Weather category, Page 10
California’s burn scars brace for flooding as freezing rain and snow head for Oregon
Rain has begun falling in California where an atmospheric river is expected to bring heavy downpours, winds and flooding Thursday to areas ravaged by wildfires. Ahead of the storm’s arrival, officials distributed sandbags, prepositioned rescue swimmers and told residents to have their go-bags ready. Meanwhile, Portland coated its streets with...
Storm makes for treacherous travel as snow, ice track through mid-AtlanticVideo
A snowstorm blew into the mid-Atlantic states on Tuesday, causing dozens of accidents on icy roads, prompting school closures and stoking worries about possible power outages. The heaviest snowfall — up to 10 inches — was expected in parts of Virginia and West Virginia. Ice accumulations could range from a...
Freezing rain, snow, ice predicted for Laurel Highlands ridges; travel restrictions slated
Roads in the eastern parts of Westmoreland, Fayette and Indiana counties could become treacherous Saturday afternoon, when the National Weather Service predicts the area will get hit with freezing rain and possible snow. The weather service’s Pittsburgh office has issued a winter weather advisory for that area and for several...
Winter storms bring flooding and ‘thunder ice’ in several statesVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Storms spawned at least one brief tornado, sent creeks over their banks and caused flash flooding Thursday in portions of West Virginia and Kentucky, while a wintry mix coated trees and roads in ice and even dropped “thunder ice” in several states. Residents and storm spotters in...
U.S. is freezing and La Nina usually eases warming. Earth just set another heat record anyway
WASHINGTON — The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus. The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by a...
Icy conditions — and fog — expected to linger through morning commute
Cold air and icy conditions lingered early Thursday in the Greater Pittsburgh area, triggering meteorologists to extend a winter weather advisory three additional hours — through 10 a.m. Temperatures could reach the upper 40s Thursday but hovered early in the morning around freezing through much of the region. That means...
15 years ago, Snowmageddon crushed Western Pa.
Two days before what came to be known as Snowmageddon, the National Weather Service forecast the Western Pennsylvania region could expect about “6 to 8 inches of snow.” The following day, the forecast was revised: Winter storm warnings were calling for a heavy snowfall beginning Friday afternoon — Feb. 5,...
Parts of Western Pa. on alert for freezing rain
Freezing rain is expected make its way across the region Wednesday evening, with Westmoreland and Fayette counties getting the brunt of bad weather. The chance of precipitation in the area is near 100%, with freezing rain falling mostly after midnight, according to a forecast from the National Weather Service in...
Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter after seeing shadow
The largest Groundhog Day crowd to date greeted the news from Punxsutawney Phil with a chorus of boos Sunday. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared the famous rodent saw a shadow at sunrise and predicted six more weeks of winter. The prediction at 7:25 a.m. came as thousands who gathered at...
Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts warm, rainy spring for Western Pa.
Punxsutawney Phil will weigh in Sunday on Pennsylvania’s weather for the next six weeks, but the Old Farmer’s Almanac is one step ahead. The 1792 long-range weather publication predicts a warm, rainy season for the Keystone State. Though temperatures are predicted to align with typical patterns in part of the...
Weeks after fire ravaged the Pacific Palisades, residents return to dig for their mementosVideo
LOS ANGELES — Jack Hassett was among scores of residents slowly returning on Tuesday to Los Angeles neighborhoods ravaged by wildfires to finally sift through the rubble and salvage any cherished items. Hassett didn’t find much in the ash at his family’s Pacific Palisades house, uncovering only some pottery and...
California utility reports fault on power line miles away from origin of deadly Eaton fire
GLENDALE, Calif. — Southern California Edison on Monday reported a fault on a power line connected miles away from ones located near the origin of the Eaton Fire, the deadly blaze that ignited outside of Los Angeles on Jan. 7 and killed at least 17 people. Edison says that there...
