CNN-Weather/Environment

By Jay Croft and Amanda Musa, CNN After record-setting rainfall this week, Jackson, Mississippi, is preparing for the Pearl River to reach 36 feet by Tuesday, leading to flooded streets. Marty Pope, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service said in a Friday news conference the Pearl River will likely reach 34-35 feet this weekend.

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at some statistics from Hurricane Katrina. August 29, 2005 Katrina makes landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana as a Category 3 storm with winds near 127 mph.– Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi. – Numerous failures of levees around New Orleans

By Judson Jones, Monica Garrett, Steve Almasy and Amir Vera, CNN Dozens of residents at a nursing home in the Mississippi town of Brandon had to be evacuated on school buses Wednesday after a slow-moving system brought rain across the South Wednesday drenching central parts of the state. A total of 31 residents were evacuated

By Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist After heavy rain and flash floods in parts of the Southwest this weekend, more than 14 million people across the southern Plains were under flood watches and warnings Sunday, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and Shreveport, Louisiana. About 3 to 5 inches of heavy rain had already fallen across the

By Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist Nearly 10 million people across Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas are under flood watches Saturday, including Phoenix, Albuquerque and El Paso. “The stage is set for southern Arizona and New Mexico to potentially receive prolific rainfall and widespread flash flooding today,” as a low-pressure system brings moist, tropical air

By Brandon Miller and Theresa Waldrop, CNN Worsening heat and humidity as a result of climate change will bring extremely dangerous heat indices to much of the United States in the next 30 years, increasing both the intensity and frequency of the hottest days of the year, according to a new study published Monday. Temperatures

By Haley Brink and Theresa Waldrop, CNN A flood watch is in place from Arizona to Wyoming, covering more than 7 million people, with afternoon and evening rain and thunderstorms expected in much of the Southwest on Sunday. The flood watch includes Las Vegas, where two people died last week in flooding in what has

By Rebekah Riess, CNN Two people are dead after heavy rain poured into Las Vegas casinos and flooded streets Thursday night in the wettest monsoon season in a decade, according to Clark County officials. Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County Fire Department firefighters located and then removed a man in

By Payton Major and Monica Garrett, CNN Nearly 80 million people, primarily in cities along the East Coast, are under heat advisories on Thursday, including residents of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, as drought conditions worsen in the region. More than 70% of the US population will experience temperatures at or above 90

By Caroll Alvarado and Christina Maxouris, CNN Gabriel Hensley, a father of five who stopped to help an injured driver and was later swept away by floodwaters himself was found dead this week, as the storm damage across eastern Kentucky complicates efforts to find the many people still unaccounted for. “He was a hero,” his

By Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist Two rounds of excessive heat will grip a large part of the country this week, impacting people from the Plains to the Midwest and the Northeast. Heat advisories are in place for more than 30 million people from Oklahoma and Arkansas to Minnesota. “Daytime highs will likely reach into the

By Jason Hanna and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Last week’s flooding has killed more than three dozen people in eastern Kentucky, the governor says — and stifling heat will soon compound the challenges for people who are without power and stranded by washed-away roads and bridges. Temperatures in the region Wednesday and Thursday will climb into

By Jennifer Gray, CNN Meteorologist We’ve now entered month three of hurricane season, which is more than 30% of the way through, and it seems like we are getting a slow start. People have even asked me where it was, or even commented they thought this season was supposed to be busy. So, I asked

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Dakin Andone, CNN The death toll in flood-stricken Kentucky has risen to 37, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday afternoon, as rescue workers continue to comb the region for hundreds of missing people, unable to access areas left isolated after floodwater washed away bridges and inundated communities. “We are ending the day

By Nouran Salahieh and Claudia Dominguez, CNN A wildfire in Northern California that exploded in size over the weekend has killed at least two people, forced thousands to evacuate and grown into the state’s largest wildfire this year, with lightning Monday threatening its further expansion. The McKinney Fire broke out Friday afternoon in the Klamath

By Aya Elamroussi and Dakin Andone, CNN At least 28 people have died in last week’s flooding in Kentucky as rescuers continue to search for missing people and the region braces for yet more rain. “Our confirmed count of Kentuckians we’ve lost has now reached 28, and we expect that there will be more, and

By Paradise Afshar and Claire Colbert, CNN A wildfire raging in Northern California was exacerbated by winds from thunderstorms this weekend, causing significant growth, officials said. The fire, known as the McKinney fire, has burned more than 51,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon, according to CAL FIRE. It is 0% contained. Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed

