, higher temperatures and rains have started melting and washing away last week's record-setting snowfalls, threatening the region with flooding. The National Weather Service also of flooding in parts of the South and Midwest, and winter weather advisories were in effect in sections of Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan through the Sunday. A bloke drowned after slipping in to the Kennebec River, near Moosehead Lake in Maine.

Over 30 inches (78 cm) of snow fell in South Dakota. Several inches of snow also fell in Las Vegas, Nevada. In Southern Ontario, snowsqualls fed into a cold front behind the main low pressure center of the storm to produce a rapid drop in temperatures on December 28.

Following the deadly 2009 North American Christmas winter storm, another severe winter storm began affecting Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma between December 29 and 31. In anticipation of the event Texas Governor Rick Perry activated his resources ahead of the winter storm.

At least two of the storms stacked up over the Gulf of Alaska during December 28. Various weather forecasts suggested that one would spread valley rain and mountain snow across Northern California and drop up to half an inch of rain across the northern Sacramento Valley over the next few days. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory warning for the Mount Shasta area, where forecasters expect 1 to 3 inches of snow in town and up to 10 inches above 5,000 feet. The second cold front, and it’s related storm, would bring more rain and high country snow to the north state by New Years Eve or New Years Day. The storms were probably connected to the Russian Far East's storms of December 23 to 26.

Glen Coe, Scotland, on 27 December.

Parts of England again suffered repeated power cuts, and Scotland experienced fresh snowfall overnight on 26–27 December with the worst affected area being Perthshire, where between 12 and 18 inches (300–460 mm) fell.

A medium sized nor'easter formed in Texas and brought moderate snow to the western portion of the state on December 29. It then moved through the Southeast and brought heavy rain and freezing rain to higher altitudes. Some snow was reported in Clayton, Georgia but did not accumulate. It then moved quickly up the East Coast, bringing freezing rain and sleet to the Mid-Atlantic and moderate to heavy snow to the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut). 5 inches (12.7 cm) at the most was reported in White Plains 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) in Hartford. It then brought about 2 inches (5 cm) to Boston and southeastern New England. Overnight January 1, it strengthened explosively over water and looped back around to create a blizzard in northern New England. Up to 19 inches (48 cm) was on the ground in Lubec, Maine by Sunday, and on Saturday it moved to southern New England. 13 inches (33 cm) fell in Lexington, Massachusetts making that the most fallen in southern New England in the season. Boston received 9 inches (23 cm). The storm moved into the Labrador Sea by Sunday afternoon, leaving behind a pattern where multiple storms within the broader low undergo cyclogenesis to track north of Newfoundland.

On December 30 an emergency warning about the passage of another powerful cyclone has been issued to all the territories and population centres along Russia’s Pacific Coast. The expected gales, heavy snowfall, blizzards and a sharp fall of air temperatures hit the Sea of Okhotsk and the surrounding territories of Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai and Magadan Oblast. The Far Eastern territorial centre of the federal Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defence (E.M.E.R.C.O.M.) warned that the cyclone would produce snow banks, icy condition on automobile roads in the, as well as snow bringing down phone and power transmission lines in Primorsky territory. The temperatures reckoned to have fallen near to the expected -7C. The temperature was that which usually occurs in a Siberian cyclone, when it reaches the Russian Far East. Forecasters said there was a strong possibility of heavy snowfall and blizzards along the eastern districts of the Khabarovsk Krai, in parts of the Sakhalin Island and on the southern Kuril Islands December 31 and January 1.

December 31 to January 5 saw both heavy flooding in southern Spain a heavy snow in northern Spain

A major snow related weather warning is put out in Alaska, in the USA on 30 December . The exspeted snowstorm was probably part of the same weather system that his the Russian Far East from December 30 to January 5.

2010

It continued unabated in to 2010.

December 30, 2009- January 7

December 31 to January 5 saw both heavy flooding in southern Spain a heavy snow in northern Spain

A major snow related weather warning is put out in Alaska, in the USA on 30 December . The exspeted snowstorm was probably part of the same weather system that his the Russian Far East from December 30 to January 5.

