Global storm activity of 2008 from of snow during a two-day period. The poor conditions forced the closure of Interstate 90 in the Black Hills region of western South Dakota. On May 8, dust storms hit Astana in Kazakhstan. 21 people had died in a rural Mongolian blizzard. Parts of the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia were also affected. The Burmese government said that over 60,000 people are dead or missing and about 1,000,000 are homeless. The American embassy to Burma in the area has estimated that about 100,000 died when Cyclone Nargis hit coastal Myanmar on May 8 and 9, 2008. Fifty-four people, including
2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season 18, RSMC Nadi reported that Ken had reached its peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h, (60 mph), which made it a Category 2 Cyclone. RSMC Nadi then passed primary warning responsibility of Cyclone Ken to TCWC Wellington who, downgraded Ken to a Category 1 Cyclone early the next day. Ken then re-intensified into a Category 2 Cyclone later that day; however it was quickly downgraded to a Category 1 Cyclone within their next advisory and then was declared extratropical by both TCWC Wellington and the JTWC early on March 20. As an extratropical cyclone, Ken reached 1-minute windspeeds of