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Unusually warm weather in various parts of the United States is causing early blooming and insects – what you should do; plus, today’s top weather headlines and forecasts.
Portions of the country are experiencing an unseasonably warm winter, and as a result, a number of plants and trees have experienced early blooming.
Plants such as cherry blossoms, apricots, and azaleas are among those showing early blooms. However, springtime is still significantly far away and more cold weather is likely on the way.
Landscapers are warning that people shouldn’t read this early blooming as a sign that it’s okay to do some early planting.
Trees and shrubs are the only types that are okay to plant because of cold weather. The cold weather could easily kill other types of plants that bud and bloom.
However, because the warm weather has increased insects in some areas, it is recommended to treat plants for these pests where they occur.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is asking Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to reimburse costs the agency paid to fire victims after destructive fires in 2015, 2017, and 2018.
However, attorneys for PG&E, under a current plan to resolve the utility company’s bankruptcy, said the company would have to dip into the $13.5 billion utility intends to settle claims against it from wildfire victims to repay FEMA.
Therefore, if the funds aren’t there, it would put FEMA in the awkward position of trying to recover up to $200 million out of the nearly $4 billion it says it’s owed by PG&E by billing wildfire victims – a position FEMA says PG&E bankruptcy attorneys never should have put the feds in.
The situation has put FEMA and PG&E in heated battle and showdown.
West: San Francisco 54, mostly cloudy; Reno 39, snow; Los Angeles 63, partly cloudy; Salt Lake City 39, rain; Denver 56, sunny.
Northwest: Seattle 32, snow; Portland 40, rain; Boise 31, snow; Billings 4, cloudy.
Southwest: Las Vegas 60, sunny; Phoenix 70, partly cloudy; El Paso 70, partly cloudy; Albuquerque 57, sunny.
Central: Lubbock 74, sunny; Dallas 69, partly cloudy; Oklahoma City 62, partly cloudy; Kansas City 49, rain; Bismarck 21, mostly cloudy; St. Louis 50, mostly cloudy.
North-central: Minneapolis 33, mostly cloudy; Chicago 44, mostly cloudy; Detroit 45, mostly cloudy.
South: Houston 77, thunderstorms; New Orleans 76, windy; Atlanta 67, thunderstorms; Charlotte 68, thunderstorms; Jacksonville 83, mostly cloudy; Tampa 84, mostly cloudy; Miami 79, partly cloudy.
East: Cincinnati 58, mostly cloudy; Norfolk 67, rain; Washington 50, rain; New York 45, rain; Boston 42, mostly cloudy; Bangor 16, partly cloudy.