December 31 to January 5 saw both heavy flooding in southern Spain a heavy snow in northern Spain

Between January 1 and 2, 2010, 50- and 70-year record low temperatures and snowfall hit northern China and Korea starting 1 January.

Heavy record-breaking snow also fell in Moscow in early January 2010. and light snow briefly fell in Greece and Turkey.

Main article: Winter of 2009–2010 in Europe

On January the 2nd, a weather front carried in this north wind brought heavy snow in the northwest of England. Wythenshawe near Manchester Airport had 5 inches (130 mm) of snow. This affected road transport on 2 January, particularly in the Greater Manchester area with conditions on the M60, M602 and M66 reported to be poor, while Snake Pass, which links Manchester with Sheffield was closed.

As a snow storm entered Scotland, a number of roads across the country were closed including three junctions of the M9 while the motorway was shut in both directions at the Newbridge Roundabout in Edinburgh during the evening because of heavy snow, and did not open again until the following day. Problems were also reported on the A96 and the A939. Rail services between Inverness and Central Scotland were also affected by poor weather.

Snow and fog occurred in Germany from January 3 to January 10 snow in Germany Between January 6 and 7 heavy snow fell in Paris The Finnish railways and Helsinki airport are disrupted by further snow fall and record low temperatures for the Helsinki region. Snow hits the Czech Republic on January 10 .

Heavy snow fell in northern China grounded hundreds of flights on the 4th. It and forced Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang and Monetary Authority Chief Executive Officer Norman Chan to cancel a trip to Beijing. Beijing was hit by a blizzard starting the evening of the 2nd, with 70-80% of flights cancelled out of Beijing Capital International Airport, on January the 4th., and close to 20 cm of snow fell in the north of the city, and close to 25 cm in Seoul. Schools across the area were closed, and Premier Wen asked local governments to ensure safe transportation, continued food supplies, and continued agricultural production. Continued snowstorms were forecast for the city of Beijing and the province of Inner Mongolia. It was also predicted on January 7 for snow to reach the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei on January 9 according to China National Radio. One person was killed in Xinjiang Autonomous Region as a result of the storm.. Emergency servaces hadnded out extra cattel fodder in Tibet.

Authorities and rescue services in Sakhalin Oblast were put on alert and warned of a high risks of avalanches on the island's numerous hills and mountains. Another avalanche warning was in effect on the 2nd, for Sakhalin Island, due to hazardous levels of snow fall during yet another Siberian snow cyclone and blizzard, emergency officials said. The authorities in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krai were also put on alert, just in case things got ant worse. The last two Russian Far Eastern storms burnt them selves out in the Gulf of Alaska on January the 5 and 6th respectively.

Japan's Hokkaido island was hit by heavyer snowfall, causing heavy travel disruption and some airport closures.

Possibly more than 200 people have died in northern India, mostly in Uttar Pradesh after a cold snap and accidents in heavy fog around 2 and 3 January..

By January 4 about 30 people, including 28 children and an elderly man, died from cold-related causes in the last 11 days across Bangladesh as snow and a cold wave swept over the north and centre of the nation. Some parts of Bangladesh were the hardest hit with temperatures plummeting as low as 6°C according to meteorologist Sanaul Haque, who predicted the cold wave may continue for another day .

The New Brunswick villages of Upper Cape and Port Elgin were devastated as a massive hurricane strength blizzard hit Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on January the 4th, causing massive black outs in it‘s wake.

Light snow briefly fell in the Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine and ferther snow was reported in Niigata, Japan.

In Scotland, Fife Council became the first local authority to confirm that its supply of grit was exhausted on the 4th of January, after it received less than it had ordered from suppliers. Government Ministers denied there was a shortage of grit and salt and insisted there were "very substantial" supplies for Scotland's roads.

In its monthly summary, Met Eireann, Ireland's weather service, said December was the coldest month for 28 years for most of the country and the coldest of any month since February 1986 at a few stations.

