cnn-weather/environment

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — A quick but intense nor’easter could bring the biggest snowfall in more than two years to parts of the Northeast Tuesday, including New York City. But the forecast is tricky and subject to last-minute changes. With the heaviest snow developing over a narrow area, small shifts

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — Winter has gone missing across the Midwest and Great Lakes, and time is running out to find it. Dozens of cities are on track for one of the warmest winters on record, making snow and ice rare commodities. Several cities are missing feet of snow compared to a

By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN (CNN) — Severe thunderstorms capable of unleashing hail and tornadoes are set to thrash parts of the central Gulf Coast Sunday before spreading into the Southeast, with snow expected to sweep into the Northeast through the beginning of the week. About 23 million people from eastern Texas to western Georgia are at risk

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — The current El Niño is now one of the strongest on record, new data shows, catapulting it into rare “super El Niño” territory, but forecasters believe that La Niña is likely to develop in the coming months. One of the main ways scientists determine whether El Niño is

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at volcanoes, mountains that open downward to a reservoir of molten rock. Facts: More than 80% of the Earth’s surface, both above and below sea level, is of volcanic origin. Lava is molten rock from a volcano that reaches the Earth’s surface. Liquid rock below the Earth’s

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s some background information about tornadoes, rotating columns of air that often, but not always, are visible as funnel clouds. According to the National Weather Service, in 2023 there were 83 tornado-related deaths in the United States. Facts Most tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms. Hurricanes can also produce tornadoes. Tornado

By Christina Maxouris and Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — A powerful storm system has drenched parts of California, leaving at least nine people dead, knocking out power and prompting dangerous mudslides and rivers of debris stretching across neighborhoods. The rain – and in some areas, the heavy snow – is slowly wrapping up, but some

By Taylor Ward, CNN (CNN) — As temperatures rise and the world’s oceans store more potential fuel for storms, a new study proposes adapting the scale that measures the intensity of hurricanes to account for stronger storms. The Saffir-Simpson scale currently goes from Category 1 to 5; the study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the

CNN By Allison Chinchar and Sara Tonks, CNN (CNN) — California is bracing for a stronger and longer-lasting atmospheric river event this weekend, which is expected to bring mudslides, damaging winds, and heavy mountain snow and has already triggered flood watches for nearly 40 million people. The Weather Prediction Center has issued a rare Level

By Allison Chinchar and Sara Tonks, CNN (CNN) — California is bracing for a stronger and longer-lasting atmospheric river event this weekend, which is expected to bring mudslides, damaging winds, and heavy mountain snow and has already triggered flood watches for nearly 40 million people. The Weather Prediction Center has issued a rare Level 4

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — Winter has been more wet and warm than white in the Northeast, with no major snowstorms to speak of in what’s been a two year wait for a big snow event. Major cities along the region’s I-95 corridor are running deficits on their typical winter snowfall despite a

By Mary Gilbert and Monica Garrett, CNN Meteorologists (CNN) — Punxsutawney Phil – the famous groundhog weather watcher – woke up and did not see his shadow Friday morning, calling for an early spring. Each February 2, on Groundhog Day, the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club make the pilgrimage to Gobbler’s Knob – Phil’s official home. The

By Aya Elamroussi and Taylor Ward, CNN (CNN) — A second and more powerful atmospheric river-fueled storm is set to bring potentially life-threatening flooding to Southern California from Sunday into next week after an earlier storm already unleashed record rainfall in some parts of the region. The second atmospheric river set to hit California within

By Aya Elamroussi and Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — The first of two atmospheric rivers is unloading heavy snow at high elevations and gusty winds and soaking rainfall Thursday across a large part of California. More than 20 million people are under flood alerts as storms threaten flash flooding in cities including Los Angeles, San Diego,

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — The first in a potent pair of atmospheric river-fueled storms is lashing Northern California with heavy rain and wind Wednesday. More than 20 million people across California were under flood alerts Wednesday as the soaking storms raise the flood threat across much of the state into next week.

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — Washington, DC, is on a weather rollercoaster and there’s no getting off. Just a week after the nation’s capital got clobbered by snow and highs struggled to reach the low 30s, two of the area’s main weather reporting stations smashed records on Friday afternoon as temperatures surged to

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist (CNN) — Impacted by dense fog Thursday morning? So were over 90 million others across the continental United States. Dense fog alerts were so extensive nationwide that they reached record levels for the third consecutive day. The alerts are issued by the National Weather Service when widespread fog is expected