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How a week of weather extremes upended the lives of millions of Americans

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How a week of weather extremes upended the lives of millions of Americans
News

News

How a week of weather extremes upended the lives of millions of Americans

2025-01-13 04:16 Last Updated At:04:20

It was a week of fire and ice.

It began with millions of people across the U.S. shivering amid blizzard conditions and frigid air that lasted for days, thanks to a jet stream that slips out of its usual path more often these days. Then, catastrophe in California, with wind-whipped flames taking off in a landscape parched by months of drought to become Los Angeles' worst-ever wildfires.

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FILE - Jesse Thompson rides his bicycle in the snow, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, FIle)

FILE - Jesse Thompson rides his bicycle in the snow, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, FIle)

FILE - Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Firefighters work a hydrant in front of the burning Bunny Museum, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Firefighters work a hydrant in front of the burning Bunny Museum, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - People walk near the Washington Monument during a winter snow storm in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - People walk near the Washington Monument during a winter snow storm in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Jagmeet Singh, a manager at Clifton Market, shovels the sidewalk in front of the store during a winter storm, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, FIle)

FILE - Jagmeet Singh, a manager at Clifton Market, shovels the sidewalk in front of the store during a winter storm, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, FIle)

FILE - Cosimos Cendo, of Washington, D.C., skis down Main Street in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 6, 2025, during a snow storm. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Cosimos Cendo, of Washington, D.C., skis down Main Street in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 6, 2025, during a snow storm. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - The Palisades Fire burns vehicles and structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - The Palisades Fire burns vehicles and structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

To cap it off, major weather monitoring agencies confirmed 2024 as the hottest year in global history. Even more dire, four of the six agencies said it was the first full year Earth went beyond a warming threshold seen as critical to limiting the worst effects of climate change.

Welcome to one wild week of the climate crisis, scientists say. There will be more.

“For the average person, this means the changes you’re experiencing — more extreme weather, rising costs due to climate impacts, threats to food and water security — aren’t anomalies,” said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University. “They’re the new normal unless we take action.”

“The last week of weird weather has been alarming,” said Natalie Mahowald, chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. “I hope it’s not a sign of things to come, because we’ve barely seen any climate change compared to what we are going to get unless we radically cut CO2 emissions.”

Here's how the week unfolded.

The cold came first.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, which means the difference between temperatures up north and down south are shrinking — along with sea ice that releases more heat into atmosphere. That means more energy bouncing off and warping or moving the polar vortex, scientists say. And climate change is also messing with the jet stream, the air currents that circle the globe.

The result? More frequent blasts of intense cold in winter even as global temperatures heat up overall.

The blizzard dumped more snow in some parts of Kansas than they usually get in a year, one Kansas State University meteorologist said. Ice-coated trees downed power lines in eastern Kentucky, and a U.S. Olympian skied on the National Mall in Washington.

Farmers rushed to move cows to keep them from freezing to death and to feed and water them as rural roads became impassable. Travel stalled as multiple states warned motorists not to chance the treacherous snow and ice.

About 200 people, many homeless, sheltered at a roller rink in Cincinnati. The alternative was frostbite or worse in exposure to temperatures that were expected to slip from freezing to sub-freezing overnight.

Out West, wildfire took hold.

The Palisades Fire erupted in the Santa Monica mountains and moved quickly on Santa Ana winds gusting to 100 mph — much faster than normal. The winds were so strong they grounded airplanes normally used to drop water on the flames.

The blaze reached near the Getty Museum and by the end of the day, several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Jhené Aiko, had lost homes. Less than 72 hours before, many stars had convened to walk the Golden Globes’ red carpet.

The Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, killing 2 people and closing about 10 school districts.

Climate change laid the groundwork for California’s megafires. Atmospheric rivers dumped huge amounts of water on the region that caused plenty of plant growth. Then, a fast onset of drought dried them out, providing plenty of fodder for the flames.

The water system used to fight the Palisades fire in Los Angeles buckled in the morning, as some hydrants ran dry as they were overstressed without assistance from firefighting aircraft.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was pumping from aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high that it wasn’t enough to refill three 1-million gallon tanks in hilly Pacific Palisades. At least 1,000 buildings were engulfed in flames.

The Sunset Fire started, too, threatening the Hollywood Hills and forcing mandatory evacuations in Hollywood.

President-elect Donald Trump criticized state and local officials' water management policies. But experts said critics were connecting unrelated issues and spreading false information during a crisis.

By the afternoon, calmer winds aided firefighters in making some headway, though by that point at least five fires were still active and some burned out of control in the L.A. area.

Scenes of the destruction started to emerge. Recovery crews pulled a body from the rubble of a beachfront residence in Malibu.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, estimated the overall wildfire damage could reach $57 billion, though much of the destruction remains to be surveyed.

At the same time, another winter storm bore down on the South, with warnings and advisories for at least 20 states. Many had gone through the same thing just days earlier.

Major weather monitoring agencies said 2024 was the hottest since record-keeping began, easily passing 2023.

Even more significant: 2024 was the first year with a global average that broke the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s that was set as a goal by the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Extreme weather like this week's is “affecting so many more people all at one time,” said Barbara Hofer, a professor emerita of psychology at Middlebury College. “Increasingly, the scale is changing. The loss is mounting."