January 4 saw freezing fog in the Punjab, India as Bangladesh’s average temperature fell to only +6C.

On the Monday, many motorways in Shandong were closed and 19 flights cancelled in the Yantai International Airport. Eventually the No. 1820 train, carrying more than 800 passengers, started off at after being stranded for 12 hours, they said.

January 4 saw Seoul’s worst snow fall since 1937 according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The blizzard dumped 25.8 centimetres (10.2 in) of snow on the town .

Avalanches and heavy snow hit the Russian's Sakhalin Island, which was smothered by a snow cyclone and blizzard, the Island’s emergency officials said.

Civil authorities were put on a major alert in the snow torn province of Shandong on January 4 as more snow fell in both Shandong and Beijing. Travel is affected as Snowstorm Paralyzes Beijing on January 4, 2010 .

January the 5th, saw a saw smooth flow of traffic, with no gridlock or serious traffic accidents being reported after the snow storm that caused traffic chaos on the 4th. and , according to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau. The city's bus subway train services were up and running according as plan. During the peak hours on Monday morning, the Beijing Subway Operating Company dispatched 20 additional trains to ease the heavy passenger flow. The bus of all routes started off on time that morning, according to the Beijing Public Transport Holdings. Inner Mongolia was still in a critical situation as teams batteled to clear severe rural snow drifts.

4-8 inches (10-20 centimeters) of snow fell in Beijing on the 5th, in the largest snowfall since 1951, on January 5, 2010 .

The 2,000 weather modification offices in China, which are responsible for bombing the skies with silver iodide to induce rain or snow will be put in to use. Schools in Beijing and Tianjin closed and because the cities’ traffic was in chaos. The capital received its biggest snow fall since 1951, then immediately followed by the harshest Siberian winds in decades. Temperatures for the 5th were forecast to plunge to -16c., a 40-year low, after a day-time maximum of -8c. The head of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Guo Hu, linked the blizzard-like conditions this week to unusual atmospheric patterns caused by global warming.

Heavy snow started to fall in Seoul, South Korea and it was reported that a leading North Korean Communist party official had frozen to death, in his home, situated in the country's Sepo kun (or county).

During the peak hours of Monday morning, the Beijing Subway Operating Company dispatched 20 additional subway trains to ease the heavy passenger flow. City workers were deployed to clean the snow in the city's main roads with about 15,710 tonnes of snow-dissolving agent, Beijing Environmental Sanitation Group Co., Ltd. official Zhang Zhiqiang said.On the Monday, many motorways in Shandong were closed and 19 flights cancelled in the Yantai International Airport.

In Inner Mongolia, 13 trains were delayed that Monday in Hohhot, the regional capital, said the Hohhot railway authorities. Eventually the No. 1820 train, carrying more than 800 passengers, started off at after being stranded for 12 hours, they said.

January 6 saw Seoul’s wost snow fall since 1937 according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The blizzard dumped 25.8 cm of snow on the town .

Continued snowstorms were forecast for the city of Beijing and the province of Inner Mongolia. Electricity rationing started on January 7 . Snow had started falling in Gangsu province by January 7. It also was projected on January 7 to have reached the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei on January 9 according to China National Radio The Chinese government said that China faced its worst ice risk in 30 years . By the night of January 8–9, the major snow storms predicted on January 7 for the provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, had arrived and the emergency services were put on alert.

Continued snowstorms are forecast for the city of Beijing and the province of Inner Mongolia. Snow reached the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei on January 9. One person was killed in Xinjiang Autonomous Region as a result of the storm.

Main article: Winter of 2009–2010 in Europe

Dublin Airport closed on Wednesday 6 January and again on Friday 9 January. Cork Airport closed on Sunday 10 January at 6:30 pm and didn't re-open until 12:30 pm on Monday 11 January. Dublin Bus cancelled all services for a time. Knock Airport also closed.. A new Irish negative temperature record of −9 °C (16 °F) was also recorded in Dublin, Ireland. Temperatures in County Limerick dropped to −11.1 °C (12.0 °F). Varying amounts of snow fell across Ireland on the 7th and 8th and road salt reserves began to run low.

