A powerful snowstorm hit California over the weekend, impacting the Sierra Nevada mountains. The storm, known as a blizzard, is a mix of dry, soft snow and strong winds, and can even have lightning. At its peak, the blizzard dumped 6 inches (152mm) of snow per hour and brought gusts up to 190mph (306km/h).

At 6am on Saturday, the Mammoth Mountain ski area received 0.6 meters of snow and had to shut down. The National Weather Service warned that this was a dangerous situation. The snowfall continued throughout the night, accumulating up to 3.7 meters in the highest areas of the mountain by Sunday morning.

Caution was issued for potential severe avalanches in the larger Tahoe area until the afternoon with a recommendation for people to stay inside. While conditions seem calmer at the beginning of this week, there is still a possibility of more snow on Wednesday.

In the past few days, there has been heavy snowfall and rain in the northern region of India. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, over 500mm of snow fell last week, causing the closure of 350 roads, including four national highways. Many areas also lost power due to the snowfall, and authorities have advised people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary due to the risk of avalanches.

In the lower elevation, there was significant rainfall which resulted in travel delays. The town of Manali experienced over 80mm of rainfall and other areas of the state saw around 30mm. On Saturday, a red warning for thunderstorms was issued.

From Monday night to Tuesday afternoon, the United Arab Emirates is forecasted to experience thunderstorms, with precipitation levels of 10-15mm per hour, as well as occurrences of hail and lightning. Additionally, high winds associated with these storms will cause sand and dust to be blown, leading to decreased visibility and rough sea conditions.

Towards the end of the week, the Persian Gulf is expected to experience a decrease in temperature, possibly reaching 10C (50F) below the normal seasonal range in Oman, the UAE, southern Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

Source: theguardian.com