Hot, windy weather stokes fires in southern California with mandatory evacuation orders in place for many

A fast-moving fire spread into neighborhoods in southern California on Friday as the region braces for more hot, windy weather that will amplify fire dangers through Saturday.

Several structures could be seen ablaze in video footage captured by local news helicopters as firefighters worked to wrangle the more than 465 acre Norte fire, which erupted in Orange county on Friday.

Largest blaze the Henderson fire near San Diego as strong winds and severe heat could fuel rapid spread

Multiple wildfires ignited across California on Thursday as the state braced for more strong winds and high temperatures that could fuel rapid fire growth over the next several days.

The largest blaze, dubbed the Henderson fire, erupted in Camp Pendleton, a San Diego Marine Corps training base, and quickly consumed more than 1,000 acres. Evacuations have been issued and officials briefly closed part of the Interstate 5, a major highway in the region.

El Niño will likely shift weather patterns to bring more rain, but much snow still isn’t forecast for the northern states

Winter in the United States looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer, but not necessarily snowier, according to the federal government’s seasonal outlook and other meteorologists’ forecasts. You can thank or blame El Niño.

El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent western drought, but it is unlikely to make northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday.

Governor Ron DeSantis says death toll ‘sad’ but praises work of local officials for helping to minimize storm’s impact

Six deaths have been confirmed in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis praised the work of local officials for minimizing the impact of the storm, which made landfall late on Friday, ⁠bringing strong winds, rain, flash floods and tornado ​threats across parts of the ​US south-east, leaving hundreds of thousands ​of residents without power.

Boardwalk destroyed in Long Beach and homes damaged, while Baja California in Mexico and Las Vegas also affected

Southern California coastal communities are picking up the pieces after a weekend of extreme weather brought flooding that overtook city streets and intense waves battered beachside homes.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel hit Mexico’s Baja California over the weekend as well as southern California and Las Vegas. While meteorologists noted that Rachel weakened into a post-tropical cyclone as it approached California, it still left a trail of destruction.

Runners in Moab 240 successfully evacuated from race route after flooding from remnants of tropical storm Rachel

About 70 runners participating in Utah’s Moab 240 ultramarathon were successfully evacuated from the race route on Sunday after being stranded by flooding stemming from the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel.

The event’s host, Destination Trail, addressed the emergency rescue effort in a social media statement which confirmed that all runners were safe and accounted for.

Heat and humidity have led to one of the worst mosquito years in recent history, with West Nile virus at a decade high

Los Angeles might be best known for blue skies, beaches and film premiers — but for the last several years it’s held another, unenviable distinction: the most mosquito-infested city in America.

And this year has been especially nightmarish, thanks to a series of heatwaves and an extra-powerful El Niño. Locals have called it a summer of “living hell” as clouds of mosquitoes swarm backyards and leave diners at open air patios scratching their ankles.

Boarding up windows and filling sandbags and fuel tanks are part of routine hurricane preparation for residents of the Gulf coast. Isaias strengthened into a category 3 hurricane on Friday morning as it barreled toward the US Gulf coast, and states of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line, with surging seas up to 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft

• Hurricane Isaias barrels toward Gulf coast as category 3 storm

• Isaias strengthens to become first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 season

On Kaua‘i, neighbors repair each other’s roofs, teens deliver meals and locals use their own equipment to clear roads

It was a few hours after the sun rose over the verdant valleys and clear waters of Hā‘ena on Kaua‘i’s North Shore. Michael Olanolan was already in his excavator, clearing the main highway where a wall of fallen trees had blocked access. Other neighbors joined him, moving debris so electric crews could reach utility poles downed by Hurricane Lowell.

The 76-year-old father of nine and grandfather of 26 did this every day for weeks after Lowell hit the Hawaiian islands of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau on 7 September. His generational home lost part of its roof to Lowell’s winds, but family and friends helped him repair it, freeing him up to also help his community. Clearing out roadways became his full-time job while residents were getting back on their feet.

Residents in areas from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Florida urged to ‘evacuate if told to do so’

Millions of people from Louisiana to Florida were under hurricane warnings on Thursday as Hurricane Isaias heads toward the US Gulf coast, with weather officials warning of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding.

Isaias intensified from a tropical storm into the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season on Wednesday night, and has prompted state of emergency declarations in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, as well as evacuation orders and school closures in several Florida counties as officials urge residents to prepare for its arrival.

Several cities shatter temperatures for time of year as extreme heat warnings in place along California coast

An unprecedented heatwave has gripped southern California, boosting temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above normal for autumn.

Monday was a notably sweltering day for several cities.

First hurricane of the season has not formed this late since 1905 as scientists say possible US landfall on Saturday

Tropical Depression Nine has been predicted to be the Atlantic season’s first hurricane and potentially the latest first hurricane to develop in over a century.

The system was located on Tuesday afternoon about 630 miles south-west of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with maximum sustained winds of 35mph (56km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center.