The term forecasters are using to describe the overall weather pattern is "anomalous" — for its unusual cold and warmth. In California, it could be the coldest storm in years.
The U.S. military started tracking more airborne objects it calls "low speed clutter" after shooting down the Chinese balloon. The National Weather Service says it launches about 184 balloons a day.
California braced for more stormy weather as rain began to sweep into the northern part the state and the San Francisco Bay area, raising the potential for road flooding, rising rivers and mudslides.
Regions across the U.S. are expected to get record low temperatures, wind chills and heavy snow, which could make for dangerous conditions for travel and simply being outside.
Officials are scrambling to restore water service in northwest Georgia after flash flooding submerged pumps and flooded buildings. Chattooga County officials said Tuesday that taps for 8,000 customers in Summerville, Menlo and surrounding areas would stay dry through at least Wednesday.
The nightly temperature reached 71 degrees Fahrenheit, one of only three nights in the city's climate record where the nighttime temperature rose above 70 degrees.
People are flocking to pools, beaches and cooling centers in a swath of the Midwest and South spanning from northern Florida to the Great Lakes, as a heat wave pushed temperatures into the 90s and beyond.
Temperatures will rise into the triple digits across the Southwest and western U.S. this weekend. Daytime temps will be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than normal, according to the National Weather Service.
A major winter storm was expected to bring up to a foot of snow in the Southern Appalachians, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey on the first Monday of the new year.
According to the National Weather Service, at 3:20 p.m. EDT today, the Autumnal Equinox (the moment when the length of daylight and darkness are almost perfectly equal) occurs.