The snow fell heavily in some places of Spain including Prades (Tarragona, southern Catalonia) which got a 120cm snow coat after a 30 hour plus storm. The BBC News reported heavy snowfall as far south as Granada, in Spain.

A snow-tormented Denmark on 8 January.

In Norway, temperatures hit -42 degrees C. on the 7th in the central village of Folldala as snow fell across Scandinavia and −42.4 °C (−44.3 °F) at Tynset. on the 8th as Kuusamo in Finland, the lowest registered temperature was −37.1 °C (−34.8 °F).. Heavy blizzards and snow storms raged across Germany, Scandinavia and the north western parts of European Russia.

In Poland, more snow hit the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and nine people died across the country in a 48-hour period, bringing the total weather-related deaths to 139 since the start of November, a police spokesman said. Most of the victims were vagrants, who‘s tragic lifestyle left them prone to the cold.

Switzerland's 24.5-kilometre (15.3-mile) Gothart Tunnel reopen to trucks on the 8th, following heavy snowfalls over the previous 2 days .

During the evening of January 8, the Rügen Islands off the northeast coast of Germany was covered, on average, in 30 centimetres of snow while the capital Berlin was carpeted with snow and ice. Autoclub Europa warned chaotic traffic conditions potentially leave large parts of Germany completely paralysed as the country prepared for further freezing conditions as forecasters warned that temperatures would drop below -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight. German officials have also acknowledged a shortage of grit and fear that high winds and drifting snow had closed may German autoroutes and roads, along with parts of Frankfurt airport . As shortages in road salt and grit were already being feared, while the authorities recommended that people consider stocking up with a few days’ worth of food and water. The A5 auto route leading from Baden-Württemberg into France was closed on Friday afternoon, leading to a queue of hundreds of lorries building up. The road was opened again on Saturday morning, enabling careful drivers to proceed with their journeys. Snow was also proving a major problem in Saxony and the Rhineland. The country’s nature protection group N.A.B.U. has recommended that people put out food for birds since the cold and snowy weather had ruined their usual feeding patterns.

Meanwhile, some light snow also fell in Kosovo, Udmurtia and Ryazan Oblast.

A heavy and snowy cyclone hit’s the Aleutian islands on December 7 and 8. Snow accompanied a cold wave moving south through North America on January 8, and Mexico city received snowfall accumulations. In the mountainous regions, temperatures dropped to -10°C, killing nine people. The snow contued to fall on the . Bitter weather may have wiped out the Alaskan reindeer as temprturs and snow depths exceeded those of the extraordinarily harsh winter of 1963 to 1964.

For the main article see- Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom.

The January the 7th saw the snow and ice is continuing to affect the snow tormented counties of Oxfordshire, Banburyshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Because of the dangerous conditions concerning the build-up of snow and black ice, Banbury Museum, the Cherwell District Council customer service centre and Cherwell District Council tourist information centre will close. Many Banburyshire and Oxfordshire locations had between 1ft and 2 ft of unmelted snow by then . Cherwell District Council workers began using a mixture of table salt and sand instead if there diminishing road grit and rock salt supplys.

The estimated European death tolls

By 7 January 2010 twenty-two people had died in the UK because of the freezing conditions. The Department of Health wildly over-estimated that the cold weather could cause up to 40,000 excess deaths in the UK if it continued much longer . 122 people already died in Poland, most of them reportedly homeless and 11 had died in Romania. Bosnian deaths luckily stood at only 4, with both Kosovo and Austria only loseing 1 each.

