Heavy snow causes chaos for US commuters
Heavy snow crippled the north-eastern US last Wednesday, as the region had its sixth winter storm in as many weeks. Falls of over 50cm of snow left over 1.5 million people without power, closed schools and led to travel disruption.
In Washington, 18cm of snow created chaos when it hit during the evening rush hour; in New York, 48cm fell in Central Park, taking the monthly total to 91cm, thus breaking the January record which had been set in 1925. A day earlier, this weather system had also hit Florida with severe thunderstorms.
There were flash floods in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, which killed 11 people. The floods followed heavy downpours that dumped 111mm of rain on the city in just three hours, which is more than twice the average rainfall in winter. The torrents swept away cars, cut power to over 600,000 homes and caused five historical buildings in the Balad district to collapse.
Cyclone Wilma brushed New Zealand late Friday and early Saturday on its track across the South Pacific, lashing the North Island with gales and torrential rain.
Parts of the Northland region received over 280mm of rain in a 12 hour period, causing floods and landslides. These closed roads, washed away bridges and forced people to evacuate their homes.
Earlier in the week, Wilma had also blown across the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, destroying crops and buildings in the Ha'apai group.
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