Empirical 'bad news' for alarmists

Now these are some interesting tidbits to behold! Coldest since 1994, it says.

This is about as bad as it gets folks. I don't think I've seen anything like it since 1994. Sure its been very cold at times over the past 14 years, but the total area impacted by this cold wave will be huge. By next Thursday and Friday, extremely cold air will chill the entire area from the Great Plains to the Eastern Seaboard, and the cold is also going to reach the Deep South. Only the far West will be unscathed.

[From Coldest in Years Plains to East Coast - AccuWeather.com]

But wait! I thought all the ski resorts were struggling to stay alive because there was no snow and it was SO warm! Now they have too much snow?!?

Resorts throughout the western United States and Canada are struggling with avalanche hazards as weather patterns have created uncommonly widespread conditions of instability, wreaking havoc on mountains crowded with skiers of all levels at the start of ski season.

[From Fatal avalanches rattle ski country in western U.S. - International Herald Tribune]

Meanwhile, in Europe:

A rare, heavy snowfall in central Spain closed Madrid's airport and paralysed city traffic while several rivers in Germany were frozen as much of Europe endured Siberian conditions Friday.
Russian gas cuts to several European countries this week have aggravated the the effects of the bitter cold which has embraced much of the continent since the end of December.

But not everyone was unhappy about the cold snap, with the Dutch taking the opportunity to rediscover the pleasures of skating along iced-over canals and lakes.

[From Madrid airport closed as Europe seized by frigid weather]

And in Alaska, 60 below zero:

JUNEAU, Alaska – Ted Johnson planned on using a set of logs to a build a cabin in Alaska's interior. Instead he'll burn some of them to stay warm.
Extreme temperatures — in Johnson's case about 60 below zero — call for extreme measures in a statewide cold snap so frigid that temperatures have grounded planes, disabled cars, frozen water pipes and even canceled several championship cross country ski races.
Alaskans are accustomed to subzero temperatures but the prolonged conditions have folks wondering what's going on with winter less than a month old.

[From Extreme Alaska cold grounds planes, disables cars - Yahoo! News]