Axios

Texas' massive Smokehouse Creek Fire exploded into the state's second-largest wildfire on Wednesday after forcing the evacuation of residents and workers at a nuclear facility on Tuesday.

The big picture: The sprawling wildfire, burning from the Texas town of Stinnett into parts of neighboring Oklahoma, was 3% contained as it burned across some 850,000 acres on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

We have an extra day in 2024: Thursday is Feb. 29, also known as leap day.

Why it matters: If we didn't have leap days, then the months and the seasons would stop lining up the same way every year.

Millions of Americans are facing extreme weather whiplash this week — notably in cities including Chicago and Dallas, which were forecast to swing from record highs to wintry lows.

The big picture: Ground stops were temporarily declared at Chicago Midway and O'Hare airports into early Wednesday amid multiple reports of tornadoes, powerful winds and "golf ball-size hail" in the area, as a supercell swept across parts of Illinois and into Ohio Valley.