Climate scientists say the record for the hottest day globally has been broken for the second consecutive day and that the worldwide temperature could rise yet more this week.

Much of the U.S. is bracing for extreme weather — especially high temperatures — this weekend and into next week.

Doctors and clinic leaders say there’ll be a scramble across the Southwest and West for abortion care.

Wildlife advocates are suing federal officials after they missed a deadline to decide if protections for wolves should be restored across the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains.

Drought-prone cities in the U.S. West are mapping snow by plane to refine their water forecasts.

Denver’s winter has started with a whimper, and the parched mountains to the west aren’t faring much better.

Colorado officials say mudslides caused “extreme damage” to a major interstate, leaving it clogged with boulders and rocks and no word on when it might reopen.

Fish and Wildlife Service is a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo. Grizzly bears are slowly expanding in the northern Rocky Mountains but scientists say they need continued protections and have concluded no other areas of the country would be suitable for the fearsome animals. The Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday released its first assessment in almost a decade about the status of grizzly bears in the contiguous U.S. Conservationists and some university scientists have pushed to return bears to areas including Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and California’s Sierra Nevada. Grizzly bears have been protected as a threatened species in the contiguous U.S. since 1975, allowing a slow recovery in a handful of areas.

This image provided by Colorado Avalanche Information Center shows an avalanche that killed an unidentified snowboarder on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, near the town of Winter Park in Colorado. When you pile on more snow, there’s always one spot that’s going to break,” said Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Jared Polis and the state parks and wildlife agency urged residents to check conditions this holiday weekend, citing the high danger. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued a special advisory Monday, warning that “large, wide and long-running natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely.”Are people getting the message? “The bottom line is that partner rescue is the only way we have positive outcomes in the backcountry,” Zinn said.

Local propane tank shortages result not just from higher demand but household hoarding similar to the pandemic run on toilet paper and other goods. One national tank supplier reported a 38% sales increase this winter, said Tom Clark, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Propane Association. But trying to find a steady supply of propane can cost already-stressed businesses time and money they lack in the pandemic. They discovered that propane tanks carry a date-of-manufacture stamp. Their employees also had to quickly learn to hook up propane tanks and light heaters, needed in a place where temperatures can plunge well below zero (minus 18 Celsius) in winter.

Heat and strong winds also hit California and parts of the Pacific Northwest over the holiday weekend, triggering destructive wildfires. Snow fell in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, where portions of Interstate 80 closed and forecasters predicted up to a foot (30 centimeters) in the mountains and temperatures in the teens (-7 Celsius) overnight. Several northern Utah school districts canceled classes, and officials warned people to stay inside if possible to avoid flying debris, downed power lines and other dangers. Several semitrailer trucks blew over on northern Utah highways. Freeze and frost warnings also were posted for parts of Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota and Minnesota.

SANTA FE, N.M. A bronze chest filled with gold, jewels, and other valuables worth more than $1 million and hidden a decade ago somewhere in the Rocky Mountain wilderness has been found, according to a famed art and antiquities collector who created the treasure hunt. Fenn, who lives in Santa Fe, said he packed and repacked his treasure chest for more than a decade, sprinkling in gold dust and adding hundreds of rare gold coins and gold nuggets. Pre-Columbian animal figures went in, along with prehistoric mirrors of hammered gold, ancient Chinese faces carved from jade and antique jewelry with rubies and emeralds. Fenn told The New Mexican in 2017 that the chest weighs 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and its contents weigh another 22 pounds (10 kilograms). He said he delivered the chest to its hiding place by himself over two separate trips.

"This has the potential to be a historically significant early-season snow event," the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Montana, said. The forecast for this storm looks eerily similar to a storm that struck Montana in 1934. Feet of snow forecast for the highest elevationsThis weekend, a few inches to feet of snow could fall across the region. National Weather Service meteorologists say they're confident in the forecast. Livestock is also at risk and the National Weather Service warns, "make sure livestock and pets also have the essentials that they will need during the storm."

This weekend, 15 to 36 inches of snow could fall across the plains, with even higher amounts in the mountains. (CNN) - A significant winter storm will blast through the northern Rocky Mountains this weekend. "This has the potential to be a historically significant early-season snow event," the National Weather Service in Great Falls, Montana, said. These winds combined with the snow that is forecast will likely lead to blizzard conditions. National Weather Service meteorologists say they're confident in the forecast.