Axios

The United Nation’s weather branch is launching Wednesday an ambitious project to stand up early warning systems in areas increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events worldwide.

The big picture: In wealthy countries, such as the U.S., much of Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia, citizens have easy access to weather and climate information that can save lives and livelihoods.

National Weather Service meteorologists can now predict minute-by-minute weather conditions for individual arrival and departure routes at the nation's 30 busiest airports — which should translate to fewer delays for travelers.

Why it matters: Better weather data synced with actual flight routes will help air traffic controllers as they direct planes to dodge potentially dangerous storms.

A powerful tornado struck the New Orleans area Tuesday evening, knocking out power to thousands of customers and causing extensive damage.

The latest: Authorities in St. Bernard Parish, which borders New Orleans to the southeast, told reporters late Tuesday that at least one person had been killed after the tornado touched down in the area. There were reports of people trapped in the parish.

A fully paralyzed patient with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, has regained his ability to communicate via a new brain implant, according to a study published by European researchers in Nature Communications on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The number of people diagnosed with ALS has risen every year and is projected to reach 300,000 by 2040. The treatment could also help patients in minimally conscious and comatose states, the New York Times reported.

A tornado outbreak was lashing Texas and Oklahoma overnight, as a severe storm system destroyed buildings and triggered tornado warnings across at least two states.

Threat level: Some 22 million people were under threat from the spring storm system in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, per NBC News. It "will bring threats of tornadoes and flooding across the Southern U.S. today into Tuesday," per the National Weather Service.