Weather

CNN reports: The National Weather Service is in worse shape than previously known, according to interviews with current and former meteorologists, due to a combination of layoffs, early retirements and preexisting vacancies. The nation’s forecasting agency is in tatters as what could be a destructive hurricane season nears. Several current and former agency meteorologists told CNN they are concerned forecasts …

Axios reports: The early cancellation of an Amazon Web Services contract means that a slew of NOAA websites are slated to go dark beginning at midnight, sources told Axios. This mainly would affect NOAA’s research division, and will make numerous websites and data sets inaccessible to the public. It’s another example of how the administration has been taking data offline …

The Associated Press reports: With massive job cuts, the National Weather Service is eliminating or reducing vital weather balloon launches in eight more northern locations, which meteorologists and former agency leaders said will degrade the accuracy of forecasts just as severe weather season kicks in. The normally twice-daily launches of weather balloons provide information that forecasters and computer models use …

The Associated Press reports: Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said. Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country. Cuts at NOAA appeared to be …

ABC News reports: Punxsutawney Phil woke up on Sunday and saw his shadow, meaning we are destined for six more weeks of winter, according to legend. Legend has it that if Punxsutawney Phil, perhaps the world’s most famous groundhog, sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks, but if he doesn’t see his shadow spring will come …

Newsweek reports: Florida’s 24-hour snowfall record has been surpassed as a “historic” winter storm swept along the Gulf Coast. According to The National Centers for Environmental Information, the previous Florida record for the most snow in 24 hours was set in Milton, Santa Rosa County, on March 6, 1954, when four inches was recorded. This record was smashed after more …

Axios reports: A powerful Arctic outbreak tied in part to the polar vortex is set to send temperatures by next week tumbling down to as cold as 25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit below average for mid-January, forecasts show. The hazardous cold could endanger public health, stress electricity grids, damage crops and make for a frigid Inauguration Day. Mother Nature’s refrigerator …

The Associated Press reports: A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward into southern U.S. states overnight, prompting governors to declare states of emergency and shuttering schools across the region. School was canceled Friday for millions of children across a wide tract of southern states from Texas …

ABC News reports: A major winter storm that broke snowfall records in the Midwest is now slamming the mid-Atlantic and causing the cancellation of more than 1,900 flights across the U.S. More than 50 million Americans from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., remain under winter alerts as the last of the storm pushes through Monday afternoon. Heavy sleet and freezing rain …

NBC News reports: Air travel is taking a hit today, with over 1500 flights canceled within, into, or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware. Kansas City International Airport and St. Louis Lambert International Airport are reporting the highest number of cancellations. FlightAware also noted nearly 6000 delays, adding to the travel chaos caused by the winter storm. On the …

ABC News reports: As a deep winter chill begins to take over the northern half of the country, a new major winter storm will move across the U.S. this weekend into early next week. Around 47 million Americans across 14 states were under winter weather alerts as of early Saturday morning, with many expecting the storm to be sustained into …

AccuWeather reports: A massive storm is expected to bring both wintry and severe weather to millions of Americans as early as this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. “Over a dozen states are forecast to be impacted by one or more aspects of this storm,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. The storm emerging from the Rockies late on Saturday is forecast to …

CNN reports: Holiday travelers returning home this weekend could contend with more delays at airports as severe thunderstorms intensify in the South and a parade of atmospheric river-fueled storms slams the West. More flight delays and cancellations could be on the horizon this busy holiday weekend after over 18,000 flights into, out of, or within the United States were delayed …

CNN reports: As Christmas approaches and an expected record number of people across the country set off on their journeys, they may encounter travel trouble: winter weather combined with a possible government shutdown that could leave TSA agents and air traffic controllers working without a paycheck. More than 119 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles from …

CNN reports: Post-Thanksgiving travel will be treacherous in parts of the Great Lakes region on Sunday due to heavy lake-effect snow, while biting cold temperatures sweep across a large swath of the United States. People in parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio faced low temperatures and several feet of snow over the weekend, and nearly 70% of the continental …

Newsweek reports: An Arctic blast is set to plunge much of the U.S. into a deep freeze over the holidays, with wind chill in some regions dropping as a low as – 40 degrees F. The cold air will arrive in the Midwest and northern Plains by Thanksgiving, dropping the mercury below zero, before moving into the South and East …

The Weather Channel reports: A “bomb cyclone” has become one of the northeast Pacific’s strongest storms on record, resulting in damaging winds across the Pacific Northwest overnight. This storm’s impacts aren’t done yet, however, since it is also hauling in a strong, long-duration atmospheric river to the region, which is likely to produce flooding rain and feet of mountain snow. …

The Pensacola News-Journal reports: AccuWeather predicts that Hurricane Sara could form as early as Friday morning, shortly after it becomes a tropical storm. From there, it’s expected to take less than 24 hours for the storm to become a major hurricane. Where could Hurricane Sara ultimately end up? Florida, of course. Sara will likely be a major Category 3 hurricane …

The Washington Post reports: There’s a growing chance that a new storm will form in the Caribbean late this week. And, while uncertainty remains, the system could strengthen into a hurricane by this weekend and emerge in the Gulf of Mexico next week. It’s an ominous sign for this late in the hurricane season, which has already featured five U.S. …

CNN reports: Last month, two major storms, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, caused a total of between $51.5 billion and $81.5 billion of property damage, mostly to Southeastern US states, according to estimates from CoreLogic. That’s a lot of damage – but it’s only a small fraction of what climate change has cost people around the world. A new report …