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Weather (General/Chat)

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  • Tahoe avalanche rescuers may need explosives to recover bodies of eight dead skiers

    02/20/2026 5:20:23 PM PST · by Libloather · 54 replies
    California Post ^ | 2/20/26 | Brad Appleton, Nina Joudeh
    Rescuers are currently weighing the idea of setting off explosives in order to trigger additional avalanches on the mountain where at least eight skiers were killed. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has been unable to recover the bodies of the dead skiers since the horrific avalanche Tuesday. In order to make conditions safer for rescuers, officials will now take to the air to decide whether or not they can manually trigger avalanches with explosives. “The objective of the aerial surveys is to visually assess the conditions of the avalanche scene and snowpack as well as to make determinations if controlled...
  • Malibu sues LA, California over Palisades fire — saying they prioritized ‘plants over human lives

    02/19/2026 3:36:40 PM PST · by Libloather · 11 replies
    California Post ^ | 2/19/26 | Ross O'Keefe
    The city of Malibu slapped Los Angeles and the state of California with a lawsuit over the devastating Palisades fire — saying officials didn’t do enough to stop the deadly blaze that “hollowed out” the oceanside community. Malibu said the city’s “entire character changed” when the wildfire swept through and that it is “still reeling from the destruction it left in its wake,” according to the suit. The 66-page complaint seeks to “recover significant financial losses” resulting from the devastating fire. “This decision was not made lightly,” Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “The City...
  • Inside the extraordinary rewrite of the Palisades Fire report — read the draft the public never saw

    02/11/2026 2:07:29 AM PST · by Libloather · 15 replies
    California Post ^ | 2/10/26 | Jamie Paige
    The full extent of the Palisades Fire report cover-up has been revealed. The California Post has obtained the first draft of the Palisades After-Action Fire Report — before it was quietly altered and released to the public. Newly uncovered edits show sweeping changes to the 92-page document that was meant to deliver a warts-and-all account of the disaster, putting more pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to explain whether her office played a role in softening the language to blunt criticism of the city’s response to a fire that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. Mayor...
  • Chance of El Niño forming in Pacific Ocean may push global temperatures to record highs in 2027 (only 4.97 years left)

    02/08/2026 6:01:10 AM PST · by Libloather · 56 replies
    The Guardian ^ | 2/07/26 | Graham Readfearn
    Weather agencies and climate scientists have pointed to the possibility of an El Niño forming in the Pacific Ocean later this year – a phenomenon that could push global temperatures to all-time record highs in 2027. Both the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology have said some climate models are forecasting an El Niño but both cautioned those results came with uncertainties. Experts told the Guardian it was too early to be confident, but there were signals in the spread of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific that suggested an El Niño could...
  • North Carolina Vet Tech Dason Garner Charged, Fired After Rescuing Abandoned Dog During Snowstorm

    02/05/2026 11:24:50 AM PST · by nickcarraway · 48 replies
    New York Post ^ | Feb. 5, 2026 | Nicholas McEntyre
    A North Carolina veterinary technician has been charged and fired from her job after she rescued a dog that was abandoned in the cold winter weather — but failed to hand the pooch over to animal control. Dason Garner has been left “completely broken” as she faces charges for keeping a stray animal, failure to surrender and interfering with law enforcement over her deed, according to WRAL. Garner says she was punished for her act of compassion in rescuing the pooch from the brutal conditions after a harsh snowstorm barreled across Wilson, NC, over the weekend.
  • Clear Horizons Act clears first legislative hurdle after lengthy hearing (New Mexico - mandates reduction of emissions to 2005 levels by 2050)

    02/04/2026 3:53:12 PM PST · by CedarDave · 27 replies
    The Albuquerque Journal ^ | February 3, 2026 | Dan Boyd
    SANTA FE — The highest-profile climate change bill under consideration during this year’s 30-day legislative session passed its first Senate committee hearing Tuesday, but only after weathering a broad blast of opposition from business and industry groups. After five hours of public testimony and debate, the Senate Conservation Committee voted 5-4 to advance the Clear Horizons Act to its next assigned committee. The vote on the legislation, Senate Bill 18, broke down largely along party lines, with Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, joining the committee's three Republican members in casting "no" votes. He voiced concern the legislation could lead to...
  • Japan Warns of Avalanches as Snow Deaths Rise to 35

