Millions of people are without power in Texas as one of the worst storms in history plunges Texas into chaos
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Millions without power and 21 dead as ferocious winter weather sweeps US
Officials warn of treacherous travel conditions as icy winter storm heads to America’s north-east
Ferocious winter weather sweeping across large parts of the central and southern US has brought record-breaking cold temperatures, left millions without power and killed at least 21 people across multiple states.
Continue reading...Power outages as deadly winter storm brings snow and ice across southern US – video
Two people have died in Texas, likely due to sub-zero temperatures and power outages, officials say, as winter storms hit large parts of the southern US.
Authorities reported two men were found dead along Houston-area roads
Continue reading...Texas sees one of its coldest winters in decades as temperatures drop
Greg Abbott, the governor, issued a disaster declaration for every county in the state as conditions continued to get colder
Texas is experiencing one of its coldest winter in decades , with temperatures expected to drop to as low as 11F (-12C) in Houston and 9F (-13C) San Antonio under a winter storm warning.
The governor, Greg Abbott, issued a disaster declaration for every county in the state on Friday, as conditions continued to get colder over the weekend.
Continue reading...Among the storm chasers: witnessing the terrifying power of tornadoes
Witnessing the destructive power of a tornado can be exhilarating. Now some amateur enthusiasts are helping scientists predict these awesome weather events
Eight years ago on 20 May – a Monday afternoon – the most destructive category of tornado, known as an EF5, touched down just outside the town of Newcastle, Oklahoma. For 37 minutes, with winds estimated at 210mph, it snaked its way northeast towards the city of Moore, forging a catastrophic path. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed, 24 people were killed and 377 were injured. The damage was estimated at $2bn.
Late that same night I drove from my then-home in Austin, Texas, the five-and-a-half hours to Moore to report on the aftermath. On the way into town the following morning, I passed abandoned cars that told their own story of panic and terror. I saw houses that had been ripped from their foundations.
Continue reading...‘Blinding snow’ storm batters New York City and US north-east– video
A powerful winter storm has engulfed the US north-east, blanketing much of the region in heavy snow. The storm is expected to bring nearly 2ft of snow to New York, Boston and several other cities. ’This is a dangerous, life-threatening situation,’ New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said while declaring a state of emergency in 44 counties and New York City. Mayor Bill De Blasio also declared a local state of emergency - suspending in-person classes, restricting non-essential travel and putting coronavirus vaccination appointments on hold. ‘You're going to see two to four inches of snow per hour. That is extremely intense snow. That's blinding snow’
First major snowstorm of season blankets US north-east and sets records
Hazardous conditions reported in multiple states as regions in Pennsylvania and New York saw accumulations in double digits
The first major snowstorm of the season left the north-east blanketed in snow, setting records in some areas.
“Williamsport regional airport made history,” the National Weather Service in State College said, reporting 24.7in of snow. Forecasters said that was the most snow in that location from a single storm on record, breaking the previous record of 24.1in set there in January 1964.
Continue reading...US Covid vaccine shipments face delay as storm expected to pummel east coast
Treacherous storm set to hit states from Virginia to Massachusetts today as 3,019 people die in the last 24 hours
Continued shipments of the vital coronavirus vaccine around the US face delay as a monster winter storm is set to pummel states from Virginia to Massachusetts later Wednesday, even as the US suffered its third deadliest day of the pandemic.
A total of 3,019 people died because of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the third highest total since the first cases were recorded in the US as far back as January.
Continue reading...Tropical storm Eta aimed at Florida could hit with hurricane force
Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been declared for the keys with the storm expected to hit Sunday night or early Monday
A strengthening Tropical storm Eta sliced across Cuba on Sunday and was aimed at the tip of Florida, where officials braced for a storm that could hit at hurricane force after leaving scores dead and over 100 missing in Mexico and Central America.
The US National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay, with the storm expected to reach that area by Sunday night or early Monday.
Continue reading...California: over 50,000 without power amid extreme wildfire risk
PG&E began shutting off power Wednesday evening to customers in portions of 24 counties as a ‘last-resort option’ amid high fire risk
Thousands of people in northern California were without power on Thursday amid an autumn heatwave that brought another round of extreme wildfire danger.
The utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began shutting off power Wednesday evening to about 50,000 customers – about 100,000 people – in portions of 24 counties, mainly in the Sierra Nevada foothills and the San Francisco Bay Area. Another 20,000 people were expected to lose power later on Thursday.
Continue reading...US wildfires: Oregon has ‘never seen this amount of uncontained fire’, governor says – live
- At least eight killed in three states as winds fuel blazes
- Major wind-driven fires in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and other states
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Washington state’s governor, Jay Inslee, said today that the fires in the state have burned nearly 937 sq miles (2,426km).
“We’ve had this trauma all over Washington,” Inslee said, KHQ-TV reported. The governor was touring the farm town of Malden, which is 35 miles south of Spokane: “But this is the place where the whole heart of the town was torn out.”
