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‘Historic’ Winter Storm Dumps 3 Feet of Snow, Smashes Records in West

/in , , /by /USA Todayby John Bacon

One week after summer’s end, a “winter” storm began blasting parts of the West with up to 3 feet of snow, smashing records with low temperatures, heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions forecast into Monday.

Snow was piling up across parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. The National Weather Service, calling the storm “historic,” said temperatures in some areas would drop as much as 30 degrees below normal.

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Wildfire Watch: Santa Ana Winds Put Southern California on Alert

/in , /by /USA TODAYby Kristin Lam

The winds notorious for fueling Southern California wildfires were expected to kick up for the first time this year on Sunday night, putting the region on alert, according to the National Weather Service. The season’s first major Santa Ana winds may reach gusts of up to 75 mph in the region’s mountains, creating critical fire weather conditions through Tuesday night. Last year, the winds drove the Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than 280,000 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. and took more than a month to contain.

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Tropical Storm Rosa Brings Flood Threat To 12 Million People In The Southwest

/in , /by /Detroit Free Pressby Doyle Rice

The remnants of Hurricane Rosa are forecast to bring heavy rain and the threat of flash flooding to the Southwest over the next few days. The now-tropical storm – which had been as strong as a Category 4 hurricane – is poised to make landfall along Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula on Monday evening, where heavy rain was already being reported.

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California Wildfires Roar Into ‘Uncharted Territory’

/in , /by /USA Today (McLean, Va.)by Jim Schultz, Chelcey Adami and John Bacon

The surging wildfires raging across Northern California represent a “new normal” and the state must be prepared to spend billions of dollars dousing, containing and trying to curb them in the future, Gov. Jerry Brown said. Brown, speaking at a news conference Wednesday, said the state’s exploding population combined with climate change has conspired to create ripe conditions for the prodigious blazes. “Nature is very powerful and we are not on the side of nature,” Brown said. “Every year is teaching the fire authorities new lessons. We are in uncharted territory.”

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Federal Watchdog Urges Better EPA Oversight After Flint Water Response

/in , /by /USA Todayby Carlos Osorio

A federal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In a 74-page report released Thursday, the EPA’s inspector general report pointed to “oversight lapses” at the federal, state and local levels in the response to Flint’s contaminated drinking water.

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Earth Just Had Its 400th Straight Warmer-Than-Average Month Thanks To Global Warming

/in , /by /USA Today (McLean, Va.)by Doyle Rice

It was December 1984, and President Reagan had just been elected to his second term, Dynasty was the top show on TV and Madonna’s Like a Virgin topped the musical charts. It was also the last time the Earth had a cooler-than-average month. Last month marked the planet’s 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures, federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday. The cause for the streak? Unquestionably, it’s climate change, caused by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels.

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