Rob grew up in South Florida, where daily afternoon storms and hurricanes piqued his interest in meteorology early on. That interest was fostered by his teachers and his father, who one time brought him onto the roof of their home to watch a funnel cloud move through the Everglades several miles away. Years of filmmaking and tv production in high school gradually pushed him toward broadcast meteorology at Florida State University, where he joined and eventually led the student run daily weather show. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology, he began his career at KESQ in Palm Springs, California before heading to KFSN in Fresno and WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina. He has covered a diverse array of extreme weather events, including haboobs and flash flooding in the desert, extreme snow in the Sierra, hurricanes, and Appalachian ice storms. He also enjoys telling stories and reporting about weather issues.

Connect with Rob on <a href="https://twitter.com/WxRobBradley">Twitter</a>

Rob Bradley

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The Aurora Borealis put on an incredible display Friday night into Saturday morning, reaching extreme conditions that brought photographical aurora as far south as the Florida Keys.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789135845993185601" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1789135845993185601"></div><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789131514615054564" src="https://twitter.com/MikeTheiss/status/1789131514615054564"></div><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789271740687818961" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1789271740687818961"></div>NOAA's satellite captured the moment of a Coronal Mass Ejection on the sun on Wednesday, May 8th which was responsible for the geomagnetic storm on Earth.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/VO_060924_GOES 16 SATELLITE_ERUPTION FROM THE SUN CAPTURED THIS AFTERNOON_NOAA_MS_E050924-1715295549293.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Auroras are ribbons of brilliant light that usually appear around the northern latitudes when charged particles from the sun hit Earth's magnetic field. The particles shed energy as they collide with our atmospheric gasses, giving the aurora a spectacular glow of colors. Aurora Borealis is seen away from our poles and over the northern latitudes during stronger solar events, like on Friday night. A geomagnetic storm of level 5 (the scale continues to 5) was observed on Friday evening. The last time a G5 was observed in October 2003, which caused some power outages across the globe.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789460269036372270" src="https://twitter.com/NWSSWPC/status/1789460269036372270"></div><h1>Saturday Night</h1>Since the sun launched multiple CMEs at the earth, this energy is expected to continue to create impacts through the weekend. As of Saturday afternoon, severe to extreme (G4- G5) geomagnetic storm conditions are expected to persist into Saturday night, creating another opportunity to observe the aurora for the Mid and Northern Latitudes.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-11 160925-1715465385384.png">Clouds could cause a few visibility issues for some areas of the country Saturday night, especially in the Northeast and Upper-Midwest.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/1-1715458603045.png"><h1>Understanding Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)</h1>While the geomagnetic storms provide the opportunity to see the aurora at lower latitudes there are major drawbacks, "[they] can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio, and satellite operations" according to NOAA. They are a result of multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that have been released from the sun starting on Wednesday, May 8th, and will arrive in Earth's magnetic field through the weekend. According to the SWPC, "CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. They cause geomagnetic storms when they are directed at Earth. The typical time it takes for a CME to arrive on Earth is between one and three days.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/space weather scale-1715295005040.jpg">According to NOAA, "a large sunspot cluster has produced several moderate to strong solar flares since Wednesday at 5:00 am ET. At least five flares were associated with CMEs that appear to be Earth-directed." Solar flares travel faster and arrive on Earth at the speed of light, about 8 minutes.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/CMEs-1715295005042.jpg">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on the Aurora forecast and images of the spectacular lights.

Jesse Kelley

Strongest Geomagnetic Storm Since 2003! Aurora Possible Through the Weekend

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Meteorologist Jesse Kelley is excited to join the talented staff at Weather Nation. Jesse spent most of his childhood in Birmingham, Alabama. The state of Alabama is prone to seeing various types of weather from severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and winter weather. For college, Jesse attended the University of South Alabama where he received his degree in Broadcast Meteorology along with minors in Math and Geography. From Alabama, Jesse started his broadcast television working three years at KAVU-TV in Victoria. Recently, he finished a stint in Shreveport, LA. Jesse and his wife are looking forward to making the Rocky Mountains and Colorado home. If you would like to follow me, you can follow me on Twitter @JesseKelleywx and on Facebook at Meteorologist Jesse Kelley.

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This upcoming weekend is expected to be wet and cool in the Northeast due to the arrival of clipper systems that will move through the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. The available moisture is sufficient to cause a few rain showers and cloud cover, which will keep temperatures on the cooler side Saturday's clipper system did produce some severe weather in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania including a few reports of tornadoes.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789453948316770630" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1789453948316770630"></div>On Mother's Day, our next clipper system will arrive moving over the same region of the Great Lakes and Northeast. There is a Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms in Michigan and Wisconsin for gusty winds and possibly some large hail. On Monday, the system moves into the Northeast. Just like the first round, we aren't expecting a whole lot of heavy rain but some isolated pockets could be possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/1-1715484108612.png"><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Baron 2-1715484281855.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>

