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These were the biggest Central Texas weather stories of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It was a year of extremes: 2023 brought Austin's hottest summer on record and also the worst ice storm on record. More than 4,000 acres were burned by wildfires across Central Texas, and the city experienced its costliest hailstorm ever. Temperatures, rain, severe storms: Tracking Austin’s 2023 weather by the numbers Here's a look back at some of the biggest weather stories of the year.Worst ice storm on recordAt 6:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, Meteorologist Kristen Currie told KXAN viewers, "This Winter Storm Warning has expanded and extended. The icing threat is worsening. It's only going to get worse through the day."The storm she was referring to would become Austin's worst ice storm in recorded history.Trees covered in ice in northwest Austin on Feb. 1, 2023. (Courtesy Scott Ramsay Images)Trees covered in ice in northwest Austin on Feb. 1, 2023. (Courtesy Scott Ramsay Images)Crepe myrtles bend from the weight of ice, forming a tunnel in Cedar Park on Feb. 1, 20...

These comets, meteor showers and eclipses will be visible in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

(Stacker) - People have looked at the sky for millennia in awe of all the celestial wonders happening above. Even today, with advanced technology and a more nuanced understanding of our solar system and the galaxies beyond, we continue to look to the sky with a great sense of fascination.The most anticipated celestial event of 2024 is the total solar eclipse on April 8. Much of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will be in the path of totality, meaning people in the right place will see the moon perfectly lined up in front of the sun, leaving a shaded circle of the moon and only the outer aura of the sun. The last total solar eclipse was Aug. 21, 2017. Many people marked the occasion by going outside wearing eclipse glasses and bearing witness to the remarkable event.But stargazers don't have to wait until April for exciting occurrences in the upper atmosphere. Many thrilling astral events will happen throughout the year, many of which do not require special equipment to view. What is the...

Strange holidays for every day in January

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — You might not be able to get off work for these holidays, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still celebrate.There are 31 days in the month of January, and the most commonly celebrated holiday in the month is New Year’s Day.In addition to ringing in the new year, Jan. 1 is also used to celebrate National Hangover Day and National Bloody Mary Day, which sort of makes sense if you think about it.Other strange holidays in January include:Jan. 2Swiss Cheese Day & 55 mph Speed Limit DayJan. 3Drinking Straw Day & Festival of Sleep DayJan. 4National Trivia Day & National Spaghetti DayJan. 5National Bird Day & National Whipped Cream DayJan. 6National Cuddle Up Day & National Bean DayJan. 7I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day & National Bobblehead DayJan. 8National Bubble Bath Day & National Clean Your Desk DayJan. 9Balloon Ascension Day & National Apricot DayJan. 10Houseplant Appreciation Day & National Take the Stairs DayJan. 11Learn Your Na...

5 things to know this New Year's Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Happy New Year! According to Meteorologist Jill Szwed, 2024 is off to a quiet and “normal” start. After morning clouds there will be peeks of sunshine. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Today's five things to know features local elected officials being sworn into office, Saratoga Springs welcoming 2024 with New Year’s Fest, and the new New York State minimum wage going into effect today.1. New mayor in Troy, Saratoga Springs to be sworn inCarmella Mantello is making history today as she's being sworn in as the first female mayor in Troy. John Safford is also being sworn in as mayor of Saratoga Springs and Tim Coll will be sworn in as the city's new public safety commissioner.2. Saratoga Springs welcomes 2024 with New Year’s FestSaratoga Springs welcomed people to celebrate the start of 2024 with their three-day New Year’s Fest. It’s been called New York’s biggest New Year’s party north of Times Square by the Sarat...

Don’t start your indoor tomato seeds too early, and other Colorado garden resolutions for the new year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

New Year’s resolutions are seldom kept, at least in the long term — not that a person shouldn’t give it a go.Instead of working on self-improvement, then, how about making some garden resolutions?My No. 1 intention for the New Year is to try super hard not to start my indoor tomato seeds too early, you know, like in February. When I do that, they tend to look more like stretched-out, spindly green sticks with gaps of lonely sparse leaves. This growth pattern is appropriately called “leggy tomatoes.” I call it sad for the plant and silly for me to jump the gun. Wait until April … wait until April … wait until April.Dracaena deremensis Lemon Lime, with its sword-shaped, wide leaves and distinctive greenish-yellow, cream and lime stripes. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)Here are some other New Year’s garden goals, must-dos or don’t-dos. They’ll get you started on thinking about landscape enhancements and a new garden beginning.Maybe my list will ...

