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Whatever climate activists had envisioned, the $2 trillion bill agreed to by the Senate in the wee hours of Wednesday morning wasn’t it.

We're not suggesting that climate change contributed to the coronavirus outbreak; there seems to be no direct link, although experts say a warming world could accelerate pandemics of insect-borne diseases (the coronavirus is spread person to person). But the global response to this pandemic does show that the world can come together to confront a shared threat.

As if the coronavirus-created isolation isn't enough, a storm that dumped heavy, wet snow in parts of northern New England caused thousands of power outages on Tuesday.

With Central Florida facing a potentially record heatwave this weekend, residential consumption of electricity is already way up as the COVID-19 outbreak forces more residents to migrate from workplaces to stay at home.

By Kevin Spear

Mar 26, 2020

It's been a year since heavy rainfall and rapidly melting snow filled the West Fork of the Little Sioux River on March 14 and flowed over the top of levees north and east of Hornick, Iowa. The water flowed over the frozen, empty fields into town, until it was up to 4 feet deep on Main Street and forced the 250 residents to evacuate.

While the disaster-response agency is better known for its work in the aftermath of storms than disease outbreaks, it is the part of the federal government often charged with procuring supplies quickly. The decision to activate FEMA to its highest state, Level 1, didn't surprise James Kendra, who directs the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware.

Hopkins, Wisconsin's assistant state climatologist, isn't just curious; he's carrying out tradition. Every winter and spring since the 1850s, observers have staked out Madison's lakes to determine when they freeze and thaw, adding to a vast data trove that offers a window into history.

While still more than 10 weeks away, hurricane season 2020 is already showing signs of being a year flooded by storms.

By Joe Mario Pedersen

Mar 20, 2020

March, as the snow begins to recede and expose bare ground, is prime time for shed hunting in the Northland. This is when last year's antler gold — shed by most deer between December and March — begins to reveal itself. Go too early and the antlers are still covered by snow. Go too late and someone else will be holding your shed.

California mountains are blanketed in snow and much of the state has had plenty of rain in a remarkable March turnabout from the extremely dry first two months of the year.

Spring is supposed to be a time of sunshine, flowers and vacations. But frequent rain makes it difficult to enjoy the first day of spring.

Soggy areas of South Georgia recovering from heavy rains and flooding are bracing for a new threat — swarms of mosquitoes.

The ten warmest Februarys have all occurred since 1998.

By Muri Assunção

Mar 14, 2020

“Alarming levels of inaction.” That is what the World Health Organization said Wednesday about the global response to coronavirus. It is a familiar refrain to anyone who works on climate change, and it is why global efforts to slow down warming offer a cautionary tale for the effort to slow down the pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/climate/climate-change-coronavirus-lessons.html

Last year was the second warmest on record, the past decade was the hottest in human history and January was the warmest January since 1850, the head of the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday.

Like influenza, the new disease is a respiratory infection belonging to a family of viruses that typically survive longer in colder environments. Most people experience only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, but older adults and people with existing health problems may have more severe illnesses, including pneumonia.

Temperatures have fluctuated between hot and cold recently in Florida, just about as frequently as the idea that warmth might bring an end to the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

By Joe Mario Pedersen

Mar 10, 2020

Due to a wet past few years, the soils around Sioux Falls are heavily saturated, the river levels are higher than normal, and the aquifers are nearly full.

Hurricane season is only three months away, and for those still recovering from Hurricane Dorian the pressure to remove debris, rebuild destroyed and damaged homes and businesses and restore power and running water is mounting.

Across the country, companies are scrambling to build facilities to complement solar and wind farms.