Latest Snow Stories

The aggressive wolverine may not be powerful enough to survive climate change in the contiguous United States, new research concludes.Wolverine habitat in the northwestern United States is likely to warm dramatically if society continues to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, according to new computer model simulations carried out at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The study found that climate change is likely to imperil the wolverine in two ways: reducing or...

Punxsutawney Phil predicted that spring will come on time, and NASA satellite data suggests that residents in more than one-third of the U.S. are now anxious for the prediction to come true.A massive winter storm touched 30 states over the last couple of days, including Phil's home at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. where rain mixed with sleet and freezing rain this morning before it changed to snow as part of that system. Phil's town is about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Looking at...

A city that rarely sees snowfall, Huntsville, Ala., was blanketed the evening of Jan. 9 under several inches of snow following a winter storm that also produced a rare "thundersnow" or lightning flashes. This unique weather event allowed scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville the opportunity to assemble one of the most detailed snowfall datasets on record for the deep southern tier of the continental United States.Scientists in...

Known by many as one of the least favorite wintertime chores, shoveling snow can also be hazardous and is associated with many serious, even fatal events among both adults and children. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that an average of 11,500 snow shoveling-related injuries and medical emergencies were treated in U.S. emergency departments each year from 1990 to...

The Northern Hemisphere's shrinking ice and snow cover is causing less and less sunlight to reflect back into space in a previously underestimated mechanism that could add to global warming, according to a new study on the subject. Satellite data indicated that Arctic sea ice, glaciers, winter snow pack and Greenland's ice were reflecting less energy back into space between 1979 and 2008. The dwindling amount of reflective energy exposes the ground and water, both of which are darker and...

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Experience the creation and exhibition of snow art when the International Snow Sculpture Championships returns to Breckenridge, Colo. Jan. 25 - Feb. 6, 2011. For the 21st annual event, sixteen teams from around the globe have been invited to compete from nine countries including Australia, Austria, Canada (three teams), China, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. U.S. teams invited include Alaska, Colorado...

Doppler-on-Wheels Gives New View of Lake-Effect SnowsIn this winter of heavy snows--with more on the way this week--nature's bull's-eye might be Oswego, N.Y., and the nearby Tug Hill Plateau.There the proximity of the Great Lakes whips wind and snow into high gear. Old Man Winter then blows across New York state, burying cities and towns in snowdrifts several feet high. This season, however, something is standing in his way.The Doppler-on-Wheels (DOW), a data-collecting radar dish, is...

Because of the cold periods at the start and end of the year, 2010 was slightly cooler than normally. The year is remembered for extreme weather events, for the cold winter and for new temperature records and storms in summer.According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute's statistics, the mean annual temperature for the whole of Finland in 2010 was 1.3° C, which is 0.6 degrees below the long-term average. The last equally cold year took place in 1987, when the annual mean temperature...

Snows are finally winding down in New England today, Dec. 27, as a powerful low pressure system brought blizzard conditions from northern New Jersey to Maine over Christmas weekend. The GOES-13 satellite captured an image of the low's center off the Massachusetts coast and saw the snowfall left behind.The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 captured the visible image. GOES satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA's...

Australian citizens used to summer temperatures in the mid-80s this time of the year have been surprised by gusty winds and nearly a foot worth of Christmastime snows.According to early morning AFP reports, residents in the eastern states of New South Wales and Victoria received four inches of snowfall. However, Bonnie Malkin of the Telegraph states that the snowfall is actually as much as 11 inches in some areas of New South Wales, and that temperatures in some areas have dipped to 39.2...