CNN-Weather/Environment

By Travis Caldwell, Dakin Andone, Judson Jones and Amir Vera, CNN More than 75 million people from Atlanta to Philadelphia faced the threat of severe storms Monday, days after a deadly tornado outbreak, including an EF-4 twister, killed seven people in Iowa. Other cities that could see severe weather include Washington, DC and Baltimore, said

By Andy Rose and Melissa Alonso, CNN Seven people, including two children, died in a series of tornadoes that ripped through multiple counties near Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, officials said. Six Madison County residents were killed, Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said. The oldest victim was 72-years-old and the youngest was aged 2,

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist March may mean the arrival of spring, but Mother Nature doesn’t always get that memo. This weekend’s weather will include snow, tornadoes and the chance for fires across the United States. “A strong storm system will move from the southwestern US through the Midwest this weekend, spreading critical fire weather,

By Tom Sater and Monica Garrett, CNN It’s been a soggy week for the Pacific Northwest, as another powerful atmospheric river unloaded fierce winds, crashing high waves and record rainfall in areas such as Seattle, Washington. Now, another storm system is pushing through, and this time, promising to bring much needed precipitation to California. However,

By Judson Jones and Monica Garrett, CNN Five crashes, two of which killed three people, occurred along a stretch of I-95 in Volusia County, Florida, early Thursday, shutting down an 18-mile stretch of the interstate in both directions. The highway was re-opened Friday after repairs were completed overnight, said Lt. Kim Montes, a public information

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist March in the Midwest usually brings to mind snow, ice, and bitter cold temperatures, but this weekend, thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures, some states may see both snow and tornadoes. “It is rare to get severe weather that far north this early in the year, but it is not unprecedented,”

CNN Editorial Research Here’s some background information about wildfires. About Wildfires are sometimes called “wildland fires.” Wildfires can originate from a dropped match, cigarette embers, campfires, exhaust sparks from a train or arson. Many wildland fires are ignited by lightning. There are no official rules, but the first responders usually name a fire after a

By Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist A category 4 out of 5 atmospheric river is forecast to bring heavy rain, river flooding and snow to the Pacific Northwest early this week. On the atmospheric river scale a category 4 is characterized by “mostly hazardous” but also “beneficial” in terms of the amount of rain expected, according

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist Heat waves are the deadliest weather disaster in the US. They account for nearly 150 fatalities per year, more than hurricanes and tornadoes combined. New legislation in California hopes to reduce heat-related deaths by ranking heat waves similarly to hurricanes, by using categories and names. However, the National Weather Service

By Jay Croft, Haley Brink and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A winter storm that brought heavy snow and ice to parts of the Northeast on Friday is beginning to move out of the region this evening. The storm caused rough road conditions, prompted school closures and resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations. Three million people from

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN A far-reaching winter storm was expected to bring dangerous ice to roads in parts of the South and Midwest on Thursday before dumping heavy snow in the Northeast. Winter weather alerts stretched over 1,500 miles from Arkansas to Maine on Thursday evening as the ice storm was set to create hazardous

By Judson Jones, CNN Meteorologist For some, it may still feel 10 to 20 degrees above average today, maybe even tomorrow. But cold air will take over and about 70% of the US population will feel temperatures drop below freezing by the end of the week. This will create hazards where some people will experience

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist After a mild end to the weekend for many states, Old Man Winter will make a comeback as we start off the new workweek. “Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average over the northern tier states by Monday morning,” the Weather Prediction Center said Saturday. And that’s just

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN A storm that stirred up tornadoes in the South on Thursday trekked up through the Northeast on Friday morning, bringing a wintry mix and gusty winds and making the morning commute hazardous in some areas. Gusty winds are forecast throughout the morning across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but they will ease

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at volcanoes, mountains that open downward to a reservoir of molten rock. Facts: More than 80% of the Earth’s surface, both above and below sea level, is of volcanic origin. Lava is molten rock from a volcano that reaches the Earth’s surface. Liquid rock below the Earth’s surface is

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at earthquakes worldwide. The US Geological Survey describes an earthquake as “the ground shaking caused by a sudden slip on a fault. Stresses in the earth’s outer layer push the sides of the fault together. Stress builds up and the rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel

By Jennifer Gray, CNN You might have heard over the weekend; a man survived an avalanche after falling off a 50-foot cliff while skiing in Colorado. Yes, you read that correctly. The sad truth of the matter is surviving an avalanche burial is rare. According to Jake Hutchinson, an avalanche rescuer and safety instructor in

By Caitlin Kaiser and Tom Sater, CNN A rogue wave measuring 58 feet (17.6 meters) tall was recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island, breaking the record for proportionality at three times the size of surrounding waves. “Only a few rogue waves in high sea states have been observed directly, and nothing of this magnitude.

