sparked rage. at school board meetings. let the parents make the decisions. let the kids breathe. reporter: as classrooms returned cautiously to in-person learning. i would rather wear it because i don t want to get covid. reporter: our variablies expanded to include new terms. breakthrough cases. boosters. and by year s end, omicron. as the pandemic raged, so did nature s fury. swears huddled under all the blankets that we have. reporter: in february, a deadly ice storm paralyzed texas, leaving millions without power. wildfires continued to ravage the west with hurricane ida carving a path of destruction that stretched from louisiana to new york. and this month, more than a hundred were killed by a series of rare december tornadoes in kentucky and surrounding states.