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.

A "sprawling winter storm" that's creating hazardous travel conditions across the Midwest and Great Lakes region has caused at least one death, and it's set to spread the Northeast on Sunday, the National Weather Service warns.

What's happening: Frigid temperatures were set to sweep east into Sunday and Monday, with the coldest conditions in the Midwest, with heavy snow forecast across the Great Lakes and further north along with blizzard conditions in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas.

It's official: Last year was the world's second hottest on record, and 2010-2019 was the hottest decade ever recorded.

Why it matters: The findings, published in two separate reports by NOAA and the British weather service the Met Office Wednesday, are in line with those of research group Berkeley Earth, revealed at the start of the year. It's yet more evidence of the long-term warming trend that stems from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

At least 11 people have died in severe storms that brought tornadoes, high winds and rain through parts of the South and Midwest, AP reports.

Where it stands: Severe thunderstorms were still possible over Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi through Sunday morning, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Sporadic damaging gusts" and tornadoes were possible for far eastern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas Saturday night, the National Weather Service said.

At least 21 people have died in flash floods and landslides in and around the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, and the heavy rainfall that triggered the disaster is set to return Thursday, authorities said, per Reuters.

The impact: The heaviest rainfall in over a decade triggered the "deadliest floods in years," displacing over 30,000 people and bringing power outages to parts of the biggest city in Southeast Asia, Channel News Asia reports. The rain fell over Tuesday night.

Parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest can expect up to two feet of snow this weekend due to a major winter storm that will bring whiteout conditions into early next week, AccuWeather reports.

The state of play: A mixture of ice, sleet, snow and wind gusts will start Friday afternoon across portions of Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. Snow will begin to taper off across the Plains on Monday, with areas left with double-digit snowfall totals.

Go deeper: New U.S. weather model still won't be more accurate than European models

A typhoon that pummeled the central Philippines on Christmas Day has killed at least 16 people, Filipino authorities said Thursday, per AFP.

The big picture: Typhoon Phanfone packed ripped off roofs, downed power lines and caused internet and cell phone network outages as it made landfall packing winds of 120 miles mph, AFP notes. Some 3,930 travelers were still stranded at ports across the island nation following the storm by 8 a.m. Thursday local time, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

Temperatures could be 15–20 degrees higher than average in parts of the country ahead of the holidays, while two storms may bring as much as half a foot of rain to the Southeast and a mix of snow and rain to the Pacific Northwest, the Washington Post reports.

What to watch: A storm is brewing and is expected to move through the middle of the country late next week, as many people plan post-Christmas travel, the Post writes. It's too early to know for sure, but the storms could be disruptive to those plans, per the Post

Australia smashed its hottest day record just one day after it was set, preliminary findings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) released Thursday show.

The big picture: The country has also experienced its worst ever spring for wildfire danger, the BOM said in a climate statement Wednesday.

• The driest spring on record has left more than 95% of Australia experiencing dangerous fire weather that has been above average, and much of the country is in severe drought.
• The historic heat wave comes as firefighters continue to fight wildfires across the country. The Australian state of New South Wales declared a seven-day state of emergency Thursday.

What they're saying: Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist with the BOM, said in a video posted to the agency's website that many areas would shatter hottest December records and perhaps even the hottest temperature for any time of the year, with Saturday forecast to be a particularly searing day.

Read the climate report:

Go deeper: In photos: Wildfires rage across Australia amid historic heat wave

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the new temperature record details.