Kevin Schneider

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A slow-moving frontal boundary that brought numerous days of severe weather to the Plains, has hit a snag down south. This front has stalled out, which will provide the focus for storm chances over the next few days. With multiple rounds of storms on the way, flooding is a growing concern. Some areas of Texas have already seen 3-4 inches of rain!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 043144-1779273210458.png"><h1>FORECAST</h1>Going forward, the heaviest of the rainfall will target the lower Mississippi River Valley, into the Midwest. Some areas will pick up 3-5 more inches with some localized areas surpassing that easily. If you live in a flood-prone area of the southern plains into the Ohio River Valley, be prepared to seek higher ground.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 183732-1779323888225.png">With rounds of heavy rain expected over the next several days, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has issued Marginal to Slight chances for Excessive Rainfall into the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/pic5-1779362383380.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/pic4-1779362505604.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/pic3-1779362589618.png">You can see that some areas, especially the Texas Gulf Coast, will have multiple days in a row of excessive rain. Flooding is likely with this forecast, and flood emergencies can't be ruled out for travelers. Use caution if you are travelling in these hard-hit areas today.A good reminder to avoid driving through flooded roadways at all costs. You never know what's under that water.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-19 053417-1779190502548.png">

Patrick Crawford

Repeated Rain Raises the Flood Threat Down South

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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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ROCKIES - Through Thursday, an upper-level low and a cold front will move into the Rocky Mountains, bringing cooler air and chances for thunderstorms and even snow across the region.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/set up surface-1779309142943.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Winter weather alerts have been issued for portions of Montana and Wyoming in the higher elevations. Heavy snow is expected on north-facing slopes above 7,000 feet, where snowfall totals of 8–13 inches are possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 142621-1779309055977.png">Showers and snow showers will continue in the northern Rockies throughout the day Thursday, with most of the precipitation expected to end late Thursday into early Friday.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-21 05-47-09-1779364101067.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>In addition to the snowy conditions, temperatures ahead of the system will remain warm enough to support instability and thunderstorms. Portions of the Plains are under a risk for severe thunderstorms as this cooler air mass collides with the warmer air ahead of the front. A SLIGHT (Level 2 out of 5) risk for severe thunderstorms is forecast for Colorado and surrounding states on Thursday. Wind and hail are expected to be the primary hazards, but a tornado or two will be possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-21 054531-1779363944968.png">As the front moves in and provides additional forcing, stronger storms will become possible through the afternoon and evening.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-21 05-47-29-1779364155273.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Rainfall totals are not expected to be nearly as high as they were earlier this week, but some minor disruptions to outdoor plans during the holiday long weekend are still possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 142647-1779309551933.png">Be sure to join us on WeatherNation for the latest!

Rockies Brace for Snow, Severe Storms as Cold Front Moves In

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Taban Sharifi grew up in Southern California between Los Angeles and San Diego. She is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) with the American Meteorological Society (AMS). She has a B.S. in Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Environmental Systems and Society from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Go Bruins! While in school, Taban was a meteorology intern with NBC LA. There she helped forecast daily weather for the greater Los Angeles region and created a playbook to deploy weather sensors for NBC owned-and-operated stations across the country. Her first on-air job took her to San Angelo, Texas, where she was a morning meteorologist and co-anchor. Working in West Texas gave her knowledge and experience covering severe storms. From there, she moved to Palm Springs, California. People think forecasting in California is sunshine all the time, but with temperatures in the 120’s, wildfires, damaging winds, floodings, and earthquakes, the forecasting kept her very busy! She also worked there as a general assignment reporter and told community stories. Taban is excited for the challenge and opportunity to forecast nationally with WeatherNation. She also looks forward to exploring all that Colorado has to offer!

