Sierra Nevada Records Snowiest Day of the Season From Brief but Potent California Storm
Source: US News and World Report/AP
May 5, 2024, at 4:20 p.m.
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — A weekend spring storm that drenched the San Francisco Bay area and closed Northern California mountain highways also set a single-day snowfall record for the season on Sunday in the Sierra Nevada.
The wet weather system had mostly moved out of the state by Sunday morning, but officials warned that roads would remain slick after around two feet (60 centimeters) of snow fell in some areas of the Sierra.
“Did anyone have the snowiest day of the 2023/2024 season being in May on their winter bingo card?” the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab asked on the social platform X.
The 26.4 inches (67 centimeters) of snowfall on Sunday beat the second snowiest day of the season — March 3rd — by 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters), according to the lab.
Extreme Flooding Creates Nearly Quarter-Million New East African Climate Refugees by Brett Wilkins
May 8, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) The United Nations migration agency warned Wednesday that extreme flooding caused by weeks of torrential rain has triggered widespread displacement in half a dozen East African countries, with hundreds of thousands of people affected and more than 200,000 displaced over the past five days alone.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that more than 637,000 people in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania have been affected and at least 234,000 people have been displaced as "torrential rains have unleashed a catastrophic series of events, including flooding, mudslides, and severe damage to vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and dams."
"These disasters have not only claimed numerous lives but have also escalated the suffering of the affected populations and heightened the risk of waterborne diseases," IOM added.
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At least 238 people have died in Kenya alone, with many more injured. Kenyan President William Ruto has declared a day of mourning on Friday.
"No corner of our country has been spared from this havoc," Ruto said in a May 3 address to his nation. "Sadly, we have not seen the last of this perilous period as this situation is expected to escalate."