Stunned residents of the small Oregon town of Phoenix walked through a scene of devastation Thursday after one of the state’s many wildfires wiped out much of their community, including a mobile home park, houses and businesses, the AP reports on the ground.
There were flames across the street from me, flames to the right of me, flames to the left of me. I just watched everything burn.”
Burned out cars, charred lawn ornaments, rubble. That’s what’s left of this Phoenix mobile home park, which covers abt 20 acres. Flames and smoldering embers still visible here. Everything is blackened by fire.
This was home to abt 300 people. pic.twitter.com/DrDobLKVev
Mayor Chris Luz talks about the loss of Puck’s Donuts. pic.twitter.com/4qz2gLy9Jb
Continue reading...California wildfires: helicopter rescues firefighters as blaze advances – video
Dramatic footage shows the moment a helicopter rescued two stranded firefighters from advancing wildfires in California. 'Had it not been for that helicopter, those firefighters would certainly have perished,' the Sonoma county sheriff, Mark Essick, said. Firefighters have been battling blazes that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee across the state since 15 August
- California wildfires: weather turns as Bay Area burns and Trump declares disaster
- California wildfires: Trump declares major disaster as state braces for worsening conditions
Marco and Laura could hit US coast as hurricanes, forecasters say
- Louisiana in path of two tropical storms now in Gulf
- Mississippi governor heralds ‘unprecedented times’
Tropical Storm Marco was swirling over the Gulf of Mexico early on Sunday, heading for a possible hit on the Louisiana coast as a hurricane, while Tropical Storm Laura knocked utilities out as it battered Hispaniola, following a track forecast to take it to the same part of the US coast – also as a hurricane.
Related: Could the US and Caribbean be heading for their worst hurricane season?
Continue reading...Death Valley temperature rises to 54.4C – possibly the hottest ever reliably recorded
US National Weather Service’s automated station at Furnace Creek in California hit extreme high at 3:41pm on Sunday
A temperature of 54.4C – or 129.9F – has been recorded in Death Valley, California, in what some extreme weather watchers believe could be the hottest reading ever reliably recorded on the planet.
The United States National Weather Service’s automated weather station at Furnace Creek near the border with Nevada hit the extreme high at 3:41pm on Sunday afternoon, a statement said.
Continue reading...Hurricane Isaias drenches Bahamas as Florida braces for storm
Storm expected to produce 4-8in of rain in Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands and remain hurricane for few days
Forecasters declared a hurricane watch for parts of the Florida coastline on Friday, as Hurricane Isaias drenched areas of the Bahamas devastated by Dorian last year, on track for the US east coast.
Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75mph and was expected to remain a hurricane for a few days, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami.
Continue reading...Hurricane Douglas: Hawaii prepares for high winds, rain and storm surge
- ‘It’s definitely going to be a triple threat’
- Trump issues an emergency declaration for Hawaii
Hawaii prepared for Hurricane Douglas on Sunday, with predictions of high winds, rain and storm surge.
Related: Hurricane Hanna: storm hits Texas counties struggling with Covid-19
Continue reading...Hurricane Hanna moves towards Texas as storm Gonzalo nears Caribbean
Hanna is first hurricane of 2020 Atlantic season and could bring 6in to 12in of rain through Sunday night
Hurricane Hanna rumbled toward the Texas Gulf coast on Saturday, lashing the shore with wind gusts and rain and threatening to bring storm surge and tornadoes to a part of the country trying to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases.
Related: 'A summer unlike any other': heatwaves and Covid-19 are a deadly combination
Continue reading...Officials warn of health risks as heatwave may break records in the south of US
Many of the affected areas are also seeing a coronavirus surge and some experts are anxious heat could increase infections
More than 20 locations across the US were expected to either break or tie previous high temperature records on Sunday as the south of the country bakes in a heatwave.
The National Weather Service had numerous excessive heat warnings in place across a 2,000 mile swath stretching from southern California through to Mobile Bay in Alabama. Potentially record-breaking temperatures are expected in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas.
Continue reading...Dust bowl conditions of 1930s US now more than twice as likely to reoccur
Climate breakdown means conditions that wrought devastation across Great Plains could return to region
The agricultural conditions known as a “dust bowl”, which helped propel mass migration among drought-stricken farmers in the US during the great depression of the 1930s, are now more than twice as likely to reoccur in the region, because of climate breakdown, new research has found.
Dust bowl conditions in the 1930s wrought devastation across the US agricultural heartlands of the Great Plains, which run through the middle of the continental US stretching from Montana to Texas. The conditions are caused by a combination of heatwaves, drought and farming practices, replacing the native prairie vegetation.
Continue reading...Polar vortex brings May snow and freeze warnings to New York and New England
- Unseasonable blast felt from Maine to Manhattan
- Chill coincides with Vermont reopening outdoor pursuits
Mother’s Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in the US north-east on Saturday, thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north.
Some higher elevation areas in northern New York state and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10in, while traces of snow were seen along the coast from Maine to Boston and as far south as Manhattan.
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