By Aya Elamroussi, Andy Rose and Ray Sanchez, CNN The death toll in flood-stricken parts of eastern Kentucky climbed to at least 25 and will almost certainly “get worse” as first responders work to account for missing residents, the state’s governor said Saturday. Gov. Andy Beshear said the immediate goal is “to get as many

By Payton Major and Judson Jones, CNN Extreme heat or flooding could affect your weekend. Heat alerts are extended through Sunday in the Pacific Northwest, flash-drought conditions will worsen across the southern Plains, and the Mid-South is bracing for more weekend rainfall following days of devastating floods. Oregon and Washington are ending July in the

By Angela Fritz, CNN Senior Climate Editor There is no more dangerous time for severe weather than after dark. You can’t see the storm coming. You can’t see the water rising. And, if it’s late enough, you’re not awake to hear the warnings. This is exactly what happened in eastern Kentucky in the early morning

By Aya Elamroussi and Amanda Jackson, CNN Amid record-breaking rainfall, St. Louis resident Margaret Shellert is facing the full brunt of devastating back-to-back flooding events this week. After the region was hit with torrential rains Monday and Tuesday, a second round of storms Thursday exacerbated conditions even further for her and many in the city.

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Theresa Waldrop, CNN At least 16 people are dead, including children, and the toll is “going to get a lot higher” following catastrophic flooding in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday. An unknown number of people were missing, Beshear said at a news conference Friday morning, as rescuers scrambled to reach

By Steve Almasy, Jason Hanna and Michelle Watson, CNN At least eight people have died in widespread flooding in eastern Kentucky following heavy overnight rains, the governor said Thursday — an inundation he says will be “one of the most significant, deadly floods” in the commonwealth’s history. “This is an ongoing natural disaster, with more

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN An unrelenting heat wave will continue scorching the Northwest and parts of the South Thursday as millions endure yet another round of blistering temperatures. More than 30 million people in the US were under various heat alerts early Thursday. “The extreme heat is unfortunately expected to stay until the weekend, with

By Payton Major and Monica Garrett, CNN Heat warnings and advisories are coating the Pacific Northwest as daily temperatures soar to record-breaking levels in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, stirring memories of the blistering heat wave that brought all-time records last year. And the heat isn’t limited to one region. Nearly 40 million people are under

By Nouran Salahieh, Elizabeth Wolfe and Raja Razek, CNN By just 7 a.m. Tuesday, St. Louis residents found themselves experiencing the wettest day in the city’s recorded history, as roads filled with water and widespread flooding overtook cars, highways and homes. As the hours stretched on, the rain continued to pour and floodwaters inundated the

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Samantha Beech, Rob Shackelford and Benjamin Schiller, CNN After searing heat suffocated large swaths of the US this weekend, the next few days are expected to bring more moderate temperatures to areas of the Northeast, while scorching weather in the Pacific Northwest will intensify. Oppressive heat broke daily high temperature records Sunday

By Aya Elamroussi and Samantha Beech, CNN The deadly heat wave scorching much of the US will continue Sunday, when the Northeast and mid-South regions are likely to be suffocated by temperatures feeling as hot as 105 degrees. More than 90 million people across the country are under various heat alerts for dangerously high temperatures.

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Relentless, oppressive heat will grip much of the US this weekend, with the Northeast region expected to bear the brunt amid forecasts for near-record temperatures across the region. More than 85 million Americans from the central US to the Northeast are under heat warnings or advisories Saturday morning as officials across

By Aya Elamroussi and Steve Almasy, CNN Scorching heat compounded by suffocating humidity is expected to persist through the end of the month in many parts of the US, where millions will likely endure temperatures in the triple digits. More than 98 million Americans from the West to New England were under either heat warnings

By Amir Vera, CNN It’s so hot across the globe, roads and roofs are melting. The deadly heat waves of the last week have sparked strange infrastructural events around the world as millions endure searing temperatures that are still on the rise. The heat-related events also speak to aging infrastructures worldwide, most of which —

By Judson Jones, CNN Meteorologist New satellite images released by NASA Wednesday reveal the dramatic loss of water at Lake Mead due to the ongoing mega-drought. “The largest reservoir in the United States supplies water to millions of people across seven states, tribal lands, and northern Mexico,” NASA wrote about the image. “It now also

By Aya Elamroussi, Dakin Andone and Amir Vera, CNN More than 85% of Americans are bracing for temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit through the weekend, with millions in the south-central US expected to experience readings in the triple digits. More than 100 million people are under various heat alerts Thursday in more than two dozen

