Between blizzards conditions and falling iguanas, the United States sure had its hands full with some wild weather this week. But there were some impressive winter weather events across the globe as well. Here’s a look at some of the wild weather that’s happened around the world over the past week.
A record-breaking blizzard bore down on Newfoundland. 30 inches of snow and brutal wind made travel impossible. A state of emergency was declared on Friday, January 17th and remained in place for several days. Officials asked people to limit their travel to allow emergency vehicles and crew to work on cleanup. Relief teams from the Canadian Armed Forces flew to affected areas to help dig out homes and clear driveways. The Tuesday after the storm, grocery stores reopened for a few hours. Folks were told to stock up for several more days.
In Nepal, heavy snowfall led to a massive avalanche in the Himalayas. Several hikers were still missing several days later, but additional snow and strong winds in interfered with search efforts.
Spain and France dealt with a powerful storm. The region was hit with heavy flooding, strong winds, and lots of sea foam.
Australia experienced a wide range of extreme weather including a massive hail storm in the nation’s capital and severe flooding in Queensland. A large dust storm was also captured on camera, but this occurred in the drought-stricken region of New South Wales. Bushfires continue to be a major concern for areas as well and many have pitched in to help. The World Wildlife Fund searched for koalas in a recently burned forest with the help of special detection dogs. The English springer spaniels found several living koalas, including an infant. A cinematographer found a young koala while filming bushfire devastation on Kangaroo Island. He drove the koala to an animal hospital nearby and was treated for burned feet.