Hofer said the growing impact may make some people deny climate change, ignore it or become numb to it as “a way to avoid what's psychologically uncomfortable."

Such a week can also energize positive change, she said. But Hofer said she thinks that will be harder, at least in the U.S., as Trump takes office. He's promised to halt federal climate action and repeal existing legislation aimed at the problem.

“I worry about the denial, the misinformation, and the forces that are feeding that denial," she said. “That’s what we have to address.”

Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein contributed.

Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - Jesse Thompson rides his bicycle in the snow, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, FIle)

FILE - Jesse Thompson rides his bicycle in the snow, Jan 10, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, FIle)

FILE - Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Fire crews battle the Eaton Fire as it impacts a structure Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Firefighters work a hydrant in front of the burning Bunny Museum, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Firefighters work a hydrant in front of the burning Bunny Museum, Jan. 8, 2025, in the Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - People walk near the Washington Monument during a winter snow storm in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - People walk near the Washington Monument during a winter snow storm in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Jagmeet Singh, a manager at Clifton Market, shovels the sidewalk in front of the store during a winter storm, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, FIle)

FILE - Jagmeet Singh, a manager at Clifton Market, shovels the sidewalk in front of the store during a winter storm, Jan. 6, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, FIle)

FILE - Cosimos Cendo, of Washington, D.C., skis down Main Street in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 6, 2025, during a snow storm. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Cosimos Cendo, of Washington, D.C., skis down Main Street in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 6, 2025, during a snow storm. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - The Palisades Fire burns vehicles and structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

FILE - The Palisades Fire burns vehicles and structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams vowed to regain the public’s trust Tuesday as the Justice Department moved to halt his criminal corruption case, an extraordinary directive that officials said would free him up to assist in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

In his first public comments since federal prosecutors were ordered to drop the case, Adams said he was eager to “put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of this city.”

He did not mention President Donald Trump by name but praised the Justice Department for its “honesty," adding that he would "never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor.”

The mayor's brief address at City Hall came one day after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told federal prosecutors in Manhattan to dismiss the bribery charges “as soon as is practicable.”

In a two-page memo, Bove said the Justice Department reached the decision “without assessing the strength of the evidence.” Rather, he claimed the case was politically motivated and said the dismissal would allow Adams to “devote full attention and resources” to combating illegal immigration and violent crime.

After the memo was issued, Adams faced a barrage of criticism from some allies who say he is now beholden to the Trump administration’s agenda. Adams, who was elected as a centrist Democrat, had already shifted rightward following his indictment in September, praising Trump and expressing a willingness to roll back some of the city’s protections for undocumented migrants.

“It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the Mayor hostage,” Rev. Al Sharpton, an influential ally of Adams, said in a statement Tuesday. “I have supported the Mayor, but he has been put in an unfair position — even for him — of essentially political blackmail."

Several of the mayor's challengers in the Democratic party also suggested that he was compromised by the Justice Department's directive.

The task of carrying out the order now falls to Danielle Sassoon, a seasoned prosecutor who was appointed acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan just days after Trump took office.

Her office declined to comment and has not indicated what it plans to do next. In a letter sent last month, prosecutors in the Adams case praised the strength of the evidence, dismissing the mayor's claim of political prosecution as an attempt “to shift the focus away from the evidence of his guilt.”

Sassoon has limited power to oppose the order. She can be replaced at will by the Justice Department. Trump in November nominated Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to lead the office. His appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

Under the terms laid out in the memo, the charges could still be refiled after the November mayoral election. Dismissal of the case should be conditional, Bove said, on Adams agreeing in writing that prosecutors are legally allowed to bring the charges back if they choose.

That means the threat of a renewed prosecution will hover over Adams in all of his dealings with the Trump administration while he is mayor.

Arlo Devlin-Brown, the former chief of public corruption at the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, said the unusual conditions attached to the memo made it uncertain when the charges would be formally dismissed.

“I have not seen anything like this before,” he said. “For a case that’s already been charged to be reversed in the absence of some real new development in the merits of the case is highly unusual.”

Even with some uncertainty about what happens next, Adams struck a tone of vindication Tuesday, describing the criminal prosecution against him as an “unnecessary ordeal” that had been sensationalized in the media.

“Who I am is not in the headlines, it’s in my history,” he said. “As I said from the outset, I never broke the law and I never would.”

Federal prosecutors accused Adams of accepting illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks worth more than $100,000 — including expensive flight upgrades and luxury hotel stays — while serving in his previous job as Brooklyn borough president.

The indictment said a Turkish official who helped facilitate the trips then leaned on Adams for favors, including lobbying the Fire Department to allow a newly constructed diplomatic building to open in time for a planned visit by Turkey’s president.

Prosecutors also said they had evidence Adams personally directed campaign staffers to solicit foreign donations, then disguised those contributions to qualify for a city program that provides a generous, publicly funded match for small donations. Foreign nationals are banned from contributing to U.S. election campaigns under federal law.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in New York. A top official at the U.S. Department of Justice has ordered federal prosecutors to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams and halt the ongoing investigation. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in New York. A top official at the U.S. Department of Justice has ordered federal prosecutors to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams and halt the ongoing investigation. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - New York City mayor Eric Adams departs Manhattan federal court after an appearance, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - New York City mayor Eric Adams departs Manhattan federal court after an appearance, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits from Manhattan federal in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits from Manhattan federal in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)

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