Climate change

Winter Storm Kills at Least 30, Cuts Power to 1M Across US

Do cold waves disprove global warming or are they exactly what climate science predicted?

JAN 26·Updated JAN 27

Winter Storm Kills at Least 30, Cuts Power to 1M Across US

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Above: Grounds crews clear snow from the East Front of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 25. Image credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

The Facts

At least 30 people have died after a major winter storm swept across the United States and cut power to a peak of more than 1 million households. Over 650,000 customers remain without power as of late Monday. The storm stretched from Texas to New England, affecting around 235 million Americans.
The Associated Press
New York Post
ABC News
CNN
NBC
Reuters
Sky News Australia on Youtube
Louisiana's Department of Health confirmed two men died of hypothermia, while weather-related deaths were also reported in Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Massachusetts. About 5,300 flights were canceled and more than 4,300 delayed as of Monday afternoon, while more than 11,000 flights were cancelled nationwide on Sunday.
ABC News
Reuters
Weather
Fox4Kc
BBC News
President Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations for at least a dozen states, including South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Fox4Kc
Straight Arrow News
The National Weather Service has warned of widespread heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that could last for days. Nearly half of the states have declared emergencies, and schools across the country canceled classes on Monday.
Fox Weather
People
BBC News
Power outages were widespread across the South, where freezing rain deposited layers of ice up to an inch thick. Tennessee bore the brunt of energy cuts, accounting for about a third of all outages and affecting more than 300,000 customers.
Fox Weather
Reuters
The Times of India
The powerful storm was reportedly caused by a polar vortex. When the winds weaken, the vortex loops further south and cold air plunges toward the U.S., with temperatures around 15 to 20°C below the seasonal average in affected areas.
Fox Weather
Breitbart
BBC News

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The Spin

Climate-skeptic narrative

Record cold waves hitting 40 states prove the global warming narrative has been wildly exaggerated. Extreme winter conditions like these contradict decades of climate alarmism. Environmental activists owe an explanation for why their predictions don't match reality.

Donald Trump on Truth Social

Climate-concerned narrative

Global warming increases weather extremes, including both heat waves and severe cold snaps, exactly as scientists predicted decades ago. Confusing a single cold event with long-term climate trends ignores a century of data. Patterns and science matter more than isolated weather events.

Brian Krassenstein on X