Taban Sharifi

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SIMI VALLEY, CA - On Monday, May 18th in Ventura County, California, a new wildfire formed named the Sandy Fire. It has since burned over 2100 acres and grew quickly, threatening life and property. This prompted evacuation orders and warnings to the area.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 175811-1779321590665.png">Footage in the region shows the extent of the smoke and poor air quality.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2056736634754809931" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2056736634754809931"></div>Additional fires have since quickly formed in southern California, despite no red flag warnings or fire weather outlook. The winds managed to be strong enough for fires to quickly get out of control in the areas. The Bain Fire in Riverside started to burn heavy fuels at a moderate rate before quickly burning up to almost 1000 acres. This prompted evacuation orders and warnings for many Riverside Zones.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 175901-1779321716156.png">The Bain Fire is burning in Riverside County, CA. This fire began on Tuesday, May 19, and quickly spread to over 1,400 acres. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 175716-1779321727729.png">Another fire we are watching is one that possibly started from a shipwrecked sailor off the coast of California. This is the Santa Rosa Island Fire which is over 16,000 acres. Not many people reside on this island but there are species on the island that are threatened by the fire. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 082822-1779309506622.png">Due to the extent of several wildfires burning in southern California, air quality has worsened in the area, and air quality alerts have been issued for the Greater Los Angeles area.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 180225-1779321752404.png">For more on these, be sure to join us at WeatherNation at :50 past the hour.

Alana Cameron

CALIFORNIA: Wildfires Prompt Evacuations

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We've had quite the active stretch to start this workweek off. For the breakdown of what went on, give this a read<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/severe-storms-leave-trail-of-destruction-on-the-plains">https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/severe-storms-leave-trail-of-destruction-on-the-plains</a><h1>NORTHEAST</h1>A cold front is pushing into the northeast, bringing record hot temperatures. That combination is expected to lead to strong-to-severe storms on Wednesday afternoon. The biggest threat will be damaging winds and large hail as storms move through this evening.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/northeast pu-1779303042334.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>TEXAS</h1>The tail end of the front is dragging into the Lone Star State as well. That will provide enough of a focus for more storms, but down here, they could lead to a tornado or two.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 095609-1779292861700.png"><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/moving aehad-1779303187914.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Intense downpours could lead to some localized flooding, especially in Texas. Some areas could pick up 2-3 inches of rain as storms push through.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 100148-1779292937347.png">

Severe Storms Stick Around Midweek

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Brittany Lockley

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A big warmup is taking hold across the eastern United States, bringing temperatures that will feel more like midsummer than mid-May. Much of the East Coast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast saw temperatures surge into record-breaking territory as a strong area of high pressure settled over the region.&nbsp;Numerous records were broken on Tuesday afternoon, including Newark, NJ, which hit a high of 99 degrees. The NE can see one more day of record warmth before temperatures cool off.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/NORTHEAST HIGHS-1779242730674.png">RELATED: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/severe-storms-possible-in-the-plains-midwest-to-end-the-week">Severe Chances on the Plains</a>High temperatures are forecast to climb into the 80s across many areas, while some cities could approach or even reach 90 degrees for the first time this year in the Northeast. The normal average for New York City this time of year is 72°, but the forecast high is expected to be 85° on Wednesday. Temperatures will dip back down to the 60s on Thursday, once a front passes.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 030656-1779268041186.png">On Wednesday, more records will be broken with some locations up to 20 to 30 degrees warmer than what is typical for this time of year.&nbsp;This has prompted heat advisories through Wednesday afternoon. Major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor, including Philadelphia and New York City, will come close to daily temperature records if the heat intensifies enough. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 031314-1779268412172.png">Additional records are likely to fall through mid-week across the East before our central U.S. cold front draws in cooler air and stormy weather.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 032043-1779268878961.png">Despite the urge, stay out of the waters in the area. Many bodies of water are barely above freezing, which could shock the system into paralysis if you jump in<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-18 104353-1779122640973.png">The unusually warm pattern will come to an end after our front passes through on Thursday. By the end of the week, many spots will be closer to seasonal norms in the 70's<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-20 031551-1779268564533.png">

CALIFORNIA: Wildfires Prompt Evacuations

Severe Storms Stick Around Midweek

One More Day of Blistering Temperatures

Repeated Rain Raises the Flood Threat Down South

Rockies Brace for Snow, Severe Storms as Cold Front Moves In

CALIFORNIA: Wildfires Prompt Evacuations

Severe Storms Stick Around Midweek

One More Day of Blistering Temperatures

Repeated Rain Raises the Flood Threat Down South

Rockies Brace for Snow, Severe Storms as Cold Front Moves In

CALIFORNIA: Wildfires Prompt Evacuations

Severe Storms Stick Around Midweek

One More Day of Blistering Temperatures