WEBVTT

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- [Angely] Texas was
slammed by a winter freeze

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at the tail end of this January.

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A lot of the state was
under an ice storm warning

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according to the National Weather service.

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Parts of Arkansas,
Tennessee, and Mississippi

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were under a warning too.

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The storm brought freezing rain and sleet.

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This caused trees to freeze.

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The ice also damaged power
lines across the state

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and it knocked out electricity

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for hundreds of thousands of customers.

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As of Thursday, February 2nd,

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there were more than 400,000 customers

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without power across a
lot of Central Texas.

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Over 1,000 flights
nationwide were canceled too

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because of the icy weather.

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And as of Thursday
afternoon, at least 10 deaths

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have been connected to the storm.

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You might ask yourself,

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what does winter weather have
to do with climate change?

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The answer is a little bit complicated

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because one individual winter freeze

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isn't directly connected
to the climate crisis.

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The cold front was
caused by a polar vortex.

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These vortexes are usually
air circulation patterns

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that keeps cold air further
north, like toward the Arctic.

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But when this breaks down,
that air travels south.

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Climate change makes those disruptions

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more likely to happen and
researchers have pointed out

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that this is why places like Texas

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and the American South have
been hit by winter freezes.

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Thanks for watching "Extreme Earth."

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We're sorry that we have
to constantly remind you

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about all of this.