January 6th-24th

The heavy snowfall across the British Isles between January 6 to 9, resulted in large-scale traffic disruption, closed airports, many canceled trains and hundreds of school closures. A polar low developing in the English Channel brought fronts of snow over southern England before moving south and dissipating. Two meddle aged men died after falling into a frozen lake in Leicester, in the English Midlands. 27 major companies in Britain were ordered to halt using gas on the 9th in order to maintain supplies amid unprecedented levels of demand and major companies had their gas turned off on the 8th, in the first such move since 2003, although there was no immediate danger for households of supplies running out. The Automobile Association, a motor vehicle breakdown service, said they had dealt with about 340,000 breakdowns since December 17, including a local government snow plough that had over turned after it had hit black ice near Huddersfield . Several thousand UK schools remained closed and several of the weekend's English Premier League football matches were cancelled.

25 Nepalese people, mostly children, died as a blizzard swept over most of Nepal on January 7. Snow storms were also probably in mountainus Bhutan and Sikkim, but no reports were forth coming.

Record overnight temperature lows of −22.3 °C (−8.1 °F) were recorded in Altnaharra, Caithness-shire, in the Scottish Highlands on the 7th. as another area of low pressure over the North Sea started bringing further fronts of snow over the east of Great Britain on 7 January, accompanied with cold, easterly winds. The snow continued in to the 9th and the UK almost ran out of road salt, Rock salt, table salt and road grit supplies due to the heavy demand from various agencies and local government bodies. Cherwell Borough, Bicester Parish, Oxfordshire, Slough borough, Harrow, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire, Fife, Brighton and Hove unitary authority, Liverpool city, Pembrokeshire, Lancashire, Belfast city and Perth and Kinross councils were near to running out as a result of this fatally underestimated factor.

On Saturday, the 9th of January, Banbury officer PC Paul Froggatt urged people not to try walking on the frozen Oxford Canal by the Castle Quay Shopping Centre in Banbury or in Oxford city. Thames Valley Police had also logged cases in Milton Keynes, Bracknell and Aylesbury. A Moron even tried to drive his car down a part of the frozen canal in Oxford and nearly died after it fell through the ice, while a man died on Teesside as he tried to rescue some puppies that were stranded on melting ice on the River Tees. Oxford city council also warned of the dangers of playing on the frozen canal and/or frozen lakes.

New wave of heavy snow was first reported in central and northern of France on the 9th, with the both the Cotentin Peninsula and Paris being the worst affected parts of France. The French government said all non-essential travel should be avoided in these localities. Significant snowfalls caused major delays to train services, blocked roads and some 15,000 people in areas around city of Arles experienced power cuts power lines collapsed under the weight 30 centimetres of snow. Airlines to cancelled a quarter of flights on Paris's main Charles de Gaulle airport. Road salt and grit supplies were running low in some districts due to its unexpectedly heavy use.

During the Early hours of January 10, light snow showers spread across parts of Central England and Wales. The Maximum temperature was −13.5 °C (7.7 °F) in Altnaharra and low of −18.4 °C (−1.1 °F) was recorded at Kinbrace. On the 11th rain, sleet and snow travelled northwards throughout the early hours. Allenheads in England had fears over a potential 15 ft (4.6 m) snowdrift. A low of −21.0 °C (−5.8 °F) was recorded in Altnaharra in Highland Region.

More than 300 flights were cancelled in the 10th and 11th at Germany's Frankfurt Airport. All three runways were cleared and being used by the 12th despite of light snow falls that day.

Alton, England, on 10 January.

The snow storms and blizzards of the 11th brought heavy travel chaos to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary . Airports, Motorways and railways were closed on mass due to heavy snow and ice . Lithuania, Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also reported some snow fall to.

The Banbury Guardian and Oxford Mail released videos and photos of the Oxford and Banbury idiots on the 11th as part of a ‘name and shame’ campaign against the suicidally stupid idiots walking on the frozen canal .

On January 10, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today cancelled a trip to Washington to monitor L.A.’s response to the Southern California rainstorms. Villaraigosa had been scheduled to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors' winter meeting at the nation’s capital on Wednesday and going speak about the success of the city’s summer jobs program for at-risk youth.

