As a keen skier I have been watching the situation across the Alps with dismay. So often I have tuned in to the ski racing and seen bare green mountains with just a thin strip of artificial snow on the piste, struggling to survive. I would only choose a resort with glacier skiing, these days.

It's more interesting than you imply, as I take your reply to mean that you regard it as a one-off event. 

I recommend reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droughts_in_California  which links an irregular cycle of dry years and wet years, each in turn lasting up to a decade, to the effects of global warming. Unfortunately some studies suggest that warming makes dry years more likely and other studies favour wetter years, just to muddy the waters as it were.

In the 2010s I remember reading articles predicting doom for Californian agriculture as not enough snowmelt was occurring to allow for the necessary irrigation. . So I regard this snowfall, yes, as an extreme example of what can happen when California is in a wet part of the cycle, but falling well within an area of interest for those who follow unusual weather, and not appropriate for casual dismissal.

There was an article on the BBC News website last week (going on about the warmth in February), and there was a quote saying that Edinburgh and Cumbria now see as many air frosts in a typical winter as Kent and Sussex used to get "50 years ago".

Still, best not to mourn for what you've lost, but be glad to have experienced it in the first place - that's my motto!

No, David, I wasn’t suggesting it was a one off event; my comment was in the context of the title of this thread, ie unusual weather events.  You’re absolutely right that climate change means increasingly unpredictable weather, but around a trajectory of increasing temperatures.  

For many years in the old climate forum I made the point that we were tampering with a complex system where there would be tipping points and unpredictable consequences. 

My post was in no way ‘a casual dismissal’; it was about context.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68467529 

A lack of rain and the El Nino weather phenomenon have contributed to the second driest year in the canal's 110-year history. Last October was the driest month since records began. 

The number of vessels has been slashed from an average of 36 to 24. Each ship is also carrying less cargo now because of weight restrictions. The slowdown spells trouble for global trade.

Panama is about 3,000 miles south of California, further than the distance between California and New York.  California’s climate is Mediterranean-like; Panama’s is tropical.

The drought has been having an increasing impact for about a year now.  I wonder why they haven’t considered pumping up sea water if it’s getting so serious?  Is it just too costly and difficult?

The lakes that feed the canal also supply drinking water. So filling them with sea water, even if it was possible, would not be a great idea. (Presumably it would also be fairly catastrophic environmentally too!)

😮🤣🤣🤣

I know. What I was suggesting was pumping sea water up, not polluting the lakes.

As I understand it the canal and the lakes are intimately connected, in fact long stretches of the canal are basically just a marked route through the lakes. I don’t see how you could use sea water really. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4rRvUXSgnA 

See my post in the "Space News" thread in "Science & Nature".

   For more about these storms see -

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-68577700

Degrees Fahrenheit, presumably (46 F below = 25 C below); those were the days!

https://news.sky.com/video/virginia-wow-thats-hot-man-drives-alongside-raging-wildfires-in-us-13099651 

That seems rather early in the year, even if the eastern US has has a dry winter (I think I've seen reports of that).

Absolutely incredible and also frankly frightening as it's a foretaste of the future.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-68695712 

High winds in Italian Alps all but tip skiers out of chair lift - video

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.bbc.com/weather/792680&ved=2ahUKEwi-pN7nm5yFAxUXXUEAHVyAAAIQFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0CZHvmyL4-Z_uILOqkpDZp 

Just look at the forecast for next week - summer-type heat to our east, over a massive area.

http://wxmaps.org/pix/temp4.png 

I can't help but think we're in for another 40C sooner rather than later... we avoided it last year, but our luck won't hold forever!

Could well be, heat records have been tumbling all over the world recently. 

Yes only the Uk won’t get any heat records at all but more at record summer cold temps rain and very dull. 

One area in a village had reached 31.8 in Cyprus while Nicosia was 29.1C.  This month failed to have a decent warm spring days with full sunshine.

Not sure about record UK cold but my initial gut feeling is that much of the extreme heat will stay on the continent this summer.