Wild weather: Snowstorms in China and Arizona, flooding in France

CTV News Edmonton meteorologist Josh Classen recounts this week's wild weather across the world.

Here are some of the weather stories making headlines around the world this past week:

Nearly 100 people were stranded in vehicles following a major snowstorm in northern China.

Temperatures slid into the mid-minus 20s as rescue workers were sent out to free the trapped motorists who were blocked in when a semi-trailer truck got stuck in the heavy snow and the blizzard-like conditions.

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The storm was so bad that rescue crews had to trek out to the snarled traffic jam on foot because their vehicles weren’t able to get through the snow.

It’s a different story in northern Arizona where residents were happy to see the snow falling.

It’s been the driest start to winter on record in Flagstaff, Ariz.

But, they finally picked up several centimetres of snow this past week. Flagstaff normally has over 100 centimetres of snow by early February. This year, they’ve had less than 10 centimetres.

The lack of snow led to increased fire danger in the area and an extremely rare (for February) red flag warning.

The snow is expected to significantly help that situation.

Severe flooding hit the town of Redon in northern France.

Emergency workers donned wetsuits and pulled boats through the streets to help rescue trapped residents.

About 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes after heavy rain from Storm Ivo caused local river levels to rise almost two feet in 24 hours.

The region was also hit hard recently by severe weather from Storms Eowyn and Herminia.