JANUARY 2025

UNITED STATES 

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles firefighters were already stretched thin on Tuesday night, as a ferocious, fast-moving fire engulfed mansions and businesses in the Pacific Palisades, one of southern California’s most luxurious coastal neighborhoods. Then, just after 6pm local time, a second fire broke out, this one on the  opposite side of the city, near Pasadena, home to universities such as CalTech and Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Furious gusts of wind, some moving as fast as 60 to 70mph (96 to 112km/h), drove both fires to spread quickly across the bone-dry landscape. The wind was fast enough that it threatened to rip an open car door off its hinges, and so full of dirt and debris that it was painful to the eyes.  At around 10.30pm local time, a third major fire broke out, this one in the San Fernando valley, north-west of the city. By 3am on Wednesday morning, fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades had temporarily run dry, overwhelmed by the demand, according to the city’s department of water and power. The winds were so intense that emergency aircraft fighting the fires had to be grounded overnight. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” James McDonnell, the Los Angeles police department chief, said Wednesday morning, calling the situation “unprecedented”.  By dawn on Wednesday, the air across Los Angeles smelled charred and neighborhoods closer to the fires were heavy with smoke and ash. A fourth fire had started in the San Fernando valley not long after 6am local time, creating a ring of wildfires circling half of the city. By midday, an estimated quarter of a million people in Los Angeles were without power.

SOUTH

More than 80 million people across southern US states were on alert on Friday as a powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward.  Some governors have declared a state of emergency as the weather forced school closures across the region and unleashed havoc for traffic.  The Arkansas governor, Sarah Sanders, mobilized the national guard to help stranded motorists. School was canceled for millions of children across a wide tract of southern states from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina, while areas as far north as Delaware were experiencing or preparing for dangerous conditions.

Some of the heaviest snowfall was expected on Friday across northern Arkansas and much of Tennessee, with totals in some parts of those states ranging from 6 to 9in, according to the National Weather Service.

Frigid temperatures engulfed Texas and other parts of the south on Monday ahead of a rare winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and disruptive ice accumulations to the region into Wednesday, sending residents scurrying to insulate pipes, check heating systems and stock emergency kits.  In Texas, William P Hobby airport and George Bush airport in Houston announced on Sunday night that flight operations would be suspended Tuesday in anticipation of hazardous conditions.  Meanwhile, people in the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine were experiencing bitterly cold temperatures as an Arctic air mass caused temperatures to plunge well below normal values with dangerously cold wind chills, while the east coast contends with a thick blanket of snow.  Winter storm warnings stretched from Texas to Florida on Monday, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain expected in the region into Wednesday. Heavy lake-effect snow was expected in western New York state Monday through Wednesday morning, with 1 to 2ft (30 to 61cm) possible in some areas including Oswego along Lake Ontario.

Severe cold weather has engulfed parts of the US south as a major winter storm bringing record-breaking snowfall and frigid temperatures to parts of the Gulf coast region on Tuesday, with icy conditions expected to continue into Wednesday.  In anticipation of the dangerous winter weather, governors across the south, including Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, declared states of emergency earlier this week, and a blizzard warning for parts of Louisiana and Texas was issued for the first time ever, but has since been discontinued.

The storm is affecting states from Texas to Florida as well as the Carolinas and Georgia, and has resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries and caused widespread travel disruptions and closures.  As of Wednesday morning, multiple deaths have been reported.  Several deaths were reported in south Texas due to an icy road crash, and authorities said that two deaths in Austin are being investigated as potential cold-related fatalities. Two hypothermia-related deaths are being investigated in Georgia and Milwaukee. In Alabama, a woman reportedly died after she lost control of her vehicle on a snow-covered road and a man died from a fire caused by a stove with which he was trying to heat his home.

The National Weather Service said that a historic 8in (20cm) of snow was recorded in parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 2.7in set in 1963.  In parts of Louisiana, new all-time record low temperatures were recorded across the region on Wednesday morning, with temperatures in New Iberia reaching a low of 2F (-16C). Some areas of Louisiana received an estimated 12in of snow on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, it appeared that Florida had broken its state snowfall record of 4in, set in 1954. Meteorologists in Pensacola reported snowfall of up to 7.8in and 8.8in of snow was reported in Milton. As of Wednesday morning, freeze warnings are in effect for parts of Louisiana, Texas, California, Arizona and Florida. Additionally, winter storm warnings have been issued for areas of South Carolina, Michigan and Florida, where snowfall is expected.

Extreme cold warnings are in effect on Wednesday morning across areas of Washington DC, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and West Virginia, with dangerously low wind chills expected.

Florida weather officials have warned that air temperatures may drop below freezing through Wednesday, with another hard freeze expected on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service office in Jacksonville reported light snow falling on Wednesday morning and warned of dangerous road conditions.  Dangerous wind chills are expected to continue on Wednesday in New Orleans, which will keep ice on roadways, making travel dangerous, weather officials said.  A cold weather advisory is in effect for the Austin/Travis county area in Texas, with wind-chill temperatures as low as 8F (-13C).

