Snow continues to disrupt Europe flights and trains

by Sean McLachlan on

Last night much of northern Europe got another dumping of snow, worsening the continent’s travel woes, the BBC reports. An unusually high amount of snowfall over the weekend left many passengers stranded as runways got buried and ice built up on wings. This latest snowfall has led to another round of cancellations.

Trains are overbooked as passengers look for alternative means of travel, but the snow is affecting how fast trains can go. Some companies, including Eurostar and those in Germany, are telling people to stay home.

Heathrow is suffering the most and will only be able to run 30% of its flights until 6a.m. Wednesday, and that’s assuming more snow doesn’t make matters worse.

Frankfurt airport, which has had to cancel almost 300 flights last night, tried to cheer up stranded passengers by bringing in clowns to entertain them. No news on how well that worked.

So if you’re traveling to, from, or within Europe this holiday season, be sure to check your flight status before heading to the airport.

[Photo courtesy Luke Robinson via Gadling’s flickr pool]

The 10 snowiest cities in America … bundle up!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I spend all summer fantasizing about winter. From the end of May to the beginning of October, I wind up drenched in sweat, wishing I could peel off my own skin and running from one air conditioned environment to another. It’s miserable. When the biting cold of the winter season hits, I embrace it, finally able to be somewhat comfortable when I’m outside. Add a bit of snow to the equation, and the result is positively heavenly.

So, when I saw The Weather Channel’s list of snowiest cities in the United States, my mind immediately wandered to chilly places where I could hop on a sled (which I prefer to skis or snowboards), pour a big, steaming mug of hot chocolate and hurl snowballs at random passers by.

Are you into that sort of thing? Well, you’ll probably want to dash off to one of the 10 snowiest cities in the country! In case you’re wondering, here they are:

%Gallery-108139%1. Valdez, Alaska: The Weather Channel reports that this city gets 297.7 inches of snow a year, with 180 of them coming in only one month. If you go to the second snowiest city in the country, the annual average is six feet lower than it is in Valdez. Slackers.

2. Boonville, New York: Boonville just sounds like a snowy place. With 220.5 inches a year, this town in the foothills of the Adirondacks calls itself the “Snow Capital of the East” and has the powder to back up that claim.

3. Hancock, Michigan: In December, 56 inches of snow are dumped on Hancock, with another 68 inches following in January. The city averages 218 inches a year and once boasted of two feet of wet snow on June 2. This is my kind of place!

4. Crested Butte, Colorado: From November through March, you can expect at least 30 inches of snow to fall every month, with an annual average of 217.7 inches. If you like snow to shroud your Labor Day barbecue, this is the place to be – you can also find snow falling as late as the end of June.

5. Truckee, California: In the late 1800s, one storm pummeled Truckee with 10 feet of snow over two days. Since then, the elements have been merciful, if you call an annual average snowfall of 198.3 inches merciful. Do the math on this one.

6. Lead, South Dakota: Storms dropping more than 10 inches of snow hit at least three times a year in this city, which averages 187 inches of snow a year.

7. Steamboat Springs, Colorado: For 97 days a year, you can expect this mile-high city to have at least 10 inches of snow on the ground. The annual average snowfall of 175.5 inches is nothing to sneeze at.

8. Red Lodge, Montana: There have been years where snow didn’t fall in only two months – that’s what it takes to score an annual average of 173.9 inches. And, the snow lingers: there’s at least an inch on the ground 127 days a year.

9. Tahoe City, California: The snow doesn’t start to fall until November, but when it does, it comes plentifully. Tahoe City averages 170.8 inches a year.

10. Ironwood, Michigan: This city has a slightly pornographic name and a hell of a lot of snow. Ironwood averages 164.6 inches of snow a year and is a hot spot for winter sports, according to The Weather Channel.

[photo by bsabarnowl via Flickr]

Weather spoils itinerary, cruise line softens the blow

by Chris Owen on

Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas was first on the chopping block today as a massive storm system in the Middle East bounced the ship around like a toy boat. The battered ship skipped a scheduled call in Alexandria, Egypt when the port was closed, sending it to Valletta, Malta.

Everyone on board is fine and the ship is completely seaworthy; minus a few onboard attractions.

Closer to home, Carnival Cruise Line announced weather-modified itineraries on four ships. Carnival Fascination skipped Key West and spending the day at sea, Carnival Freedom is skipping Key West too and will call on Cozumel Tuesday. Carnival Sensation, scheduled to call on Freeport in the Bahamas will spend a day at sea also. Carnival Inspiration due back in Tampa at 8a.m. today was delayed due to weather conditions as were two cargo vessels.

Weather-related events often cause modification of cruise ship itineraries cancelling plans of guests for shore-side shopping, sightseeing and shore excursions. While the safety of guests is of primary importance to the cruise lines, they know that getting off the ship in port is a highlight of the vacation, one they desperatley want to make happen. As a result, cruise lines commonly provide onboard credit for guests confined to the ship to spend on board.

In the case of Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas, the cruise line said in a statement today “As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank guests onboard Brilliance of the Seas for their understanding during this difficult situation, Royal Caribbean International has provided guests with an onboard credit, as well as a full refund of their cruise fare paid for the sailing”

Not bad for an experience they’ll surely remember for the rest of their lives.

Hundreds of trekkers stranded in Himalaya due to bad weather

by Kraig Becker on

More than 2000 travelers remain stranded in the Himalaya after bad weather moved into the region earlier this week. High winds and thick cloud cover have conspired to cut off all flights back to Kathmandu, leaving the high altitude trekkers with an unexpected extended stay in the mountains.

Most of the travelers were returning from treks in the Khumbu Region of Nepal, which includes hikes up to Everest Base Camp, located at 17,600 feet. Those treks generally begin and end in Lukla, a small and remote village in the Himalaya, which sits at an altitude of roughly 9100 feet, and offers the only true airport in the region. That airport is little more than a runway that runs up the side of the mountain, and is widely considered to be amongst the most dangerous in the world. The already tricky approach to the village becomes impossible when you add bad weather to the equation.

Fortunately, help began arriving yesterday when the Nepali army sent helicopters to Lukla to start evacuating some of the stranded travelers back to Kathmandu. Their helicopters perform much better in the poor weather conditions and offer plenty of lift to get the trekkers and their gear out of the Himalaya safely. With so many travelers waiting for a ride however, it’ll take a few days before everyone is back in the capital.

Having visited Lukla this past spring, I can’t even imagine where all of these trekkers are staying at the moment. While it is one of the larger villages in the Khumbu Valley, that isn’t saying a whole lot. There are a number of good teahouses to stay in there, but the rooms fill up quickly, and generally it is a very transient place, with adventure travelers coming and going on a regular basis. With 2000 trekkers in the village, it must be one very busy and crowded place.

Could a hurricane still disrupt your vacation?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you have a vacation planned to the Gulf of Mexico coast between now and the end of November, the odds that it will get screwed up by a hurricane are declining rapidly. Hurricane season ends on November 30, and it looks like it’s going to be remembered as a pretty mild one, with only 16 named storms, nine hurricanes and five hitting Category 3 or higher. There haven’t been any major storms to make landfall.

So, it looks like 2010 will resemble 1951, according to an Insurance Information Institute blog post – the only year to have at least five major hurricanes but none actually making landfall in the United States.

There’s still a chance that a big one could disrupt your travel plans: think Hurricane Wilma in 2005, for example, which followed Hurricane Katrina and was the fourth costliest hurricane in terms of insured losses ($11.3 billion, adjusted for inflation).

[photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr]