Weather

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Communities in the Washington, DC, metro area are still at risk for coastal flooding Sunday as forecasters say about 12 million people remain under flood warnings and advisories. Coastal areas in Washington, Maryland and Virginia have been experiencing heavy flooding since Friday, and some flooding may occur through Sunday evening, forecasters

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist Halloween weekend looks dry for most across the US, although some may be saying “brrr” instead of “boo.” Some trick-or-treaters may need a rain jacket to accompany their costumes, while others may need snow boots. Some towns may opt to do trick-or-treating on Saturday since kids don’t have to get

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Heavy flooding inundated communities across the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area on Friday and forecasters expect the rain to continue through Saturday. Nearly 14 million people were under a coastal flooding warning early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. “The neighbors who have been here a long time say it hasn’t been

By Paul P. Murphy and Holly Yan, CNN Many Americans trying to catch a glimpse of the northern lights this weekend were thwarted by clouds or rain, but other countries and Alaska could get a mesmerizing treat this Halloween night. Parts of Canada, Alaska and Russia might see the finale of a weekend lights show

By Aya Elamroussi, Monica Garrett and Jason Hanna, CNN A powerful storm is flooding some Mid-Atlantic coastal areas Friday evening, and flooding is expected to continue in Washington, DC tonight — part of what forecasters said could be the area’s worst tidal flooding in the past two decades. Strong winds are pushing water into Chesapeake

By Aya Elamroussi and Joe Sutton, CNN Several homes in Lake Charles, Louisiana, were damaged Wednesday after a tornado swept through the area that is still recovering from recent disasters. The tornado’s maximum winds reached 130 miles per hour when it touched down, causing significant structural damage to about a dozen homes and minor damage

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Crews are working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of New Englanders who woke up in the dark Wednesday after a powerful nor’easter dumped heavy rain and downed power lines. Massachusetts was the heaviest hit with outages as nearly 500,000 homes and businesses lost power at some point, according to

By Michelle Krupa, CNN Yosemite Falls is again hosting its famous deluge after record-shattering rainfall this week in California following an extremely dry summer and extensive drought. Water surged over the 2,425-foot falls Monday, just four days after the same majestic rock face appeared as only a dry canvas for the sun’s glow, Yosemite National

By Monica Garrett, Jason Hanna and Dave Hennen, CNN Thousands in New England are waking up in the dark Wednesday and strong winds are expected to continue a day after a nor’easter’s heavy rains flooded some areas in the Northeast. More than 275,000 customers were without electricity Wednesday morning in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and

By Steve Almasy, CNN The governors of New Jersey and New York have each issued a state of emergency in advance of an anticipated nor’easter this week. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared the emergency for more than 20 counties. “I am proactively declaring a State of Emergency to ensure we can provide the

By Derek Van Dam, CNN Meteorologist This week has started off with a “bomb cyclone” and atmospheric river in the West, a severe threat in the central US, and now a possible nor’easter could hit the Northeast over the next 48 hours. Evacuation orders in place across some California burn scar areas As a “bomb

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist A potent system in the central US is stirring up severe weather this weekend that will move eastward early next week, impacting more than 50 million people. This system will move into an area with above-average temperatures and a lot of moisture surging in from the Gulf of Mexico, creating

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN Imagine a long river of water vapor in the sky coming into the West Coast. It is how Marty Ralph, the director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, described the storm event threatening California at the moment. The storms

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist When you think of Florida, beaches and palm trees come to mind. But what if those palm trees were slowly replaced with other trees? That could happen over time because of climate change, and communities in South Florida are trying to save the world from the climate crisis, one tree

By Pedram Javaheri After nearly a year without rain, a series of potent Pacific storms are directed at Northern California this week, potentially bringing as much as a foot of rainfall and up to three feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada. Supercharged by a classic atmospheric river pattern, the storms could lead to flash

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN After California saw its driest year on record in nearly 100 years, the entire state is now under a drought emergency, officials said Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide drought emergency proclamation, expanding an existing one to add eight counties that were not previously included. “As the western US faces

By Amanda Watts and Jason Hanna, CNN Southern California’s Alisal Fire, which earlier this week closed portions of US Highway 101 and the Union Pacific Railroad west of Santa Barbara, was 50% contained as of Saturday morning, fire officials said. That’s an improvement from Friday morning’s 41%. The fire has burned about 17,200 acres since

By Aya Elamroussi and Cheri Mossburg, CNN Santa Barbara’s famed Reagan Ranch, known as the Western White House during the Reagan administration, narrowly escaped the flames of the Alisal Fire, which has charred nearly 17,000 acres since igniting last Monday. Firefighters appear to be gaining ground on the blaze, as containment of the fire jumped

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist After the hottest and driest summer in California history, and a September that was Los Angeles County’s driest ever, concerns are high that Santa Ana wind season could significantly worsen what has already been a disastrous fire year. For the second time this week, Pacific Gas & Electric has had

By Brandon Miller and Judson Jones, CNN Winter weather, ongoing drought conditions and even the remainder of hurricane season will see impacts from a recent cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. La Niña conditions — the opposite phase of El Niño — have emerged in the tropical Pacific Ocean over the past month,

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at Hurricane Sandy, which was also called “Superstorm Sandy.” According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states and all of the eastern seaboard. Causing an estimated $78.7 billion in damages, it was the fourth-costliest US storm behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and hurricanes Harvey

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN The heavy winds that have been fanning the Alisal Fire — which already closed part of Highway 101 and shuttered Amtrak railways in Santa Barbara County, California, are likely to continue, possibly hindering progress in battling the blaze — and triggering power outages. “When the winds are strong and they shift,

By Aya Elamroussi and Joe Sutton, CNN California firefighters are battling flames and strong winds as they tackle the Alisal Fire, which has shut down a section of the iconic Highway 101 and Amtrak lines in Santa Barbara County. The 15,400-acre fire, burning 20 miles northwest of Santa Barbara in Refugio Canyon, was 5% contained

By Drew Kann and Ella Nilsen, CNN As a massive investment to repair roads and adapt to climate change faces an uncertain fate in Congress, a new report finds much of the country’s infrastructure is already at risk of being shut down by flooding. And as the planet heats up, the threat is expected to

By Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist A “potentially significant severe weather event” is forecast for portions of Oklahoma and Texas on Sunday, meteorologists warn. A level 4 out of 5 “moderate” risk for severe storms has been issued across portions of Oklahoma by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) for Sunday. This risk covers more than 2

By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist In a year of extreme heat, Antarctica’s last six months were the coldest on record. “For the polar darkness period, from April through September, the average temperature was -60.9 degrees Celsius (-77.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a record for those months,” the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said. The last