    02/04/2026 1:08:42 PM PST · by nickcarraway · 7 replies
    Channel News Asia ^ | 04 Feb 2026
    Sustained snow since late January has left residents struggling to leave home and forced schools and businesses to close. Japan warned of possible avalanches in the country's northern regions on Wednesday (Feb 4), as the mercury suddenly rose after two weeks of extreme snowfall that paralysed traffic and collapsed houses. Sustained snow since late January has buried northern communities, such as Aomori, under drifts of around 2m that have left residents struggling to leave home, and forced schools and businesses to close. But the temperature rose on Wednesday, reaching 8 degrees Celsius in Aomori, increasing the risk of chunks of...
  • Melting Antarctic Ice Did the Opposite of What Scientists Expected

    02/04/2026 7:09:11 AM PST · by Eleutheria5 · 26 replies
    A new study published today (February 2) in Nature Geoscience finds that shifts in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) closely followed changes in marine algae growth in the Southern Ocean during past ice ages. However, the relationship did not work in the way scientists long assumed. The link centers on iron-rich sediment carried into the ocean by icebergs breaking away from West Antarctica. Iron typically acts as a nutrient that supports algae growth. But when researchers examined a sediment core collected in 2001 from the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, taken from more than three miles below the...
  • Frozen Niagara Falls draws captivated tourists (Spectacular Photos)

    02/02/2026 3:35:52 PM PST · by Diana in Wisconsin · 77 replies
    Reuters ^ | February 2, 2026 | Reuters
    Tourists are flocking to view the partially frozen Niagara Falls, despite frigid temperatures, with visitors praising the winter spectacle as a striking sight.
  • Orlando International Airport forced to ground all flights after ‘extreme cold’ sparks air traffic control emergency (only 4.98 years left)

    02/01/2026 6:45:15 PM PST · by Libloather · 38 replies
    NY Post ^ | 2/01/26 | Chris Nesi
    Orlando International Airport was forced to ground all flights on Sunday afternoon after “extreme cold” sparked an emergency in the air traffic tower. The FAA issued an alert about the ground stop due to a “possible fire” at an air traffic control tower early Sunday afternoon, but the order was lifted at 4:15 p.m. after the cause was determined. In reality, the extreme cold — currently 43 degrees — caused a spinkler head in the fire suppression system at the facility to activate. The agency had sent out a bare-bones “fire alarm/safety” advisory that a tower was evacuating due to...
  • Cook Out Clash pushes to Wednesday after historic North Carolina snowfall

    02/01/2026 12:17:38 PM PST · by WhiteHatBobby0701
    NASCAR ^ | 1 February 2026
    The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX due to historic snowfall in North Carolina over the weekend. The National Weather Service reported Winston-Salem, North Carolina, received 8-10 inches of snow Saturday while the Charlotte area — roughly 80 miles south of Bowman Gray and home base for most NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams — received 11 inches of snow, according to local television affiliate WCNC. Out of an abundance of caution due to hazardous road conditions, NASCAR and the City of Winston-Salem agreed to move...
  • It's 32 degrees this morning in Tampa, Florida. Last time that happened was in 2011.

    02/01/2026 2:48:59 AM PST · by 4Runner · 105 replies
    February 1, 2026 | Self
    The last time temperatures in Tampa, Florida, reached or dropped below 32°F was on January 13, 2011. During that event, temperatures dropped to 29°F, causing ice to form on the Veterans Expressway. While a significant cold blast occurred in January 2018, the most recent official 32-degree (or lower) reading for the city occurred in 2011. That was fifteen years ago.
  • Ice expands on Great Lakes with cold blast; Lake Erie over 90% covered in ice

    01/30/2026 8:50:09 PM PST · by MinorityRepublican · 63 replies
    CBS News ^ | January 28, 2026 | Stacey DuFord
    The arctic air mass entrenched over the Great Lakes has resulted in ice expansion across the lakes over the last several days. As of January 26, total ice coverage on the Great Lakes is about 43.2%. Lake Erie, the shallowest, has over 90% ice coverage. Most of the lakeshore of Lake Huron is at least 90% ice-covered, with fast ice covering the entire Saginaw Bay. The Straits of Mackinac are mostly ice-covered. The nearshore areas of eastern Lake Michigan, including Grand Traverse Bay, have spotty ice coverage. Lake Superior is about 30% ice-covered. The arctic air and well-below normal temperatures...
  • Missing Kansas teacher found dead in snow after vanishing during massive winter storm