Freezing Rainstorms battered parts of both Sichuan, Yunnan and Hubei, killing dozens of people.

On January 10, 1 person died and 5,435 were evacuated after snowstorm in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on January 10 according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. A total of 261,800 people in 12 counties or cities were affected by the blizzards .

On the 11th of January intense snow storms hit a still beleaguer Europe. many cars and a lorry were are stuck in drifting snow near the northern German town of Soehlen. The German transport ministry warned people to ravel on essential journey only .

Coal supplies ran low at power plants as the death toll rose to two in the current, strong snowstorm in Altai and temperatures fell to-40c on January 12.

Snow in Stafford, England, on January the 12th.

On the 12th, heavy snow that caused hundreds of accidents, halted flights, downed power lines in Poland; tapping more than 160 people overnight on a frozen stretch German roadway. Hundreds of road accidents were also reported in Germany over the weekend, especially along the Baltic Coast, where two men were killed the car they were using hit a tree in Nordvorpommern after skidding in the treacherous conditions. Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein were also badly hit by snowy and freezing conditions.

A further 5 to 10 cm of snow fell across the U.K. during the midday of January the 12th, including Stafford in Staffordshire. Many schools were once again closed across England and Wales. There were many road accidents and closures, the M25 motorway was down to one lane between Leatherhead and Reigate whilst roads stretching right across southern Great Britain were untreated causing havoc for commuters. Gatwick and Birmingham airports were closed and many flights were delayed at Heathrow.

During 13 January the weather system continued north affecting much of Northern England before reaching Scotland.

8 of Oxfordshire's 33,000 volts electricity substations, which were situated in Kennington, Kidlington, Wheatley, Wantage, Deddington, Eynsham, Berinsfield and Cholsey, near Wallingford failed apparently due to an electrical overload, causing several local blackouts; later saboteurs were officially blamed in the damage Oxford Mail .

On 14 January a Southerly to south-easterly winds brought bands of snow to northern parts of Britain. An inch of snow fell in Glasgow with further accumulations in areas outside the other towns and cities. Travel was disrupted somewhat.

The English snowfall began to ease on the 14th and the British government ordered an enquiry in to the road salt and grit shortage scandals, travel disruption and the poor handling of the disaster by various British companies and agencies .

As the thaw took hold in the U.K. and France, rain began to fall across the U.K. a 11-year-old girl called Naeemah Achha slid up on a patch of ice outside St Michael with St John Primary School in Swallow Drive in Blackburn, Lancashire on the 14th and died later in Royal Manchester Children's Hospital the next day . Head teacher Kay Cant described as both an intelligent, vivacious, kind and popular girl. Blackburn with Darwen Council’s leader Michael Lee described her death as a very shocking incident .

All of the British county councils, London boroughs and unitary authorities were advised to have six days supplies of road salt in 2009. Up to 30 councils rejected last year’s offer of thousands of tonnes of de-icing salt at a reduced price, to use on the roads this winter according to the BBC. The British Salt Director David Stephen made an offer out of the firm’s 60,000 tonnes stockpile at Middlewich, Cheshire, in April, 2009, but virtually no one to take up the offer. The Highways Agency had 13 days worth of road salt, while Glasgow, Kirklees, Derbyshire, Derby City, Buckinghamshire, Cherwell District and the London Borough of Harrow took up the offer and raised their stock piles to 7 days worth.

Dyfed-Powys Police warned of ice, but however Gwent Police said roads in its area were clear. 440 were closed in the Welsh valleys on January 14.

There are also road closures in Ceredigion including the A4120 at Ponterwyd and the, A4086 at Nant Peris in Gwynedd had been shut due to hazardous driving conditions. All of Caerphilly’s 90 schools and Rhondda Cynon Taf’s (RTC) 130 schools either were fully or partially shut except to pupils sitting their. to Wales' Education Minister Leighton Andrews, Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones and the WJEC exam board helped organise the Welsh GCSEs and A-levels exam locations. A Merthyr Tydfil exam was held in a local sports centre’s hockey arena according to the BBC.

