World weather news, January 2026

2nd-3rd

Record-breaking King Tides struck the San Francisco Bay Area and parts of the Northern California coast, causing widespread coastal flooding across multiple counties. Tide gauges across the region recorded water levels up to 0.76 m above normal, breaking multiple records and prompting road closures, flood warnings, and emergency advisories.

5th-6th

A severe winter storm has killed at least six people and disrupted transport across Europe. Heavy snow, freezing rain, and temperatures below -10C caused deadly accidents in France, flight cancellations in Paris and Amsterdam, along with widespread power and travel disruptions. Five fatalities were reported in France following multiple collisions caused by icy roads and black ice, including several crashes in the southwest and in the Paris region. The sixth fatality was a woman who died in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, after being hit by a tree that collapsed under the weight of the snowfall.

7th

Australia is enduring one of its most intense heatwaves since the 2019-20 Black Summer, with extreme temperatures, strong winds and dry lightning fuelling catastrophic fire danger across multiple states. Emergency-level bushfires have been reported in South Australia and Victoria. A vast mass of hot, dry air continues to move eastwards from Western Australia into South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, generating widespread extreme heat and dangerous fire weather. Maximum temperatures are reaching 45C across inland regions.

9th

Kosovo has seen prolonged, intense rainfall this week leading to widespread flooding. Cities, towns and villages were inundated as rivers overflowed their banks. Communities were cut off and emergency services rescued people trapped in their homes. People lost their water supply as well as electricity in the Drenas, Malisheva and Rahovec municipalities after flood water entered electrical substations. Heavy rainfall occurred from the 3rd to the 5th, during which official weather stations at Junik and Gllogjan in the west of the country recorded 231.5 mm and 151.6 mm of rain respectively within two days. A further 130 mm fell in the region of Junik on the 6th, exacerbating the flooding with landslips.

10th

A lower-end F2 tornado struck the Guatupe neighbourhood in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, according to the Paraná Environmental Technology and Monitoring System. The tornado damaged around 350 homes, impacting about 1200 people, and left at least 2 people with minor injuries. Strong winds and heavy rains also affected the region, downing at least 57 trees in Curitiba, with winds reaching 70 km/h through the day.

11th

One person has died and 300 properties have been destroyed in bushfires that have torn across south-east Australia. The fires have raged in dozens of locations across the country for several days, mostly in the state of Victoria, but also in New South Wales, burning through land almost twice the size of Greater London.

11th

Thousands of tourists have been stranded in Finland's Lapland as a severe cold spell has grounded flights out of one of its airports. Departures from Lapland's Kittila airport that would have ferried winter travellers back home were all cancelled on Sunday as temperatures did not go above -35C today. The extreme cold makes it hard to de-ice planes, while maintenance and refuelling equipment on the ground can freeze. Finnish Lapland usually has a winter average temperature of -14C, with occasional dips to -30C, according to the nation's tourism board.

17th

More than 200 people have died in weeks of torrential rain and severe flooding across southern Africa, with Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe bearing the worst impacts. The prolonged La Nina pattern has intensified the region's rainy season, leaving widespread damage to homes, roads, crops and public infrastructure. As of today, the cumulative death toll across the three countries has surpassed 200. National emergency services continue to warn that river levels remain critically high and that further rainfall could extend the crisis. The flooding was driven by a combination of regional and global meteorological factors. Persistent La Nina conditions in the equatorial Pacific strengthened the Intertropical Convergence Zone over southern tropical latitudes, drawing deep moisture from the southwestern Indian Ocean into the subcontinent. December 2025 had already been unusually wet across much of southern Africa, with several provinces recording rainfall well above the monthly average and soils approaching full saturation.

17th-19th

Heavy rain and severe thunderstorms swept across New South Wales and southeast Queensland (Australia), forcing evacuations around Sydney's Narrabeen Lagoon and causing one death at Macquarie Pass. The storm system brought flash flooding, landslides, and dozens of rescues as the NSW State Emergency Service continued operations across inundated coastal suburbs. The heaviest rainfall struck Sydney's northern beaches, where Narrabeen Lagoon overflowed late on the 17th, prompting an emergency evacuation order.

20th-21st

At least 5 people have been reported dead after the heaviest rain in over 70 years struck parts of Tunisia, dropping over 200 mm of rainfall in about 48 hours. A red alert was issued for the Grand Tunis area as well as the Nabeul and Monastir provinces as rainfall and floods continued into the 21st.