Study projects millions of European heat deaths as world warms
Extreme temperatures — mostly heat — are projected to kill as many as 2.3 million people in Europe by the end of the century unless countries get better at reducing carbon pollution and adapting to hotter conditions, a new study says. Currently, cold temperatures kill more people in Europe than...
Southern California rain helps firefighters but creates risk of flooding and toxic ash runoffVideo
LOS ANGELES — Rain fell on parts of Southern California on Sunday and the scattered showers were expected to continue overnight, boosting the risk of toxic ash runoff in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires. Flood watches were in effect through 4 p.m. Monday for burn areas from recent fires...
Thousands in Ireland still without power after Storm Éowyn, as more wild weather wallops UK, France
LONDON — Ireland called in help from England and France as repair crews worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people after the most disruptive storm for years. Even as the cleanup continued, more wet and windy weather hit the U.K., Ireland and France on Sunday. More than...
From the Newsroom: Workers brave frigid temps to keep Pittsburgh operational
It’s been brutally cold this week in Western Pennsylvania. But, for some people, the job doesn’t stop just because the temperature drops. Justin Vellucci joins host Zac Gibson bringing the experience of Western Pennsylvania’s winter weather workers. This episode centers on stories and strategies from those workers to survive and...
Frost responders: Citizen observers aid National Weather Service’s ground game
Steve Fazekas’ citizen weather observer station in Winfield recorded a temperature of minus-15 degrees just after 5 a.m. Wednesday. Fazekas’ reading came in well below the Pittsburgh region’s lowest temperature on record for Wednesday’s date — minus-4 degrees Jan. 22, 1936 — but it won’t go in the record books....
Fewer lanternflies this summer? Maybe, and you can thank this week’s deep freeze
One upside to the frigid cold — there should be fewer pesky spotted lanternflies this summer. The mottled, brilliant red and white plant hoppers lay eggs inside a sac that clings to trees and resembles a bag of baked beans, but some of those sacs likely will not survive this...
Over 50,000 under evacuation orders or warnings as wildfire imperils homes north of Los AngelesVideo
LOS ANGELES — More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings Wednesday as a huge and fast-moving wildfire swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, as parched Southern California endured another round of dangerous wind and two major previous blazes continued to smolder. The Hughes Fire broke...
Subzero temperatures require caution and planning
The region’s bout with frigid temperatures is not to be taken lightly, area doctors say. While Western Pennsylvania is familiar with the cold, it’s been some time since low temperatures dipped below zero, and that makes the cold more dangerous than usual. The last time it was this cold was...
Warnings for dangerous wind extended in Southern California as new wildfires break outVideo
LOS ANGELES — Forecasters warned that dangerous winds will buffet Southern California for at least two more days as new wildfires broke out on Tuesday, a pair of major Los Angeles-area blazes burned for a third week, and officials made preparations to protect scorched neighborhoods from toxic ash runoff ahead...
Frigid storm drops rare snow on Houston and New Orleans as Florida readies plows in the PanhandleVideo
NEW ORLEANS — A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow, closing highways, grounding nearly all flights and canceling school for millions of students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days. The storm prompted the first...
Snow means flurry of work for road crews across Western Pennsylvania
Many, if not all, municipal road crews around the area might agree with Plum public works director Bill Binnie: “It’s like Groundhog Day.” And it’s true — snowflakes flew on a daily basis for the first 16 days of January, said Timothy Cermak, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in...
Frigid now, but forecasters say coldest temps still to come
More than 300 schools and community centers closed down Tuesday as the region battled subzero wind chills and blustery conditions. But we haven’t even felt the worst of it yet, forecasters said. “The coldest night will be tonight, and we should be looking at -8 or -9 tomorrow morning,” said...
Western Pa. schools go remote as temperatures plummet
Hundreds of Western Pennsylvania school districts have moved to remote learning Tuesday morning as an arctic blast of near-record-low temperatures are anticipated through Wednesday. Pittsburgh Public Schools, whose 20,350 students make it the largest district in Allegheny County, will go remote Tuesday, officials said online. A number of others, including...
