California's ski resorts are digging out from under 5 to 9 feet of snow that has fallen over the last several days from a series of storms. And more snow is on the way.
The big picture: A large dip, or trough, in the jet stream across the West is allowing frigid conditions and a relentless series of storms to bring record-breaking snowfall into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The snow has closed major interstates and even forced the shut down of several ski resorts.
Heavy snows and frigid temperatures were plaguing the West Monday, forcing several highways in Northern California and Nevada to close, with travel warnings issued in the snow-lashed Sierra Nevada.
Threat level: The National Weather Service said significant snowfall hit West Coast mountain ranges and the Intermountain West, with record cold weather in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, the U.S. South was experiencing "unusually warm temperatures," with dozens of cities in the lower 48 states on track for their warmest December on record.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed the Biden administration on climate policy in an interview with the Washington Post Monday, saying that it's "strange" to consider Biden a leader in the arena "when you see what his administration is doing."
What she's saying: "The U.S. is actually expanding fossil fuel infrastructure," Thunberg said. "Why is the U.S. doing that?"
Ten of 2021's most extreme weather events in the world were driven by climate change and caused a total of $170.3 billion in damage — with the deadly Hurricane Ida that struck the U.S. the most costly, per a new study.
Why it matters: Each of the 10 most destructive weather events caused at least $1.5 billion in damage, and Ida cost $65 billion, according to the study by U.K. charity Christian Aid.
Heavy rains and flooding in northeastern Brazil have killed at least 18 people, wounded 286 others and displaced some 35,000 residents, AFP reported Sunday.
The big picture: The Brazilian state of Bahia has been pummeled by heavy rains since early November, causing two dams to burst over the weekend as more deaths from the extreme weather were confirmed, Reuters notes.
