The next time you hear a loud “crack” outside on a moonless winter night, don’t assume it’s someone firing a weapon. It could just be an exploding tree. In Collin County, Texas, locals recently heard a number of trees cracking in the icy weather. “We listened to them all night. Sounds like gunshots going off,”…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—A cold snap in Florida is different than in other places. We put on heavy coats when it’s 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). No blizzard conditions here in the Sunshine State, but we have our issues as well when the thermometer drops. The National Weather Service said Sunday it’s all going to…

Britons have been warned to expect freezing conditions in the coming days, as the record-breaking mild weather over Christmas and the new year is replaced by sub-zero temperatures. A cold weather alert is in place for most of northern England, with severe icy conditions and potentially heavy snow from midnight on Tuesday into lunchtime on…

CALGARY—Canadian air travelers are experiencing an uptick in flight cancellations this holiday season, but airlines say weather is a bigger factor than COVID-19. According to airline data company Cirium, Canada’s largest airlines canceled hundreds of flights between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26 of this year. Flair Airlines canceled nine percent of its scheduled flights during…

President Joe Biden told reporters that he has a cold, after repeatedly coughing during an address Dec. 3. Biden’s voice sounded deeper than usual, and he had to stop multiple times to cough, and clear his throat, during remarks on the November jobs report. Biden took questions following the 14-minute address, and after being asked…

BRASILIA, Brazil—A fierce cold snap prompted snowfall in southern Brazil, with snow accumulating on streets of cities where the wintry phenomenon is rarely seen. At least 43 cities registered either snow or freezing rain late Wednesday, according to information from Climatempo, a weather service. Local television footage showed Brazilians building a snowman in a plaza…

AUSTIN, Texas—State officials on Tuesday added 59 deaths to the toll wrought by the Feb. 14 cold wave and the ensuing collapse of the Texas electric power grid. The deaths newly tallied by the Texas Department of State Health Services boost the toll from 151 to 210 deaths, most from exposure to the sometimes-subzero temperatures….

The amount of beta-glucan fiber in just a dusting of nutritional yeast each day may be enough to change the course of our immune response to various pathogens, according to a study that put this substance to the test in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for the prevention of common childhood illnesses. The findings reflect…

NEWARK—For years, a savage murderer called the “Torso Killer” dribbled out confessions to a New Jersey detective, closing cold cases into the brutal deaths of four young women that dated back to the late 1960s. But there was one unsolved case the notorious serial killer would never admit to: The slayings of 17-year-old Mary Ann…

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C.—A winter storm that left millions without power in record-breaking cold weather claimed more lives Tuesday, including three people found dead after a tornado hit a seaside town in North Carolina and four family members who perished in a Houston-area house fire while using a fireplace to stay warm. The storm that overwhelmed…