Rain on Snow

Norway faces widespread yellow alerts for strong winds and icy roads after a sudden thaw, with the worst conditions in Lofoten, Vesterålen and Finnmark. Bus, ferry, fast boat and some flight services are disrupted; schools closed in parts of Nordland.

Freezing rain and slick runways halted flights at Bodø Airport, stranding 150–200 passengers overnight and disrupting air and ferry traffic across Nordland. Operations resumed around midday but with intermittent closures expected as conditions remain icy.

Unusual weather conditions, including warming temperatures and increased rainfall, forced multiple Southcentral Alaska ski areas to close, while others faced high winds and heavy snow, highlighting a challenging winter for ski operations and backcountry travel.

Warm temperatures and rain have created hazardous road conditions in Fairbanks, leading to collisions and travel disruptions.

In Fredrikstad, a change in weather led to treacherous conditions for pedestrians, resulting in dozens of falls due to supercooled rain creating extremely slippery surfaces. Hospitals have reported a surge in related injuries.

Unusually warm weather in early December 2024 has led to rain in Anchorage, Alaska, marking the most December rainfall since 2018, driven by a warm air surge from the eastern Pacific.

A major winter storm has hit northern and central British Columbia, delivering up to 50 cm of snow which is now turning into freezing rain as temperatures rise.

A bomb cyclone hitting Vancouver Island has caused widespread power outages, affecting over 140,000 BC Hydro customers and leading to the closure of multiple highways on the island.

Alaska experiences unusual weather with multiple false springs, marked by warm periods followed by heavy snow or cold, casting doubt on the arrival of summer.

The mayor of the southern Russian city of Orenburg urged residents to evacuate immediately on Friday as water in the nearby Ural River reached critically dangerous levels and was not expected to recede until next week.

Ulaanbaatar's road slipperiness issue is being addressed with ample supplies and workforce, while district governors now oversee local cleaning services and public communication for slippery conditions. From January 5-7, 1,225 people received care for injuries. Over 267 people were injured due to slipping and 47 people received emergency care after falling from sledding.

The combination has resulted in some of the US' most destructive and costly floods, including the 1996 Midwest floods and the 2017 flood that damaged California’s Oroville Dam

Alf Åge Teigmo heard a huge crash: "First came a river, then forest and large boulders.

"Just when I get into the machine, I just manage to sit in the seat and then the body of the excavator fills with slush and presses me against the window and then presses the whole machine off the road into the valley."

The upper mountain at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau was closed on Friday following a large avalanche Thursday morning. No one was hurt.

A landslide has closed busy highway 80 between Fauske and Bodø. The Nordland Line has also been affected. The weather has been very bad with large amounts of rainfall in Nordland today. There have been snow and slush avalanches in several places in the county, and a number of road and train sections have been closed due to avalanches.

Light rain is expected to fall across much of the region Tuesday, with a storm possibly bringing more rain to Anchorage on Wednesday.

The last time the water levels were this high in some places was in the late 1990s or early 2000s. According to the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), floodwaters will likely spill onto fields and roads in parts of southern and western Finland, but not into buildings.

A week of several freeze and thaw cycles left Nome and the region with puddles on ice and scenes that look more like breakup in spring rather than the customary snowy landscape of December. The rain on ice interrupted normal life in Nome.

Weather warnings for northern gales and heavy rainfall that swept through the country yesterday expired last night. The weather was accompanied by heavy precipitation, snow or sleet, and widespread winter conditions on the roads.