Schools across some of the affected areas remained closed on Wednesday, including in areas of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia.

AUSTRAILIA

About half of Australia will swelter under a heatwave in coming days, with prolonged hot nights and high humidity expected to create uncomfortable and dangerous conditions.  Perth and Brisbane are at the centre of the hot weather enveloping much of Western Australia and Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of severe heatwave conditions with forecast maximum temperatures of more than 12C above average in Perth.  The forecast weather could be somewhat of a relief for the western capital, which experienced 43.6C in the metro area on Monday. About 420km up the Brand Highway, the coastal city of Geraldton equaled its hottest day on record when it hit 49.3C that afternoon.  Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist, Miriam Bradbury, said new temperature records were unlikely to be set around the country, but she said heatwaves were measured across three-day periods, not by momentary spikes. “Heatwaves are less about how high those peak temperatures are going to get and more about how long the really hot conditions are going to last,” she said.“ You never say ‘never’ with the weather; it can always take you unawares. But, at this time, we’re not currently forecasting any records. It’s more the fact that it’s so persistently hot over such a number of days … with really hot nights as well.”

Emergency authorities are bracing for further property losses after a function centre and farm house was destroyed by a bushfire raging in Victoria’s north-west.  The rail line between South Australia and Victoria was also closed, before the emergency warning for Dimboola and nearby Wail was downgraded on Tuesday afternoon.  Residents in Dimboola, which was in the path of the fire, were placed under a “watch and act” warning on Tuesday afternoon, after residents were previously told it was too late to leave. A further three “watch and act” warnings remain for areas in the Little Desert national park and the Grampians national park.

EUROPE

Storm Éowyn was probably the strongest to hit the UK in the past 10 years, the Met Office has said.  At its height, it left more than 1 million people without power as hurricane-strength gusts battered the country, bringing widespread disruption to rail and air services.  A gust of 100mph (161km/h) was recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire, while another reached 114mph in Mace Head, County Galway, in Ireland. One man died after a tree fell on his car in Feddyglass, County Donegal. He was later named as Kacper Dudek, 20.  Thousands of homes in Britain and Ireland were still without power on Saturday morning after thousands of trees were reported to have fallen on electricity cables. Officials said it would take days for travel and power services to be fully restored.

SOUTH AMERICA

During historic floods last May that left more than 180 dead in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, the water rose to the ceiling of the Olindo Flores school in the city of São Leopoldo, destroying furniture, books and parts of its infrastructure.  When classes resumed more than a month later, its 500 students had to be relocated to another school for months.  On Monday, they were due to start the new school year but could not do so – this time because of an intense heatwave affecting the state. The start of the school year was pushed back after a court ruling on behalf of a teachers’ union, which had argued that classrooms lacked adequate ventilation and water supplies for students. In recent days, the highest temperatures recorded in Brazilian cities have all been in Rio Grande do Sul, a state which is normally milder than other Brazilian regions closer to the equator.

TROPICAL

The skies above New South Wales are expected to clear this week, bringing relief to thousands who have been left sitting in the dark as massive storms swept the state and knocked power offline.  The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the NSW capital and parts of the state suggests calmer skies in the week ahead, with light winds and a chance of a thunderstorm over Sydney on Tuesday.  BoM senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said the storms were caused by a cold front which developed into a low that sat just off the coast through Thursday and Friday, bringing heavy rainfall.  “It’s all weakened now,” Narramore said. “Definitely a wild and woolly few days, but thankfully it’s all over.  “It’s pretty dry for everyone across eastern NSW, and not too hot either, but heating up as we get into next week.”  The easing conditions should offer a chance for recovery efforts to get under way in areas severely affected by the storms such as Maitland, Port Stephens and the Snowy Valleys region, where a natural disaster has been declared.  Emergency service workers were on Sunday working to reconnect about 18,500 customers after felled trees cut power lines across much of NSW.  Some communities across the New South Wales mid north coast and Central Coast, as well as Cowra and Wagga Wagga, have yet to receive a disaster declaration, which would entitle residents quick access to financial support.  An emergency declaration may be expanded to include these areas as state agencies including the Reconstruction Authority assess the storm damage alongside councils and emergency response organizations.

Schools, ports and roads have been closed as northern Australia braces for a tropical cyclone that has developed into a destructive category five system bringing ferocious wind gusts up to 320km/h. Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia has rapidly intensified since developing off the Western Australian coast and is forecast to be at its most dangerous and powerful when it hits land. It is expected to make landfall between Port Hedland and Roebourne on Friday evening, triggering flash flooding and unleashing winds capable of wrecking houses.   Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury said the cyclone was moving slowly over warm ocean waters on Thursday evening, which would help it maintain its category five intensity through to the time of crossing.