Weekly wrap-up: Rare snow covers Rome, Venice; Intense nor'easter strikes with fierce wind, rain and snow

Cold air from Siberia blasted western Europe and the United Kingdom this week, dropping rare snow in some cities.

Rome was covered in a blanket of white early in the week, prompting snowball fights in front of the Coliseum and the Vatican. Despite government officials telling residents to remain at home, Roman locals took to the city streets to see the rare sight.

Snow fell all the way to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, with numerous reports of 1-3 inches (2-8 cm) around Rome. More than a foot of snow fell in parts of the Balkans.

Venice and Milan, Italy, were covered in a dusting of snow later in the week.

The cold air unleashed travel-disrupting snow across the U.K. including in London, Manchester and Dublin. Known as Storm Emma in the U.K., four people were killed in weather-related motor accidents amid the hazardous conditions, according to The Guardian.

Hail battered Sacrament, Calif., early this week, prompting city officials to urge drivers to avoid the roads.

Inches of hail accumulated on roadways. Many of the hailstones were smaller than pennies, but the hardest-hit areas had hail accumulate several inches on roads in less than an hour.

Some vehicles were left trapped in the ice. The hailstorm was a result of a storm system moving over California, spreading rain and mountain snow across the state.

A powerful late-week storm slammed parts of the midwestern and northeastern U.S., knocking out power to hundreds of thousands.

Several inches of snow accumulated around Detroit, covering many roads across the area and leading to slow travel.

Thundersnow was been reported in Erie, Penn., while wind gusts reached up to 50-70 mph in the northeastern U.S.

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