National Weather Forecast

As the system that has been impacting the West pushes out in the central United States Thursday, we will see the threat of a severe weather outbreak from Texas to the Deep South, with snow/icing possible from the Four Corners to the Great Lakes. A new cold front in the Pacific Northwest will bring rain and snow chances. We’ll also see rain and snow in the Northeast.

As mentioned above, we’re watching the potential of a severe weather outbreak in the Southern United States on Thursday. The severe threat has been upgraded to a Moderate Risk of severe weather (threat level 4 of 5) across portions of northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, southern Arkansas, and northern Louisiana. All severe threats – including strong tornadoes and widespread damaging winds – will be possible from storms. While some individual storms are possible across the region during the morning and afternoon hours, the greatest threat will be from a line that surges from Texas and Oklahoma eastward across the region late in the day into the overnight hours.

Flooding rains will also be possible across the central U.S. to the Ohio Valley through the end of the week with the system moving through the region. Some areas could see 2-5” of rain, with isolated reports of up to 9” possible. Numerous Flood Watches are in place.

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More from CNN: “In a bright-red county in a state allergic to regulations, there is a ban on growing grass outside new businesses. Only 8% of a home’s landscaping can have a grass lawn in this booming corner of Utah, about a hundred miles northeast of Las Vegas. And if any developers want to add another country club to this golfing mecca, “I don’t know where they would get the water from,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. “And I’m telling you, I know where every drop of water is.” Like lots of spots in the West, the combination of more people and less water makes for an uncertain future around St. George, Utah. While this winter’s generous snowpack could buy precious time, the entire Colorado River system remains in danger of crashing if water gets too low at Lakes Powell and Mead. But that reality hasn’t stopped St. George from booming into the fastest growing metro area in the US two years running, according to the US Census Bureau, and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake Powell, their growth will turn to pain.

Walmart, Target, Home Depot lead pack of retailers emitting millions of pounds of CO2 through shipping

More from Grist: “2021 was a big year for the global shipping industry, as COVID-19 drove hordes of shoppers to the internet to buy new clothes, gadgets, furniture, and other goods. Booming e-commerce contributed to widely reported supply chain disruptions — but it also led to less-reported consequences for the climate and public health. A new report from the nonprofit Pacific Environment finds that the ships that carried imports for 18 of the U.S.’s largest retail, fashion, tech, and furniture companies emitted about 3.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2021, about as much as the annual climate pollution from 750,000 passenger cars. The ships transporting these companies’ clothes, computers, knickknacks, and other goods also released thousands of metric tons of cancer- and asthma-inducing nitrous oxide and particulate matter into port communities.

BP CEO defends spending plans as climate protesters block entrance to London energy conference

More from CNBC: “BP CEO Bernard Looney on Tuesday sought to defend the firm’s fossil fuel spending plans, reaffirming the need for an “orderly” energy transition and highlighting the oil giant’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. His comments came shortly after dozens of protesters blocked an entrance to the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel on the first day of International Energy Week, a global energy conference that brings together senior figures from across the industry. Holding banners reading “Climate Criminals Enter Here” and “No New Oil,” activists from climate action group Fossil Free London gathered outside the luxury hotel to protest BP’s continued fossil fuel investment. Their chants could be heard throughout the opening sessions of the conference. “Energy is the lifeblood of society,” BP’s Looney said as he addressed those in attendance.

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– D.J. Kayser