Wild weather spreads across the U.S. : Consider This from NPR

Crews work before dawn to clear snow East Front Plaza of the U.S. Capitol as a winter storm slams into the nation’s capital this week.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Crews work before dawn to clear snow East Front Plaza of the U.S. Capitol as a winter storm slams into the nation’s capital this week.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In Washington, D.C., the federal government is closed – as are most of the schools in the area. That’s because the first major snow storm in about three years barreled in Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Southern U.S. is preparing for another storm that could paralyze parts of Texas, Arkansas and Northern Louisiana.

And Southern California is preparing for “life threatening, destructive gusts” driving wildfires.

That’s a lot of wild weather…so what’s going on?

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This episode was produced by Brianna Scott and Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Rachel Waldholz and Courtney Dorning. NPR’s Liz Baker and Nick Swartsell of member station WVXU contributed additional reporting. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.