Axios

After starting the year with record low snow cover, frigid air and repeat storms blanketed well over 50% of the Lower 48 in snow through mid-January.

The big picture: At 58.9%, Jan. 17 had the greatest continental U.S. snow cover on record for the date in about two decades (data began in 2004).

Two specific broods of droning cicadas are expected to emerge from the ground simultaneously later this year, marking the first time in over 200 years that they've done so.

The intrigue: The last time Broods XIX and XIII co-emerged, Thomas Jefferson was president, and the Louisiana Purchase was being finalized.