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN When Jane Gilbert was appointed last summer as Miami-Dade County’s first “chief heat officer” — and the first in the country — she was charged with a seemingly impossible task: raise the public’s awareness about the dangers of extreme heat to the same level as hurricanes. Gilbert said most of Miami’s

By Robert Shackelford, Mike Saenz and Dave Alsup, CNN Some daily record high temperatures were set Tuesday and Wednesday across multiple states as extreme heat scorched the south central US — part of a heat wave affecting even more of the country Thursday. Here are some of the record highs for July 20 set in

By Jason Hanna and Christina Maxouris, CNN A dangerous heat wave that has wilted the south-central US spread across the country Wednesday, with about 110 million people under heat alerts in more than two dozen states from California to New England — and many areas recording high temperatures in the 90s or triple digits. That

By Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist Every year, hundreds of bold adventurers spend days or weeks in some of the harshest, most unforgiving conditions on the planet, with a singular glory-seeking goal in mind: making it to the top of Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world. That’s the goal for most, at least. “Our

By Joseph Ataman, Jimmy Hutcheon, Xiaofei Xu, Zahid Mahmood, Sana Noor Haq, and Jorge Engels, CNN Extreme heat has engulfed parts of western Europe, with wildfires raging in France and Spain, a worsening drought in Portugal, and the third hottest day on record in the UK on Monday. Fire has spread across 27,000 acres in

Story by Reuters Authorities across southern Europe battled on Sunday to control huge wildfires in countries including Spain, Greece and France, with hundreds of deaths blamed on soaring temperatures that scientists say are consistent with climate change. In Spain, helicopters dropped water on the flames as heat above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and

By Hannah Sarisohn Arizona’s governor has deployed the state’s National Guard to assist with flooding relief and mitigation over the weekend in Coconino County, he announced Saturday. Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, said on Twitter 30 National Guard members will be on the ground on Saturday afternoon to help with flooding mitigation measures such as

By Amarachi Orie, Taylor Ward, Niamh Kennedy, Mia Alberti, Al Goodman, Camille Knight and Amandine Hess, CNN New records have been set as temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across much of Spain and Portugal Wednesday amid a persistent heat wave across western Europe. In northwest Spain, the city of Ourense set its

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Hot, dry weather conditions are making it harder for firefighting crews battling a wildfire in Yosemite National Park in California that is threatening a grove of giant sequoia trees, most of which are more than 2,000 years old. The Washburn Fire has ballooned to at least 4,261 acres since it was

By Aya Elamroussi, Michelle Watson and Alaa Elassar, CNN Everyone has been found after reports of more than 40 people missing in a rural Virginia county inundated by a torrential downpour that tore homes from their foundations and damaged roads and bridges. Crews worked overnight and through the morning in the flooded areas to help

By Travis Caldwell, CNN With giant sequoias under threat from a wildfire spreading at Yosemite National Park in California, firefighters are in a race to protect them and a nearby community as more dry hot weather bears down on the region. Progress has been made in battling the Washburn Fire, which is 22% contained and

By Jennifer Gray, CNN Meteorologist While it seems strange to say this is a hot summer in Texas — because let’s face it, EVERY summer in Texas is hot — this summer will be one to remember. It’s hotter than hot — a record-breaking, sizzling hot, sweaty summer. “I looked at forecast models and they

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Amanda Watts and Dakin Andone, CNN Fire crews are working to steer a growing wildfire away from Yosemite National Park’s legendary giant sequoias, taking protective measures like installing a sprinkler system to dampen the ground around one of the park’s most famous trees. While officials say the trees have avoided significant damage

By Jennifer Gray, CNN Meteorologist The focus across the US on this Independence Day will be on barbecues, celebrating, and being outdoors. However, a word of caution: There is dangerous heat across much of the midsection of the country, which can be deadly if not taken seriously. Nearly 30 million people in more than a

By Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist A serious warning has been posted by the National Weather Service office in Fairbanks, Alaska, this weekend, stating that “significant lightning” is expected both Sunday and Monday across portions of the state already dealing with large, active fires. On Saturday, Alaska and its neighboring territories recorded over 5,800 lightning strikes

By Haley Brink Tropical Storm Colin dissipated over eastern North Carolina early Sunday, just 24 hours after becoming a named storm. Gusty winds, scattered showers, and rip currents are still possible along the North Carolina coast this morning but should ease throughout the day as the remnants push into the Atlantic. Most areas will see