The Guardian

• Atmospheric rivers – what to know about the storms inundating the Pacific north-west

  This week’s weather system dumped 5tn gallons of rain on Washington state – and another one is threatening Canada

  Just as record-level flood waters that triggered widespread evacuations begin to recede in western Washington state, residents of the Pacific north-west are bracing themselves for another strong weather system that is likely to swell rivers back to dangerous levels – again.

  An extraordinarily strong system known as an atmospheric river hit the region earlier this week, dropping more than a foot of rain and flooding rivers that stretch across the state toward Canada to dangerous levels. As a result of the nonstop rain, mudslides tore through communities, washing away homes and stranding families on rooftops as they waited for rescue.

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• Ancient lake reappears in Death Valley after record-breaking rains

  Repeated fall storms led to the temporary lake, known as Lake Manly, appearing in basin 282ft beneath sea level

  After record-breaking rains, an ancient lake in Death Valley national park that had vanished has returned to view.

  The temporary lake, known informally as Lake Manly, has appeared once more at the bottom of Badwater Basin, which sits 282ft beneath sea level, in California. The basin is the lowest point in North America, according to the National Park Service.

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• Flooding remains threat in Pacific north-west as Washington declares emergency

  Torrential rain has caused mudslides, washed out roads and submerged vehicles with more deluges expected on Sunday

  The Pacific north-west is reeling from catastrophic flooding that inundated communities across the region this week, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and prompting a federal emergency declaration.

  Torrential rain rapidly filled rivers and triggered flooding on Thursday from Oregon north through Washington state and into British Columbia, causing mudslides and tearing homes from their foundations. Authorities have closed dozens of roads in response to the emergency and issued evacuation warnings for 100,000 people.

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• Montana youth activists who won landmark climate case push for court enforcement

  In 2023, court ruled in favor of 16 plaintiffs that officials violated their constitutional right by promoting fossil fuels

  The young Montanans who scored a landmark triumph in the lawsuit Held v Montana are calling on the state’s highest court to enforce that victory.

  In a groundbreaking legal decision in August 2023, a Montana judge ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs who had accused state officials of violating their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels. The state’s supreme court affirmed the judge’s findings in late 2024. But state lawmakers have since violated her ruling, enshrining new laws this year that contradict it, argue 13 of the 16 plaintiffs in a petition filed on Wednesday.

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• A dead whale shows up on your beach. What do you do with the 40-ton carcass?

  A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan

  When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.

  There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow.

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