Child in grave condition following violent crash that killed 1, left 3 others in critical condition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

A three-year-old girl is in grave condition following a crash that left one man dead and three other patients in critical condition in the Harvard Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. The two-vehicle crash took place shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday in the 5000 block of South Normandie Avenue. Three people were ejected as a result of the crash and two others were trapped inside their vehicle, according to a news alert from the Los Angeles Fire Department. One of the trapped patients, a 30-year-old man, died at the scene before he could be extracted from the vehicle, according to the Fire Department. The 3-year-old girl, who was rescued from the wreckage, was taken to a local hospital in grave condition. Actor Ian Ziering takes beating from mini-bikers in Hollywood A 22-year-old man, a 1-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl were all ejected in the crash. All were transported in critical condition, the Fire Department stated. There was no immediate word on what caused the...

Naughty Women Love Heartbreakers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

The HeartbreakersL.A.M.F. (Track)Naughty Women Love Heartbreakers: Rob Larson of punk band Naughty Women told us about his love for a Heartbreakers classic.(Track)Rob Larson:In 1977, there weren’t a lot of albums available in the newly-coined genre of punk rock.  It’s fitting that one of the first available was from the Heartbreakers, an offshoot of one of the bands that could be thought of as pre-punk, the New York Dolls.  Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan emerged from the chaotic disintegration of the Dolls and hooked up with Richard Hell (temporarily) and later Walter Lure and Billy Rath to create the band and the album L.A.M.F.Though you can hear elements of Thunders’ love of early rock n roll and R&B, the raw dirtiness and punchy muscularity make it a punk album.  This original release of the album was often criticized for its muddy mix, but it didn’t bother me.  The songs were so excellent.  I was already a fan of Thunders and Nolan and grew to really...

Medi-Cal reform causing worry in Santa Clara County as Momentum for Health shutters programs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

David Mineta chokes up when talking about the roughly 1,500 individuals Momentum for Health — the nonprofit he runs — won’t be able to help this coming year.Momentum is one of the largest nonprofit behavioral health service providers in Santa Clara County, serving more than 4,000 adults and children annually. But because of ripple effects from CalAIM — a multi-year plan to overhaul California’s Medi-Cal system — the nonprofit said it closed six of its programs and laid off 85 staff members at the end of December.“It just breaks me,” said Mineta, the president and CEO of Momentum.California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, or CalAIM for short, was touted by Gov. Gavin Newsom as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to transform the state’s Medicaid system, which covers more than one-third of Californians. Launched in 2022, CalAIM will refocus Medi-Cal over the course of five years to more of what’s called a R...

Cursive writing was so yesterday in California, but in 2024 it’s back in class

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

Sierra Rivera and her older sister, Dahlia, were thrilled at the idea of baking up a batch of their grandmother’s pumpkin cookies last month for Thanksgiving, but when their dad gave them the handwritten recipe, they froze.Letters of each word gracefully flowed from one to the next in a style familiar to those of a certain age. But to to the Rivera sisters, it might as well have been Latin.“I didn’t know how to read it,” said Sierra, 8, a third-grader at Dublin Elementary School. “I thought it was like a different language.”Sierra Rivera, 8, a Dublin Elementary third-grader, holds a copy of her grandmotherÕs handwritten pumpkin cookie recipe that she and her sister, Dahlia, 13, couldnÕt read because it was in cursive, which they hadnÕt been taught at school. She looks forward to learning it at school under a new state law taking effect in 2024. (Photo by Steve Wynn) The girls’ father, Steve Wynn, translated Grandma’s cursive handw...

Bird flu infects Petaluma’s historic poultry region, putting small farmers in peril

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:48 GMT

The Reichardt family has devoted the last 30 years to perfecting a line of ducks famed for succulent pink meat and well suited to the slower, less stressful husbandry of a small Petaluma farm.Now their prized poultry is being delivered, not to the Bay Area’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants, but to the county dump.Avian influenza has barreled through Sonoma County’s historic poultry region, forcing the slaughter of 1.1 million birds and inflicting heartbreak and economic disaster on the Reichardts and other small family farmers in the once-famed “Egg Capital of the World.”“We’re still in the midst of wrapping our heads around it all,” said Jennifer Reichardt, 34, a fifth-generation farmer who was required by law to euthanize 4,900 of their beloved “Liberty Ducks” after the virus was detected Dec. 7. “There was never going to be a good time for this to hit, but during the holidays it is especially hard.”Siblings Eric and Jennifer Reichardt talk with Javier Reyes at a S...