Winter Storm Warnings are in effect across parts of California from late December 23 through December 27, 2025, as a strong atmospheric river moves inland, bringing heavy mountain snowfall and high winds.
A strong atmospheric river is forecast to impact California from December 23 to 27, 2025, bringing widespread heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and high-elevation snow. The system is expected to produce 250 to 500 mm (10–20 inches) of precipitation in parts of the Sierra Nevada and 150 to 300 mm (6–12 inches) in the Coast and Transverse Ranges. The National Weather Service has issued high-risk alerts for flash flooding across southern California and moderate winter storm impacts over the Sierra Nevada.
Five people, including a two-year-old child, were killed after a Mexican Navy plane crashed near Galveston, Texas, amid foggy conditions on Monday, December 22, 2025, while transporting medical patients. At least one person remains missing, with search operations and the investigation continuing.
One person was killed and several were rescued after torrential rain from an atmospheric river caused severe flooding in Redding, northern California, on December 21–22, 2025. Rainfall totals above 100 mm (4 inches) overwhelmed storm drains, flooded roads.
Forecast models indicate that the Polar Vortex will strengthen in late December 2025 after a split and disrupted phase earlier in the season. The recovery is expected to influence North American and European weather in January 2026, potentially sending colder air southward while reorganizing jet stream flow.
A series of impactful atmospheric rivers is forecast to bring heavy precipitation across California from Friday, December 19, 2025, through Wednesday, December 24, with seven-day precipitation totals expected to exceed 380 mm (15 inches) in parts of the Sierra Nevada.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Boulder issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDC) for rapid wildfire spread affecting the foothills and along Colorado Highway 93 through Friday, December 19, 2025.
A powerful windstorm with gusts reaching 232 km/h (144 mph) battered parts of the Pacific Northwest and Rockies this week, leaving one dead, two injured, and hundreds of thousands without power by December 18, 2025. The deep low-pressure system continues moving east toward the northern Plains and Midwest, sustaining severe winds and wildfire risks.
A strong M7.0 oblique-slip earthquake struck beneath the Hubbard Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains, about 89 km (55 miles) north of Yakutat, Alaska, at 11:40 AKST (20:40 UTC) on December 6, 2025. The quake triggered widespread ground failures, with over 700 landslides and snow avalanches identified across Alaska and Canada. The largest and most concentrated slope failures occurred within a 16 km (10 miles) wide band along the estimated fault rupture.
Blizzard Warnings are in effect across parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota through Thursday, December 18, 2025, due to a fast-moving winter storm producing widespread blizzard conditions and destructive winds across the region.
