Trump’s inauguration to be most frigid since 1985, with coldest air in 2 years moving into Northeast
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — The coldest air of the season is moving into the Northeast and a huge part of the U.S., including the Gulf Coast, after a snowstorm.
At least 40 states, from Oregon to Florida and up to Maine, are on cold alerts on Monday morning.
The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington will be a cold one, the coldest since President Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration.
That one also had to be pushed indoors due to brutal cold, with the temperature at noon at only 7 degrees with wind chills below zero.
The forecast this year calls for temperature in the mid 20s with wind chills in the mid-teens, which isn’t as cold as it was in 1985, but is about 15 degrees colder than normal for Washington, D.C.
The cold expected on the East Coast is nothing compared to what people in the Upper Midwest are dealing with. Wind chills there are dipping as low as 40 to 50 degres below zero.
The bitter cold has reached the Gulf Coast where freeze alerts are issued and temperatures could reach the lower 20s and even teens this week.
The cold alerts follow a quickly moving little snowstorm that is done with, after most major cities from D.C. to NYC got just an inch or two. More fell inland.
Terra Alta, West Virginia, got about a foot of snow, along with 12.5 inches in Grantsville, Maryland. Boston, Massachusetts, had 4 inches so far, while Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, got about 2 inches.
Central Park in New York City saw about 1.6 inches and Washington, D.C., received less than a foot of snow ahead of Monday’s inauguration.
(LOS ANGELES) — Hydroclimate whiplash — the rapid shift between wet and dry conditions — likely contributed to the severity of the wildfires burning in Southern California, according to experts.
In recent years, parts of the state shifted from a major drought to an extended period of above-average precipitation that allowed for abundant vegetation growth. After that, a stretch of intense, record-breaking heat dried out much of that vegetation and provided ample fuel for large and fast-growing wildfires.
The Los Angeles region experienced two “extraordinarily wet” winters — in 2023 and 2024 — followed by dry conditions that began in February, Edith de Guzman, a water equity and adaptation policy cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ABC News. Since May 6, Los Angeles has only seen 0.16 inches of rain, so the region’s rainy season is off to an unusually dry start.
“Right now, we essentially have had no measurable precipitation since last spring, which has dried out all of that vegetation that grew happily over the last two wet winters,” De Guzman said.
The shrub cover that popped up as a result of the extra precipitation later dried out — providing large volumes of fuel for a fire, De Guzman said.
Combined with the highly flammable materials many of the houses were constructed with, such as wood frames, it was a recipe for disaster, De Guzman said.
In Southern California, dry conditions are also now more likely to last later into the fall, leaving the region more vulnerable during high wind events, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with both UCLA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“Climate change is increasing the overlap between extremely dry vegetation conditions later in the season and the occurrence of these wind events,” Swain said.
Hydroclimate variability has always been a staple of California’s natural climate, leaving it particularly vulnerable to wildfires.
Among all of the states in the continental U.S., California has the most year-to-year variability between wet and dry conditions.
“As you move down into Southern California, that variability increases even more,” Julie Kalansky, climate scientist and deputy director of operations at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told ABC News.
However, some climate experts point to growing evidence that shows climate change has increased the volatility between very dry and very wet conditions around the world, like moving from a devastating drought to record-breaking precipitation and then back to a drought. These rapid swings between extreme weather events will amplify many of the associated hazards and contribute to devastating wildfire events.
Climate change could also be making wild weather swings more common and more extreme, according to new research published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment and the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a breakdown of the latest in climate science coming from 14 federal agencies, published in November 2023.
“These hotter, dry conditions that are driven by climate change have created a tinderbox,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “We have this dried out vegetation, very dry landscapes.”
But hydrovariability alone didn’t lead to the devastating fires over the past week. A “confluence” of events allowed the fires to explode instantly, Cleetus said.
It was the wind that spread the fires so rapidly once they were ignited. An exceptionally strong mountain wave wind event, with northerly 80 mph to 100 mph gusts, spread the fires faster than anyone could stop them.
“We experienced the most intense Santa Ana winds in nearly 15 years,” De Guzman said.
Conditions higher up in the atmosphere helped to further enhance winds at the surface.
Cold, dense air associated with a low pressure system in the upper atmosphere was moving over Baja California. That air was positioned at a favorable north-northeast to northeast trajectory over the region allowing for the colder air located higher up in the atmosphere to come rushing down towards the surface and enhance the winds already blowing.
This brought surges of powerful winds across the Los Angeles and Ventura County Mountains — including in some places that don’t typically see winds that strong, like Burbank and in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades.
The wind direction and topography played a major role as well. The San Gabriel Mountains and the wind orientation interacted to produce a damaging wind event that doesn’t occur often. The mountains can also make the winds more erratic because additional whirls of wind, known as wind eddies, can form as the air moves across the peaks and through the canyons.
“They were extremely strong and fast, but they were also erratic,” De Guzman said. “They typically are narrower and a little bit more predictable in direction.”
ABC News’ Matthew Glasser, Dan Manzo and Ginger Zee contributed to this report.
