Weather Around the World - From the UK to Australia

February has been filled with wild weather across the United States, and the globe. This week, we highlight wild storms across Europe, rare snow occurrences, and some good news for Australia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIlLdOXUmaI   Strong winds, heavy rain, and snow blasted Europe this week. Flooding ravaged parts of the United Kingdom. Knee-high water swept through local parks, and flooded train stations in central U.K. Snow reached Northern Ireland, which many enjoyed, including Popcorn the therapy pony. Strong winds dominated the headlines as the storm, nicknamed Ciara in the U.K., swept across Europe. Gusts nearing 100 mph whipped up massive swells along the English Channel, and sandblasted a coastal town in the Netherlands. In Germany, wind turbines set a record for electricity production. The strong winds, helped produce enough electricity in one day, it equated to the production of 44 nuclear power plants. In Iraq, snow was the top headline. The Iraqi capital saw accumulating snow for the first time since 1914. Iraq’s neighbor, Turkey, is no stranger to winter’s grasps. A snowstorm rolled off the Black Sea bringing snow to the region. Parts of northeastern Turkey saw temperatures drop below 40 degrees. It was a soggy week in Australia. Tropical Cyclone Damien slammed into the west coast of Australia. Peaking at a Category 3 intensity, Damien flooded parts of Western Australia forcing some to evacuate their homes, and wildlife left looking for higher ground. The eastern half of Australia saw intense rainfall too. Parts of New South Wales received nearly 9.5 inches of rain over the course of just three days. Despite flooding concerns, the rain brought much needed relief to the Australian wildfires. The heavy rains helped put out most of the remaining fires, including some that had been burning for seven months. The downpours also refreshed rivers that had been dry for over a year.