Western Nevada was hit with a 6.4 magnitude earthquake early Friday morning, and the area could still experience some smaller quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The state of play: The earthquake struck about 4.7 miles deep near Tonopah, which is halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. At least six aftershocks were recorded, and the shaking was reported felt in California The Los Angeles Times reports. The last time the region saw an earthquake with a magnitude higher than 6 was in January 1934.

Weather forecasts draw on data collected by commercial aircraft, and the sudden drop in passenger flights may be impacting meteorology as we head into hurricane season. Dan digs in with the Washington Post's Andrew Freedman.

A polar vortex is expected to bring snow over the next few days to parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and record-challenging cold temperatures from the Upper Midwest to New England, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture "A lobe of the tropospheric polar vortex will pinch off from its main circulation closer to the Arctic, sagging southeast across the eastern Great Lakes and New England, translating to numbingly cold surface temperatures for May," the Post writes.

Pete Gaynor, who runs the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is drafting a document whose title sounds like the stuff of horror movies: "COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season."

Driving the news: "We're doing a lot of things that are not necessarily in any playbook that has existed," Gaynor told me in an interview on Saturday. "In some cases, we write the playbook as we go."

Intense thunderstorms across Tennessee early Tuesday morning spawned tornadoes, including one that struck downtown Nashville. The tornadoes destroyed at least 140 buildings and killed at least 25 people in the state, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) said.

What we know: Schools, courts and transit lines in Nashville were closed Tuesday, and more than a dozen polling stations were damaged before Super Tuesday voting began in the state.

More rain is expected to barrage Mississippi's already-flooded capital city of Jackson later on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The state of play: Heavy rain is projected to strike eastern Louisiana, central parts of Mississippi, Alabama and even into far western Georgia, the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, predicts, per AP. As much as 2 inches is expected to fall rapidly in Mississippi, prompting flash flood warnings.

At least two deaths are being attributed to Storm Dennis on Monday as it continues to strike at parts of England, Wales and Ireland, per AccuWeather.

The big picture: Dennis is the second-strongest nontropical storm ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its hurricane-force winds and heavy rains have caused widespread flooding across the United Kingdom. The army has been deployed in the U.K. to help with flood relief.

Storm Ciara has unleashed heavy rains, hurricane-force winds and floods in northern Europe, causing widespread travel disruption, EuroNews reports.

Details: "Two of Europe's busiest airports — one in Frankfurt, Germany, the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands — each grounded more than 100 flights due to the storm," per CNN. Airlines also reported that flights were canceled or disrupted in the U.K., where the national weather agency issued over 250 flood warnings. Several British rail firms warned people to expect delays and urged them not to travel, AP notes.

Go deeper: British Airways rides storm winds in record-breaking transatlantic flight

A powerful storm system that's seen temperatures plummet in the Rockies is set to bring heavy rain across the Southeast "and a long stretch of wintry weather from the southern Plains to the interior Northeast," the National Weather Service warns.

What's happening: Per the NWS, the effects of the system will be "far-reaching" and impact travel in a vast area that's likely to affect millions of people. Multiple weather-related crashes have already been reported in Denver — including one fatality, per the Denver Post. The city's temperature fell 58 degrees from a "daily-record-tying high of 74 at 2 p.m. Sunday to 16 degrees by 8 p.m. Monday," the Washington Post notes.

Flashback... In photos: Impact of powerful Thanksgiving storms across the U.S.

Soaring temperatures in the Australian state of New South Wales of over 100°F have triggered fresh bushfires, while dust has produced brown rain in Victoria.

What's happening: Dust storms have been pummeling parts of southeast Australia for days. A massive bushfire in the Australian Capital Territory impacted flights at Canberra Airport, where hail the size of golf balls struck earlier in the week. The storms come days after floods hit southeast Queensland, which has also been impacted by the fires. Here's what's been happening, in photos.