From droughts to blizzards, Mother Nature has had international citizens experiencing opposite ends of the weather spectrum since before the new year.
From droughts to blizzards, Mother Nature has the globe experiencing extreme ends of the weather spectrum recently.
Monster blizzard “Hercules” swept across the United States during the first week of the new year, affecting more than 100 million people in a 700-mile stretch. As temperatures dropped below zero degrees, governors and mayors from the Midwest to the East Coast declared states of emergency and airports canceled flights, for days.
Additionally, the arctic air dipped deep into the middle of the country as Americans experienced a days-long “polar vortex.” Midwesterners felt the effects of record-breaking low temperatures.
Then, a drought forced areas on the West Coast to adopt emergency water restrictions. Recent low-water levels in California indicated the passing of one of the driest calendar years on record.
And fires erupted during the holiday season and into this month, prompting emergency aircraft to spray water on land in Australia, as well as in California.