Weekend Forecast: Feeling Like March in the Great Lakes, Northeast

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The past week was incredibly active for severe weather across many areas of the country, including Texas where a 6.25" hail stone fell, which nearly beat the state record (6.42" in 2021)!<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1788909352482726229" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1788909352482726229"></div>Another storm system will push in from the west, keeping the stormy pattern through Mother's Day.RELATED ARTICLE: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/hurricane-force-winds-possible-for-georgia-alabama">Early Morning Tornado Warned Storms Damage Florida's Panhandle</a><h2>WEEKEND SEVERE OUTLOOK</h2>A cut-off low in the jet stream will finally eject east out of the Four Corners states and through the southern Plains this weekend. The Big Bend region will see isolated storms on Saturday, but the threat will become more widespread as Gulf of Mexico moisture enters the picture for Sunday and Monday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-11 074506-1715435338175.png">Southerly return flow will build moisture and energy into central and east Texas into Mother's Day. Leftover storms from Saturday will push east across Texas, limiting the amount of energy available for stronger afternoon storms. A dry line (boundary between dry air to the west and Gulf moisture to the east) will build and be available to spark storms for the afternoon. Storm Prediction has placed a Slight Risk over East Texas and Central Louisiana for the threat of large hail and gusty winds. On Monday, the threat level increases to level 2, including a region of significant severe weather for large/giant hail (above).<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Baron 2-1715483706036.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>These additional storms are plaguing an already saturated landscape. The areas shaded in blue in the map below highlight places that have seen 3 times the normal amount of precipitation in the past 30 days! There aren't many spots for the additional rainfall to go, other than swollen waterways.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 083037-1715351450021.png">2-4" of rainfall will be possible in parts of Texas and Louisiana through Sunday, before the system moves to the Gulf Coast states.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/1-1715459022159.png">

More Severe Storms for Texas Into Mother's Day

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Karissa is the Director of On-Air Operations at WeatherNation. Karissa grew up loving math and science, but really fell in love with Meteorology while attending the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. After two summers of storm chasing in the central plains, she knew that it was the career path for her. Standing in front of a thunderstorm and feeling the cool outflow knock her over was an experience she will never forget. After two years at COD, she transferred to Metropolitan State University of Denver. Karissa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology. Her high school and college speech and meteorology professors were extremely supportive and pushed her to succeed. Before joining the WeatherNation team, she previously worked as the Morning Meteorologist at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa and at WMBD-TV in Peoria, IL. She recently was part of a National Edward R. Murrow award winning team for breaking news for their coverage of the EF-4 tornado in Washington, Illinois. In her free time, Karissa enjoys cooking and trying new foods. She is a self proclaimed 'TV Junkie' who can get into just about any show. She is a die hard Chicago sports fan who loves attending professional sporting events.

Karissa Klos

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Temperatures have hit the 90 degree mark in the Pacific Northwest as a ridge of high pressure dominates the pattern through the weekend! There is a low-pressure system that works to keep the 4 Corners cool and cloudy, but eventually, the pattern spills east, bringing a warmup to much of the West Coast. Saturday, one record high fell in Oregon and that belonged to the city of Roseburg coming in at 91 degrees.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/20-1715465594051.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Enjoy this warmth while we have it - temperatures start to dip into early this upcoming week along the Coastline. Meanwhile, our warmest days in the northern Rockies will be Sunday into Monday as we see increasing sunshine and warmth thanks to the area of high pressure.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-11 161331-1715465650319.png">It's not just the northern Rockies that will see a warmup, temperatures in Colorado and New Mexico and Utah will climb through the weekend. The warmth arrives a bit sooner for those in So-Cal, Nevada, and Phoenix with the mercury climbing towards 100°!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-11 161402-1715465657287.png">With the incoming warmth, we expect snowmelt to occur this weekend, which could stress local rivers, creeks, and streams. Be prepared for high, swift-running water, and stay away from strong currents. Water temperatures will be cold too- hypothermia can set in quickly.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 094209-1715355752590.png">Stay with WeatherNation for more on the Spring Heat across the West Coast.

Temperatures Gradually Lower in the Northwest

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Caitlin Connell

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Preliminary data from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) suggests that April 2024 was the second-highest tornado count on record. This surpasses the average number of April tornadoes which stands at 182 touchdowns across the country for the month. The year 2011 holds the record of 757 tornadoes in April alone, and I am not the only one who is thankful we didn't see nearly that many.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/April Tor Comp-1714921143566.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>While many of these tornadic storms across the Great Plains may have been photogenic, they are responsible for excessive damage strewn across states like Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas.On average, Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas see the most tornadoes in April. Last month hit Nebraska and Iowa hard, which is not the norm this time of year.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-02-25 110543-1714921317847.jpg">May is known to bring the most tornadoes we see each year. Considering how active April was, it will be interesting to see how the upcoming month turns out. Monday already has a moderate risk (level 4 out of 5) issued for parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/severe-weather-outbreak-likely-monday">Click here</a> for more info on Monday's likely outbreak.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-02-26 113946-1714921861310.jpg">Keep your eye on the sky and don't let severe weather fatigue get the best of you. We can't stress enough to continue to take weather alerts seriously and try your best to prepare ahead of time.

