Three people have died in Serbia this week due to extreme cold and snowfall.  The same system blanketed large swaths of central and eastern Europe with snow as well. The system is blamed for an additional death near Bucharest. Near record cold has hit Alaska, with temperatures hovering around -62ºF (-52ºC).  Meanwhile, temperatures in Brooklyn, New York are unseasonably warm, causing the usual winter festival there to be cancelled.  In California, wet weather caused traffic chaos.

Continuing drought in Texas, despite a recent spate of tornados and associated flooding, is forcing cattle to migrate north.  Tornadoes in winter months are exceedingly rare, though as we have reported they have been occurring throughout the month of January.  Additionally, six people lost their lives and hundreds more lost their homes in Fiji, due to landslides and flooding there.

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