Weather.com - Chris Dolce and Jon Erdman, 5/03/13

Winter Storm Achilles is an historic, record-breaking May snowstorm for the Midwest. 

We have a look at 10 of the most amazing aspects of this storm ranging from extreme temperatures to where we've seen record snowfall. We begin with a city that went from feeling summer heat to shivering like it was the heart of winter.

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Weather.com - 5/01/13, AP

BANNING, Calif. -- Southern California fire officials say a fast-moving wildfire has whipped through about 200 acres of Riverside County near Banning, where winds are blowing at 29 mph.

County fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann says at least 425 firefighters are working to gain control of the fire that broke out at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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Weather.com - 4/29/13, Chris Dolce

From record-breaking snow, cold and rainfall to a tornado extreme that may surprise you, April 2013 has been packed full of wild weather. Let's begin our exploration of these extremes starting with where snowfall has broken records thanks to four named winter storms this month, Walda, Xerxes, Yogi and Zeus.

Rapid City, S.D. - April 2013 is the snowiest month on record with 39.5 inches. This beats the previous April and all-time monthly snow record of 38.5 inches set in April 1927.

Weather.com - Sean Breslin, 4/27/13

Flooding became a major, life-threatening concern on Saturday night after inches of rain fell in the Houston, Texas area. According to The Weather Channel's Severe Weather Expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, rainfall totals of more than a half-foot were reported, including one report of 7.24 inches in Sugar Land-Meadows Place.

A spokesperson with the Houston Fire Department confirmed that at least 17 water rescues were ongoing late Saturday evening, and to this point, no injuries or deaths have been reported.

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Weather.com - Terrell Johnson, 4/25/13

David Milarch - Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

"There were lots of light beings and what I call angels," he added. "I was told, you can’t stay. You have to go back. We have work for you to do. And boy – they weren’t kidding!"

Soon after, this son of a northern Michigan tree farmer founded what would become the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit that seeks to replicate the genetic material of the world's biggest and oldest trees (the ones Milarch calls "champion trees") and replant them anew, all around the world.

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