21st

Prolonged heavy rain affecting New Zealand prompted MetService to raise heavy rain warnings to the highest alert level today, amid a multi-day rainfall event and the influence of a tropical low. Red warnings represent the highest level in New Zealand's severe weather warning system and are reserved for extreme events where significant impacts and major disruption are expected. Parts of Northland have already seen more than 300 mm of rain since the start of the 18th, with a further 120 mm possible today, MetService said. Coromandel has received 150 to 200 mm of rain in 24 hours.

21st

Parts of Russia's Far East have been buried under its heaviest snowfall in 60 years. In Kamchatka Peninsula, locals were seen shovelling in the streets, as rescuers helped people trapped in their homes. Public transportation was partially suspended in the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, after the height of the snow reached approximately 3 metres.

21st

Storm Harry caused significant flooding and damage across the Mediterranean, with Malta, Lipari, Corsica, and Catalonia experiencing severe weather conditions. In Malta, residents woke on the 20th to fallen trees and damaged buildings, with coastal towns such as Marsascala, Sliema and Birzebbuga battered by strong winds and high seas. On the Italian island of Lipari, towering waves crashed onto the seafront, forcing closures and disrupting boat services. Further north, Corsica saw torrents of rain push rivers past their banks, flooding parts of the island after more than 200 mm fell in a single day. In Spain's Catalonia region, waves up to six metres pounded beaches while heavy rain flooded streets in Girona, capping a week of turbulent Mediterranean weather.

22nd-23rd

Two people have died and several are feared buried after landslides in New Zealand's North Island. The deaths were reported at Welcome Bay, while rescue workers are still searching through rubble at a different site in a popular campground on Mount Maunganui. The landslides were triggered by heavy rains over the last few days, which led to flooding and power outages across the North Island. One minister said the east coast resembled "a war zone".

25th-26th

A dangerous winter storm has swept across the USA, leaving at least 17 people dead and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes. Schools and roads across the country have been closed and flights have been cancelled as "life threatening" conditions stretched from Texas to New England, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). At least two people died of hypothermia in Louisiana, and other deaths linked to the storm have been reported in Texas, Tennessee and Kansas. As of the afternoon of the 25th, more than 800,000 households had lost power, and more than 11,000 flights were cancelled. Widespread heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, which is a dangerous phenomenon where cooled rain droplets freeze instantly on surfaces, could last for days, and the storm could affect around 180 million Americans - more than half the population. Canadians have also been hit with heavy snow and hundreds of cancelled flights. Officials estimate that there will be 15-30 cm of snowfall in the province of Ontario. While places in the north such as the Dakotas and Minnesota are used to below- freezing temperatures in winter, it is unusual to see such extreme cold in states like Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, where temperatures are around 15-20 degC below normal. The polar vortex - a ring of strong westerly winds that form above the Arctic every winter containing a pool of very cold air - led to the powerful storm, according to meteorologists. When the winds are strong, they stay in place, however when the winds weaken, the vortex loops further south and cold air plunges toward the USA.

25th-27th

At least ten people were killed across Japan as heavy snowfall and repeated cold waves affected wide areas of the country. Sapporo surpassed total accumulations of over 1 m for the first time since 2022 on the 25th, while accumulations at Hakkoda Mountains in Aomori reached around 4.5 m by the 26th. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that a series of strong cold waves produced widespread snowfall across Hokkaido, northern Tohoku, and the Hokuriku region. Although the main snowfall peak has passed, accumulations have already exceeded the annual average in many observation areas. Roads were buried across the region as snowfall totals reached the first floors of homes in some areas. Sapporo City in Hokkaido recorded 54 cm of snow in the 24 hours through Sunday (25th) night, setting a new January record. Meanwhile, total accumulation reached 112 cm by the evening, surpassing the 100 cm mark for the first time since 2022.

28th

At least five people have died after Storm Kristin tore through central and northern Portugal, causing flooding, landslides and widespread damage. The storm, which the government described as an "extreme climatic event", left schools shuttered, buildings damaged and travel severely disrupted. Heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 150 km/h caused more than 3,000 weather-related incidents across the country, civil protection authorities said. Several people were struck by falling trees or debris. The strongest winds were recorded at the Monte Real air base in Leiria, where gusts of 178 km/h were recorded before the monitoring equipment was destroyed. Officials said the location was likely the storm's entry point to mainland Portugal. After crossing Portugal, Storm Kristin moved east into Spain - bringing with it snow, rain and strong winds. The storm caused widespread disruption across the country, with schools, roads and train lines closed and hundreds of thousands without power.