Much-needed rain falls on parched Southern California, Southwest U.S.
After weeks of dry weather that contributed to the spread of historic and deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area, Southern California is finally getting some rain. A slow-moving low-pressure system was expected to linger over the Southwest, bring showers through the early work week and help end Southern California's lingering wildfires and one of the driest stretches of weather in the region's recorded history.
In cleanup from California fires, lithium-ion batteries are a dangerous challenge
As cleanup efforts get underway in the Los Angeles area neighborhoods marred by wildfires, one of the biggest challenges is the large number of lithium-ion batteries that were caught in the flames. The batteries power most plug-in hybrid cars and electric vehicles, and are used in golf carts, e-bikes, laptops, cellphones and wireless earbuds. They’re also found in power banks that provide backup energy during outages, which have become increasingly popular in homes.
Trump floats overhauling or eliminating FEMA while touring hurricane damage in North Carolina
President Donald Trump on Friday floated the idea of overhauling or eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, while visiting North Carolina to view the aftermath of last year's Hurricane Helene. “I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA. I think, frankly, FEMA is not good," Trump said at a hurricane recovery briefing in Fletcher, North Carolina.
Ireland and Northern Ireland battered by record winds from Storm Eowyn
DUBLIN — Record high winds from Storm Eowyn battered Ireland and Northern Ireland on Friday, leaving 560,000 homes and businesses without power and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of schools and public transport. Officials had warned the storm was set to be one of the most dangerous they have faced and told people to stay indoors. The Irish weather agency, Met Eireann, said a gust of 182 kilometres per hour (113 mph) overnight at Mace Head in County Galway provisionally broke an 80-year record.
Hughes Fire containment grows after thousands are forced to flee
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters gained more ground Thursday on a fast-moving brush fire that erupted north of Los Angeles on Wednesday and within hours exploded to thousands of acres amid high winds, officials said. The Hughes Fire, which started near Castaic Lake, was 36% contained and had burned more than 10,000 acres by Thursday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
Snow falls in Houston and New Orleans as rare storm sweeps Gulf Coast
Weather likely played a role in at least four deaths as several states declared emergencies, with temperatures expected to be 20 to 30 degrees below the January average.
California leaders promise a quick rebuild, but that may put homes at risk of fire again
As wildfires continue to smolder in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are both promising a speedy rebuilding of the thousands of destroyed homes. “This is no time for urban planning exercising. That’ll delay it by 15 years. We need people back in their houses,” Steve Soboroff, a businessman and former police commissioner tasked with overseeing the city’s rebuilding efforts, said at a news conference on Friday.
Icy roads pose dangerous threat in wake of massive winter storm that paralyzed Gulf Coast with record-breaking snow
A major winter storm slammed the US Gulf Coast Tuesday, blanketing parts of a region largely unaccustomed to extreme winter weather with record-breaking snowfall. The storm impacted 1,500 miles of the Deep South from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas, causing widespread closures and travel disruptions, including stranded motorists and thousands of canceled flights. The storm, along with the brutal cold that helped cause it, is blamed for at least 11 deaths.
At least 9 reported dead in brutal cold as historic snow falls in once-in-a-generation storm in the South
At least nine people are believed to have died as a result of the dangerous cold gripping much of the country, as a once-in-a-generation winter storm wreaks havoc on the Gulf Coast — a region wholly unaccustomed to winter weather. While the cold has proved deadly, footage from across the Gulf Coast shows snow blanketing implausible places, causing surreal wintry scenes: in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where street performers sang for passersby; on the grass at the Florida border; and on the white sand beaches of Orange Beach, Alabama.
Dangerous 'rare winter storm' hits Gulf Coast as it braces for historic snowfall
Weather forecasters and public agencies issued health and power loss warnings Tuesday as a “rare winter storm" gripped parts of the southern and eastern United States. "A bitterly cold airmass will remain in place for much of the South and eastern U.S. over the next couple of days," the National Weather Service said early Tuesday in a forecast as it advised the public about the prospect of heavy snow, freezing rain and a “significant winter storm.”