Two days after Denver, Colorado hit a record high of 80ºF (26.6ºC), it was in the grips of a winter storm that caused several minor injuries, as well as several accidents.  In Texas, which has had record heat and drought already this year, has now gotten record snow in Amarillo.  They received 2.5” (6.35cm) of snow, which is highly unusual for the area.  The average is only .3” (.762cm).  Many records were also shattered in the northeastern United States, where blustery weather grounded planes and generated states of emergency in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York.

At least two people have died in Italy, where flash floods and mudslides caused chaos in several villages, including Tuscany and Aulla.  In Serbia, unusually strong winds disrupted fishing on the Danube.  The wind is called the “košava”, and is typically not as strong as it was this week.

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Despite the best efforts of witnesses, a couple in Merseyside, Spain was swept away Sunday in a flash flood. There is also no relief in sight for Thailand, which continues to be wracked by devastating floods. Conversely, in Šabac, Serbia, the water levels on an important waterway, the Sava River, were so low that the river was impassible.

Chicago was forced to shut down jogging and bicycle paths due to expected winds with gusts up to 60mph (100 km/h). Winds there have already blown out windows out of at least one building.  A similar incident happened there only a month ago.

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The continued drought in Texas triggered a dust storm reminiscent of the 1930′s US dust bowl.  The 8,000 ft  (2.4km)high dust cloud caused minor damage, including flipping over a small plane.  Meanwhile, record rain triggered floods and landslides in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, cutting short the lives of at least 84 people.  In Mexico, Hurricane Jova killed six people as of Wednesday.  In Serbia, our correspondent Filip Milateć reports below average temperatures, bottoming out at 0ºC (32ºF), but in the same week, we saw a spike to 30ºC (86ºF).  Both are extremely unusual for October in Serbia.

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Storms continued to hammer the Philippines this week, as tropical storm Ramone dumped continuous rains in several areas and triggered landslides.  Five homes were destroyed in the worst hit regions, although the landslide did not do any damage.

In contrast, Afghanistan faces its worst drought in a decade.  This drought along with rising food prices put Afghanis in serious peril.

Also in peril is the food supply and farmers of Nebraska.  A wildfire swept through North Platte, destroying a home and more than 23,000 acres of farm land.  Another fire scorched the town of Beatrice, Nebraska, which destroyed at least $4 million of food.

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The UK has had unusually warm weather this week.  Temperatures there are about 10ºC higher than what they should be.  Meanwhile, the US is dealing with unseasonable cold.  A cold front brought cool temperatures as well as wind storms, causing power disruptions in Wisconsin and Michigan, and whipping up furious waves in Chicago which caused walking and biking trails to close.

In Asia, the typhoon Nesat swept across both the Phillipines and China.  It killed 52 people, while another typhoon, Nalgae killed another three.  The total economic damage from the storm is estimated at $91 million.

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Typhoon Roke made landfall, as predicted, early Wednesday morning, and killed at least 10 people. It caused 200 flights to be cancelled, while 200 passengers were left stranded in Cambodia due to flooding there. Additionally, flooding continues to devastate India, killing 27 people Tuesday.

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Houston set a new record this week, to finish off a record hot summer.  This news comes as Texas is in the grips of a severe drought, and fires ripped through the state just last week.  Meanwhile in Canada, a second hurricane made landfall in less than three weeks!  Hurricanes typically hit Canada once every year or less, and two in three weeks is unprecedented.  Maria made landfall in Newfoundland on Friday.  Meanwhile, a new typhoon, Roke, heads toward Japan.  That storm is to come on the heels of Talas, which left at least 38 people dead last week.

Monsoons are not unusual, but their behaviour this week is.  They failed to retreat from Pakistan, causing devastating flooding.  Similar flooding in Thailand is responsible for the deaths of 98 people.

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Hurricane Lee hit land in Louisiana earlier this week.  While southern states got some much needed wet weather, states as far north as Pennsylvania, some already ravaged by floods, faced more flooding.  This storm is blamed for 14 confirmed deaths across four states.  This a mere two days after a typhoon called Talas slammed into Japan, killing at least 34 people and generating 55 missing persons reports.

Lee is also blamed for fueling strong winds that caused severe damage in Bastrop, TX.  The wind and the state’s worst drought in 60 years, sparked an out of control blaze.  With more than 1,554 homes destroyed, amounting to around $233 million in property damage, it is the worst fire ever to hit the state.  Two people have been confirmed dead in Bastrop, and 17 are unaccounted for, but they may simply be out of town, according to sheriff Terry Pickering.  The fire destroyed more than 30,000 acres of forest, releasing more that one million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, furthering the threat of global warming.

In other news, the drought in the Horn of Africa has become so bad that herders there must choose between sustaining their own animals or elephants, which generate income from tourism.

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