By Derek Van Dam, CNN It would be hard to hold a conversation over the deafening sound of the snow machines preparing the Olympic venues northwest of Beijing. They are loud and they are everywhere, blowing snow across what will be this month’s most-watched slopes. It is almost beautiful — except that the venues are

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Nearly 40 million people remain under weather watches and warnings in the Northeast, down from 85 million Friday morning, as a winter storm makes its way eastward. Snow fell across much of New York state, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, with freezing rain and ice causing treacherous travel to the south

By Steve Almasy, Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan, CNN A deadly storm system plowed across the United States on Thursday bringing tornado threats and dumping wintry precipitation and rain on Americans from the Gulf to Canada. More than 91 million people were under a winter weather warning or advisory as ice, snow and sleet were

By Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan, CNN A mammoth storm dropping significant snowfall Wednesday threatens to paralyze parts of the Midwest and South with ice, snow, dangerously cold temperatures and power outages for days. More than 100 million people were under winter weather alerts, stretching from the Rockies to New England. Heavy snow has been

By Caitlin Kaiser and Judson Jones, CNN Two new world records for megaflashes of lightning have been recorded by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), including one for longest distance of a singular flash in North America and one for longest duration in South America. “A mega-flash is a really, really big lightning flash,” Randall Cerveny,

By Aya Elamroussi and Holly Yan, CNN The nor’easter that dumped record snowfall in parts of the East Coast has left treacherous wind chills and thousands of people without power. “An East Coast blizzard dropped one to over 2 feet of snow along the coast. Now, cold weather will hold a grip on the Mid-Atlantic

By Jason Hanna, Aya Elamroussi and Christina Maxouris, CNN Much of the East Coast was covered with a thick blanket of snow Saturday night, with several areas reporting record snowfall totals, and officials across the region urged residents to stay put as the fierce nor’easter made its way through the country’s northeastern tip. Across the

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN A weekend nor’easter that’s forming off the coast of the Carolinas Friday night will likely quickly strengthen as it begins making its way up the East Coast overnight into Saturday. The storm is threatening the region with heavy snow and vicious winds, a dangerous combination that could knock out power for

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Heavy snow and strong winds are expected to slam some metro areas in the Northeast this weekend, with millions already under winter storm watches. Forecasters predict eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, and Rhode Island will see 12 to 24 inches of snow that could begin falling late Friday through the day Saturday,

By Judson Jones, CNN Meteorologist Confidence is growing that a winter storm with the intensity of a hurricane, snow measured in feet and blizzard-like conditions will impact major Northeast cities this weekend. “The models continue to show a nor’easter with blockbuster potential for the weekend, mainly late Friday through Saturday,” CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller says.

By Allison Chinchar and Monica Garrett, CNN Meteorologists A rapidly intensifying storm known as a bomb cyclone could bring crippling winter weather across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend. Snow, ice, strong winds and flooding are all on the table, giving rise to potentially hazardous travel conditions in those regions. “Confidence is increasing that a

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Crews fighting a wildfire along the central coast of California near the iconic Highway 1 made progress Sunday in containing the blaze, but dozens of homes remained under evacuation orders. The Colorado Fire ignited Friday evening in Palo Colorado Canyon in the Big Sur region of Monterey County and swelled to

By Melissa Alonso and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A wildfire near California’s scenic Highway 1, which winds along the Pacific coastline, prompted evacuation orders in Monterey County on Friday night. The Colorado Fire was sparked in Palo Colorado Canyon in the Big Sur region, according to the county’s office of emergency services. A portion of Highway

By Jason Hanna and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A treacherous wintry mix including freezing rain and snow is set to hit parts of Virginia and North and South Carolina from Friday into Saturday, moving the governors of those states declare emergencies as forecasters anticipate poor travel conditions and power outages. A coastal swath of the Carolinas

By Aya Elamroussi and Joe Sutton, CNN A prescribed fire in Central Texas “spread beyond the intended fire boundaries” Tuesday and swelled to hundreds of acres, forcing some residents to evacuate as crews battled the blaze overnight, local officials said. The Rolling Pines Fire in Bastrop County was sparked Tuesday morning and grew to 500

By Kelly McCleary, Holly Yan and Theresa Waldrop, CNN Millions of people across the eastern US were digging out from heavy snow Monday after a massive storm system left its mark from Florida to Maine with tornadoes, freezing rain and snow. Areas of Ohio got the most snowfall, with more than 2 feet reported in

By Alanne Orjoux and Holly Yan, CNN A brutal winter storm walloping much of the Southeast has brought a trio of rare sights: freezing rain, snow and ice. And the Northeast is up next. Snow has fallen as far south as Florida, with the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, tweeting a Pensacola, Florida, resident’s

By Jason Hanna, Hannah Gard and Alanne Orjoux, CNN A massive storm system dumping snow on the central US is expected to wallop much of the country’s eastern third with snow and freezing rain this weekend, and could cause a crippling ice event in parts of Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas by Sunday. Nearly 74