As the snow cleared from the USA, The British Isles and Europe, rain began to fall in place on the 14th and the snow also began to relent in both China, Korea and Japan on the 15th.

On the 15th, Greater Manchester Police said seven people had been injured when 10 cars crashesd on the A627(M) in Oldham. Met Office severe weather warnings covered Wales and western parts of England and Scotland and snow was forecast for the Pennines and Scottish and Welsh hills . The Environment Agency has warned about flooding in some areas of England and Wales.. BBC weather forecaster Sarah Keith-Lucas warned of localised flooding in western parts of the UK caused by melting snow, rain and gale-force winds.

Later on the Environment Agency has warned that heavy rain and snow melting in slightly warmer temperatures meant that there was a risk of some localised flooding from drains, especially in Wales and parts of England, but homes were unlikely to be affected as 15 flood watches were put in place. They warned that flood warnings for possible isolated river flooding in these areas, as heavy rain moves in from the south west on Friday evening. The Met Office and said heavy rain would move in from the west accompanied by strong to gale force winds on Saturday. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has five flood watches under way. Thames Valley Police warned motorists about surface flooding and aquaplaning on Oxfordshire’s roads.

This day brought rain and thaw to much of southwest England including Manchester. In Manchester rain on frozen ground had overnight caused glazed frost which had largely (not completely) gone by morning, and at midday the clouds were running fast from the south; the January snowfall was melting fast, but the pre-Christmas snowfall, which where trodden had half thawed to slush and then frozen hard to solid ice overnight, was slower to melt. In Scotland it melted fresh snow. Flood warnings were issued.

Snow fell in parts of southern Scotland and Yorkshire on the 16th. The Cairngorm Ski Centre was closed as an army of diggers was trying to clear its car park after further snowfalls. The river Derwent was put under a flood watch in places on the 16th

A homeless Frenchman died of hypothermia in Paris, late on January the 16th.

On January 17, both melting snow, heavy rain and frozen ground have caused flooding in much of England, Scotland and Wales. The Environment Agency issued a total of 23 flood warnings were issued in England, one in force for Scotland and two in Wales. In Scotland a landslide led to the temporally closure of the A76 in Dumfries and Galloway, while a section of the M74 was shut temporally shut due to flooding.

Many properties in Maesteg, Bridgend, Ebbw Vale and Monmouth were also flooded. Mid and West Wales Fire service sent extra appliances to the Carmarthen Bay holiday village at Kidwelly, where the flooding was described as ‘major to severe’. The River Wye, River Dee- Welsh: Afon Dyfrdwy, (in the lower Dee Valley), River Cherwell (at Banbury) and River Severn were all in full flood.

Severn Trent Water, which provides water to central England and parts of Wales, said it had drafted in extra staff as ruptured and frozen pipes began to thaw. Many pipes had ruptured in the Welsh Marches and a sewerage pipe had become blocked in outer Birmingham. The company's senior operations manager, Fraser Pithie, said the firm had been called out to more than 470 burst and ruptured pipes since the 10th and their call centre staff had taken more than 10,000 calls.

On January the 18th a series of rainstorms bore down on Southern California and spread eastward on the 20th piling more snow across the Great Plains and even as far as parts of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 200 homes were evacuated as floods hit parts of California as up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in the first of the storms. Rescue and flood prevention services soon got everything under control, but one man was killed when a tree fell onto his house. Two Horses also died after being hit by lighting in a Santa Barbara field.Tornado warnings were enforced in parts of Southern California, including southern Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim, and A flash flood watch covered Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Jim Rouiller, the senior energy meteorologist at Planalytics Inc., said in that the storms were the worst series of storms since 1998. He expected that eavning's storm to bring from 4 to 12 inches, severe mudslides, a few tornadoes and heavy mountain snow ranging from 6 to 15 feet across the Sierra range. A heavy rain storm also hit Santee, California on January the 19th

Heavy rain fell in Oxfordshire and King's Sutton, causing some flooding. The River Cherwell nearly flooded Banbury and in parts of Oxford. Light snow fell in the Pennines.