    01/26/2026 9:22:20 AM PST · by BenLurkin · 62 replies
    ny post ^ | 01/26/2026
    A missing Kansas elementary school teacher was discovered dead in the snow just 300 yards from where surveillance footage last captured her Friday as a massive winter storm swept the country. The body of 28-year-old Rebecca Rauber was found covered in snow in a wooded area of Emporia on Sunday, near where she was last seen leaving a bar days earlier, police told KWCH. Police said Rauber was located by K-9 Daisy of K-9 Search and Rescue Kansas. Rauber, a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School, is believed to have died from hypothermia just hours after she disappeared. Police said...
  • Frigid weather stresses US electric grid

    01/24/2026 2:34:33 PM PST · by E. Pluribus Unum · 24 replies
    Reuters ^ | January 24, 20263:49 PM CST | Tim McLaughlin
    Summary Largest regional grid sees electricity prices spike MISO imports power from another grid to meet demand amid gas supply constraints Texas grid faces winter storm test, but improvements reduce blackout risk BOSTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts, as frigid weather hitting half of the country's population stressed their operations. The PJM Interconnection - the largest U.S. regional grid that serves 67 million people in the East and Mid-Atlantic - reported temporary spikes in spot wholesale electricity prices that soared above $3,000 per megawatt hour on Saturday morning...
  • Stormagedden 2026

    01/24/2026 12:51:12 PM PST · by ealgeone · 195 replies
    self | 01/24/2026 | ealgeone
    Hey Freepers in the path of stormagedden 2026....how ya doing?Power outages? Impacts?Here in north GA it's just a little chilly as we wait for the storm.
  • January 2026 Snow Storm

    01/22/2026 5:14:26 PM PST · by Jamestown1630 · 326 replies
    Nobody seems to have begun a thread for the snowstorm that is forecast for this weekend, so I thought I would. Where I live (DC Metro area) a big snowstorm is relatively rare. We're the ones who don't really know how to drive in it because we don't get a lot of practice; and we also crowd the grocery store and wipe out the shelves - often for stuff we don't really need, and for a forecast that doesn't amount to much but flurries. But once in a while, we really get whacked; and I think this may be one...
  • Meteorologists warn of ‘exploding trees’ as brutal cold snap expected to usher in subzero temps

    01/22/2026 2:39:41 AM PST · by Oldeconomybuyer · 63 replies
    NY Post ^ | January 21, 2026 | By Anna Young
    A tree-mendous freeze. Forecasters are warning that expected subzero temperatures could cause trees to explode as a brutal cold snap is expected to wallop most of the country in the coming days. Trees may split and burst across the Midwest and Northern Plains Friday and Saturday as a bitter Arctic blast from Canada sends temperatures plunging to roughly 20 degrees below zero, according to social media meteorologist Max Velocity. “EXPLODING TREES are possible in the Midwest and Northern Plains on Friday and Saturday, as temperatures are forecasted to fall 20 degrees BELOW zero!” the YouTuber, who has about 1.55 million...
  • State of emergency declared in multiple states as blizzard threatens to blanket 30 states and 200 million people brace for coldest storm EVER

    01/22/2026 12:39:52 AM PST · by Morgana · 112 replies
    Daily Mail UK ^ | January 22, 2026 | Melissa Koenig
    A state of emergency was declared in several states ahead of a massive winter storm that could bring more than a foot of snow to much of the country. More than 200 million people across parts of 30 states now face winter storm warnings from Friday through Sunday. Meteorologists were expected to issue more within the next couple of days and upgrade some to winter storm warnings as the storm approaches. When the blizzard hits, temperatures are expected to plunge as much as 30 degrees below normal in the Dakotas and Michigan, with the wind chill falling between 35 and...
  • Record snowfall buries buildings and towns in Russia’s Kamchatka

    01/19/2026 9:45:00 AM PST · by lowbridge · 44 replies
    Twitter/X ^ | January 18, 2026
    Record snowfall buries buildings and towns in Russia’s Kamchatka. I promise to never complain about 6 inches of snow in New York again.