Rebecca Hersher

Usually, freezing cold air is trapped up in the polar regions.

The jet stream keeps the cold air trapped up there.

But when the jet stream gets weaker, cold air can escape south, deep into the continental U.S.

That's what's expected to happen next week.

Scientists are actively trying to understand whether climate change makes such events more likely.

Some studies suggest the jet stream is getting weaker as the Earth warms, while others find no such relationship.

What is clear is that polar vortex conditions can be deadly, especially in parts of the country that aren't accustomed to very cold weather.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

The average price of property insurance in the Great Plains is significantly higher than the national average, according to a report from the Treasury Department.

Consumers in the Southern Plains states paid 45% more than average between 2018 and 2022.

That's in part because of hailstorms.

Scott St.

George is a climate scientist at WTW, a risk analysis company.

Hailstorms caused an estimated $160 billion of damage to homes nationwide last year.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, storms that produce large hail are getting more likely due to climate change.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

Large parts of Jamaica and Cuba are still in ruins a week after Hurricane Melissa swept through.

Dozens of people were killed across the Caribbean.

A new analysis by the climate risk modeling firm Karen Clark & Company finds the storm caused an estimated $2.4 billion of insured damage.

That includes damage to homes, businesses, and industrial sites in Jamaica and Cuba.