At least 6 people have been reported dead after a record-breaking winter storm swept through much of the United States from January 3 – 6, 2025, bringing record snow and causing severe travel disruptions with over 9 000 flights being delayed or canceled and hundreds of crashes reported across multiple states.
The first winter storm of 2025 has battered much of the United States with severe weather conditions, record snow, and ice leading to hundreds of crashes and at least one fatality in Missouri. Severe weather and icy roads have led to severe travel disruptions, causing over 3 000 flight delays and multiple road closures across the country.
A series of strong earthquakes, a newly opened volcanic vent, and the appearance of large cracks near the long-dormant Dofen volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region triggered the evacuation of thousands of people on January 4, 2025.
A major winter storm is forecast to affect approximately 50 million people across the United States this weekend, bringing heavy snow, blizzard conditions, and significant icing from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic, starting Saturday, January 4, 2025. For some areas, this could be the heaviest snowfall in over a decade.
A new vent opened at Dofan volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region, releasing powerful jets of steam, rocks, and mud on January 3, 2025. The development comes during a series of earthquakes recorded in the region since December 22 and raised concerns about a potential volcanic eruption — which would be the first on record.
Millions across the central and eastern U.S. are bracing for a major winter storm expected to dump heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain, with dangerous travel conditions and power outages anticipated through the first weekend of 2025.
Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produced on December 29, 2024, impacted Earth on December 31, causing G4 – Severe geomagnetic storm on January 1, 2025. A slow return to nominal levels is expected by late on January 2. Late on January 3 to early on January 4, a potential glancing blow from the January 1 CME is likely to cause another enhancement.
A severe weather outbreak wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States over the weekend, leaving at least four people dead, causing widespread destruction, and cutting power to thousands of homes and businesses on Sunday, December 29, 2024.
At least two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are heading toward Earth, with impacts expected on December 31 and January 1, 2025. The first CME — much stronger, was produced by a filament eruption associated with an M2.0 flare at 04:30 UTC on December 29 from Active Region (AR) 3939. This resulted in an asymmetric, partial-halo CME first seen in NASA coronagraph imagery at approximately 06:24 UTC.
Solar activity increased to high levels on December 29 and 30, 2024, producing more than 20 M- and 3 X-class solar flares in just over 24 hours. At least one of these events produced an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) – with impact expected on December 31. As a result, a G3 – Strong Geomagnetic Storm Watch is in effect.
