World

Killer Snowstorm Sweeps Iran

by steve468 | January 8, 2008 at 07:56 am

1398 views | 12 Recommendations | 8 comments

TEHRAN, Iran -- The heaviest snowfall in more than a decade has left at least 21 people dead in Iran -- some buried under avalanches, some frozen to death and others killed in traffic accidents, state media reported Monday.
As much as 22 inches of snow has fallen in areas of northern and central Iran since Saturday, said meteorologist Ali Abedini.

3 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Rob Walker

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:07 on January 8th, 2008

Wow this is really wild, does snow even fall regularly in Iran at this time of year?

steve468

at 08:34 on January 8th, 2008

Rob,

This is a rare weather event for Iran, considering the scope of the storm across the country and loss of human life. Snowfall does occur here, but more so in higher elevations, but with smaller accumulations.

The same phenomena is occurring in the US west coat and BC Canada with huge accumulations creating power outages and lots of headaches. The Nevada Levee Break which flooded 200 homes was part of that storm system that dumped so much snow and rain across the west coast states.

No one can accurately state why these major climate events are suddenly happening with such magnitude and reoccurance, but it is something we should all be very concerned about.

ryan

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:09 on January 8th, 2008

steve468, tragic, thanks for the report.

As much as 22 inches of snow has fallen in areas of northern and central Iran since Saturday, said meteorologist Ali Abedini. The storm has forced schools and government offices to close, blocking major roads and leading to the cancellation of all domestic and international flights.