(CALIFORNIA) — Several hospitals and health care facilities have closed their clinics and offices in the southern California area as the devastating wildfires continue to spread.
As of Thursday, at least five people have died, and thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed. Firefighters are continuing to battle at least six fires.
Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest health care systems in California, announced it has closed seven of its medical offices and clinics so far due to the fires and high winds.
“Currently, most Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California are open and operating normally. We will remain vigilant and ready to respond fluidly as conditions change,” the health care system said in a statement to ABC News.
UCLA Medical Center confirmed in an update on its website that at least 15 of its clinics were closed in neighborhoods including Alhambra, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.
Additionally, the center said it closed all its clinics in Calabasas.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center also shared an update on its website that some outpatient offices and surgery centers in evacuation areas were closed, including in Brentwood/West Los Angeles, Pasadena and Santa Monica.
“Due to the critical situation — including fires close to our medical center campus that are affecting many staff members — we are postponing non-urgent/emergent procedures on Thursday and Friday,” the update read. “In doing so, we are looking out for our patients in greatest need as we confront extraordinary and fast-moving conditions.”
Providence health care system, which serves five western states including California, also announced some of its outpatient services, such as doctors’ offices, were closed but that its hospitals remain open.
Additionally, Adventist Health, which serves the West Coast and Hawaii, said its Urgent Care, Orthopedics and Pediatrics location in Montrose is temporarily closed until further notice.
However, its Glendale hospital remains open and operations. Patients are not being evacuated and there are no widespread surgery cancellations.
The hospital added that some patients with elective procedures may have their surgeries canceled and all non-essential visitation is being postponed for the time being.
“My heart goes out to those impacted by the wildfires across L.A. County,” Kerry Heinrich, president and CEO of Adventist Health, said in a statement. “I’m thankful that, at this time, our local hospitals remain open and fully operational, ready to provide care and support to those in need.”
AltaMed Health Services, a community health network that serves southern California, wrote on X that one of its medical centers in Pasadena had been destroyed by the Eaton Fire, but no one was injured. The network has temporarily closed eight clinics due to the fires.
Meanwhile, some hospitals are reporting that they are treating victims injured by the dangerous fires.
UCLA Health hospitals confirmed to ABC News that as of 11:00 a.m. PT Wednesday, medical staff have treated and released 21 patients with fire-related injuries. What kind of fire-injuries the patients have remain unclear.
One patient remains hospitalized in critical condition, UCLA Health said.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services also reported its medical system is treating patients suffering from smoke injuries, but did not confirm how many patients.
“Our dedicated health care providers across our medical system including Los Angeles General Medical Center, Olive-View Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center are prepared to provide the critical and life-saving care to those impacted by the fires,” the department said in a statement.
“At this moment, we can confirm our medical system has provided care to patients suffering from smoke inhalation and respiratory issues caused by the fires,” the statement continued.
Senior centers are also being affected by the wildfires. At The Terraces At Park Marino, an assisted living facility in Altadena, staff evacuated elderly residents — some of whom were in wheelchairs or hospital beds — on Wednesday. Within hours, the building was engulfed in flames.
(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Two people, including a Louisiana State University women’s pole vaulter, died in a car crash on the school’s Baton Rouge campus Wednesday night, according to college officials.
At approximately 9:07 p.m. on Wednesday, the driver of a Honda Accord was traveling southbound on Nicholas Drive and attempted to make a left turn on South Quad Drive, the Baton Rouge Police Department said in a statement on Thursday.
When trying to make the left turn, the “Honda Accord was struck by the driver of a BMW motorcycle that was traveling northbound on Nicholson Drive.”
The driver of the car and the motorcyclist, 23-year-old Bohdi Linton, both died on the scene of the accident, police said.
Dillon Reidenauer, 18, was identified as the driver of the car, LSU Athletics said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are devastated by the tragic passing of Dillon Reidenauer, who was taken from us much too soon,” LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver said. “Everyone in our LSU Track & Field family is keeping Dillon’s loved ones in our thoughts and prayers, as well as those of the other individual lost in the incident.”
Reidenauer was a freshman at LSU, pursuing a degree in interior design and was a part of the women’s pole vault team, the college said.
Originally from Abita Springs, Louisiana, Reidenauer was one of the top prep pole vaulters in the state while attending Fontainebleau High School. She finished second at the 2024 LHSAA 5A Championships and placed fourth at that same meet as a junior.
Her bio on LSU’s athletics page describes Reidenauer as “one of the best pole vaulters in the state of Louisiana coming out of high school.”
LSU is one of the top pole vaulting programs in the nation, thanks in part to alum Mondo Duplantis, who holds the world record in the event and won gold at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Reidenauer, as a freshman, was not yet competing, but was learning under the team’s top pole vaulter, senior Johanna Duplantis, the younger sister of the acknowledged greatest pole vaulter of all time.
Shaver said the team is currently on the road at College Station, Texas, for the SEC Championships and “thanks Texas A&M for offering their support and compassion.”
LSU Athletics said they are “providing resources and support to all of our student-athletes and staff directly impacted by this tragic loss.”
