Winter weather isn't giving up even as May peeks around the corner, with another batch of below-average temperatures and snow — up to 10 inches in spots — set to paste the Plains, Midwest and parts of the Northeast this weekend.
Details: Winter storm watches have been posted for parts of Montana, southeastern Minnesota, northern Iowa and southern Wisconsin, in advance of a stretch of heavy snow that could lead to challenging travel conditions. The storm system is expected to move through the region on Friday into the weekend, which, combined with a change in the jet stream, per the Weather Channel, will allow colder-than-average temperatures to strafe much of the northern portion of the country.
The toll from Cyclone Kenneth is beginning to emerge across northern Mozambique, one day after the Category 4 storm struck as an unprecedented event for this region, and one of the strongest cyclones to hit Africa since modern record-keeping began.
Why it matters: Mozambique is already reeling after a deadly hit from Cyclone Idai on March 14. That storm destroyed much of the city of Beira, and flooded such a vast area that it was described as having created a new "inland ocean." The international community still hasn't fully stepped up to respond to that crisis, and the UN is warning that Kenneth may necessitate "a major new humanitarian operation."
Powerful Cyclone Kenneth struck Mozambique on Thursday as one of the strongest storms ever to hit the nation, which is still recovering from the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in March.
Details: The storm — which quickly intensified during the course of the last 24 hours but weakened slightly as it neared landfall about 600 miles north of Beira, where Idai struck — made landfall as a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds at about 140 miles per hour, according to satellite estimates. This may qualify as the strongest-ever cyclone to hit Mozambique, and is the strongest-ever to hit the northern part of the country. It's also one of the strongest storms ever to hit the African mainland.