Steve Glazier

April Brought 300 Tornadoes, Second-Most On Record

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Summer of 1993, New England Dragway. That's when and where Steve knew he wanted to become a meteorologist. More than 20 years later he is extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to live his childhood dream. As a lover of math and science, Steve had a consistent interest in weather in elementary, middle, and high school before discovering you can major in meteorology. He attended Lyndon State College in Vermont where he received a bachelor's in meteorology-broadcasting and associate's in television news. He has worked as a meteorologist and reporter in Winchester, VA, Burlington, VT, and most recently in West Palm Beach, FL. He's recognized by the American Meteorological Society with the Certification of Broadcast Meteorologists.

Steven Glazier

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Following Friday morning's severe weather across northern Florida, newly-summarized data is coming in and it paints the picture of how busy the hazardous weather has been the past couple of weeks. According to the Storm Prediction Center, from late April to early May this year there were more than 3,000 severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service. The 16-day span is estimated to have been the busiest stretch of weather since 2019!<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1789030078724338077" src="https://twitter.com/NWSSPC/status/1789030078724338077"></div>A destructive severe thunderstorm warning was issued Friday morning across northern Florida, meaning winds in excess of 80 miles per hour could have been possible, as a line of heavy weather pushed toward Jacksonville. "Destructive" severe thunderstorm warnings are a fairly new designation and are reserved for thunderstorms that carry a potential of 80 mph winds, 2.5" thick hail, or both! In this case, it was all about the straight-line wind damage potential on Friday morning.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 074219-1715348545833.png">Blue dots cover the map in the image above, right along the Interstate 10 corridor in northern Florida from Pensacola to Jacksonville. Each of those blue dots indicate either a noteworthy strong wind gust or damage to trees, power lines, or property. An 84 mph wind gust was recorded in Crestview, FL!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 074854-1715348986221.png">In addition, there was an indicator of tornadic wind damage in the Tallahassee, FL area. However until storm surveys are completed, this will be classified as straight-line wind damage until determined to be a tornado. For the rest of the night, a few isolated severe thunderstorms could be possible in parts of Florida as the cold front keeps pushing southward! <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/1-1715393781465.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Stay with us here at WeatherNation as we update you on this top weather story today.

Busiest Stretch of Severe Weather in Four Years

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The snow has been falling in the Northwest all week with over 2 feet in Wyoming and Montana.<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1261262411517962" data-width="500" src="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1261262411517962" style="display: flex; justify-content: center"></div> Colorado joined the fun Thursday night into Friday as some mountain areas recorded 18" of snow overnight!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 162546-1715379954003.png">More snow is expected Friday as the cut-off low continues to slowly drift through the Southwest. This low will not only create additional snow showers in Colorado, but scattered showers and thunderstorms stretching to the eastern Sierra in California! These showers and storms are expected again Saturday afternoon, slightly farther east as the low drifts in that direction. The low finally moves east of the Rockies Sunday, but will still pull in enough moisture to create additional showers and storms around Colorado and New Mexico.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/17-1715380014798.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Additional snow and rain totals could still top 6-12 inches on Colorado's highest peaks! I-70 will likely still have wintry impacts at times through the weekend. Rainfall could be impressive in between I-70 and I-40 too - with over 1-3 inches for some areas!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot 2024-05-10 162646-1715380027892.png">If it feels like snow is falling late into the season, you may be surprised to know that the season's last snow for many West Coast communities lingers into May and for the highest elevations, even into June!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/est avg snowfall-1714510694011.jpg">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on the western forecast this week, or get your Western regional forecast at 50 past every hour!

Snow Falls in the West, Impacts to Colorado

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The parade of storm systems continues into the Pacific Northwest with more rain and snow ahead for the region. Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect for most of the Cascades, with Winter Weather Advisories eastward into Idaho. 1 to 2 feet of snowfall accumulation is likely this weekend in the mountains, with several inches of rain possible along the coast.

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Another low pressure center will approach from the Pacific Ocean tonight, bringing in the next wave of moisture to the region. The system will slowly move eastward, spreading precipitation across the Continental Divide and into Montana Saturday. Another low will move into the area later Sunday, bringing more rain and snow.

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For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Mace Michaels

Soggy and Snowy Weekend Ahead in the Pacific Northwest

Strongest Geomagnetic Storm Since 2003! Aurora Possible Through the Weekend

The Aurora Borealis put on an incredible disp

Weekend Forecast: Feeling Like March in the Great Lakes, Northeast

This upcoming weekend is expected to be wet a

More Severe Storms for Texas Into Mother's Day

The past week was incredibly active for sever

Temperatures Gradually Lower in the Northwest

Temperatures have hit the 90 degree mark in t

April Brought 300 Tornadoes, Second-Most On Record

Preliminary data from the Storm Prediction Ce

Busiest Stretch of Severe Weather in Four Years

Following Friday morning's severe weather acr

Snow Falls in the West, Impacts to Colorado

The snow has been falling in the Northwest al