On the 20th of January, rainstorms wreaked havoc in Haifa, as snow covered Mount Hermon in Israel .

State water officials warned on January the 21st that one week of heavy rain and snow was not enough to end of drought/, which is entering its fourth year in 2010/. According to measurements on the Thursday, the average water content of state’s mountain ranges’ snow packs are considered the state's biggest de facto ‘reservoir’, was at 107% percent of normal capacity./ As the fourth and potentially most powerful of the week's storms slammed in to California, officials predicted as much as four feet (1.2 metres) would fall in Northern California/.

A new snow storm came over the Peter the Great Gulf, near Vladivostok on January the 21st. The Onland Mountains and Sikhote-Alin Mountains were buried in snow as the weather system swept through Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia. Lake Khanka froze over and was then covered in snow. The ice on the lake was reported to be several inches thick and the snow was spreading in to China's Heilongjiang province.

21 January witnessed the final day of some Banbury schools remaining shut after 2 week’s general closure, in which most remained shut trough out the fortnight. The video of people skating and walking on the Oxford Canal is show on regonal TV again, along with a nationwide online version. Heavy rain fell in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire as light snow fell in the Pennines on the 22nd.

Freshly fallen snow blanketed the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains on the morning after the fourth storm of the week dissipated on January 23, 2010 northwest of Wrightwood, California. Snow was reported in many parts of California. Severe rain fell in parts of Los Angeles. on the 24th. 500 people were evacuated from a small village in La Cruz county in Arizona was evacuated due to a flash flood.

January 29th-February 2nd

A report by the Oxford Mail revealed that the various local power cuts in Oxfordshire on the 13th of January were caused by saboteurs deliberately removing vital equipment from the electricity substations at Kennington, Kidlington, Wheatley, Wantage, Deddington, Eynsham, Berinsfield and Cholsey, near Wallingford and not a overload or mechanical failure as was first thought..

A stiff frost, temperatures of -2 to -3C and a light mist occurred in Oxfordshire and western Northamptonshire, during the night as a cold front crossed the U.K. Several cars crashed due to skidding on black ice.

Snow storm on the east coast of America and the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the 30th and 31st.

Heavy show fell in the German Rhineland on the 30th and 31st. Travel chaos was widespread as the snow spread in to Hungary and the rest of Germany .

A torrible nor'easter dumped tons of snow over much of central and eastern parts of America. The nor'easter unleashed heavy snow over central America,and left some places with over 15 inches or (39 cm) of snow. Then, it moved eastward and made a sly turn up the coast of America, and left some places with over 12 inches of the white stuff on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Rain and floods hit Southern California. 6 inches of rain and temperatures of 15C are recorded in in Long Beach and L.A. on the 31st.

A cyclone and heavy rain induced floods hit the Canary islands on February 1 and 2 . A shockingly unusual 82mm of rain flooded out 27,000 homes over a 24 hour period. Some mobile phones become inoperable due to storm related interference and power supplies were cut over night in some places. The average February rainfall is only 36 millimetres deep .

February 3rd-February 7th

North American blizzard of 2010, imaged by NOAA GOES 12 on February 6, 2010 at 0531 UTC.

The North American blizzard of 2010 is a winter storm and severe weather event creating potential for historic snowfall totals in the Middle Atlantic states, possibly eclipsing the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922.

Some places across northern Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, andDelaware could be buried in between 2 feet (0.61 m) and 3 feet (0.91 m) of snow, and air, rail, and Interstate highway travel were likely to come to a halt.

See also

• Winter storm
• Winter storms of 2008–2009
• Winter of 2009–2010 in Europe
• East Asian snowstorms of late 2009
• Winter of 1946–1947 in the United Kingdom
• Winter of 1962–1963 in the United Kingdom
• February 2009 Great Britain and Ireland snowfall
• Winter of 1990–1991 in Western Europe.