Kevin Schneider

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NORTHWEST - A state of emergency was declared for Washington State on Wednesday following days of heavy rain that led to historic river flooding. Thankfully, river levels have been dropping since Friday for many areas. Those rivers are expected to continue to recede through the weekend, but additional rainfall could cause rivers to rise again next week.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1999008867167125943" src="https://x.com/GovBobFerguson/status/1999008867167125943"></div>The entire Skagit River Valley (in the 100-year flood plain) was given the "GO" order to evacuate early Thursday morning. The Skagit River in Mt Vernon crested at a new record high of 37.73 feet, but thankfully began to drop on Friday afternoon. The river is now in minor to moderate flood stage with levels expected to drop farther through Sunday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 040134-1765710104229.png"><h1>Additional Rain Next Week</h1>Another atmospheric river will aim at the Northwest starting Sunday evening. Multiple rounds of heavy rain are expected but there will be a few differences compared to the last event. The bad news? River levels are already high and soils are saturated, so flooding will develop quickly. The good news is the heavy rain is not expected to be as consistent as last week's event and snow levels will drop late Tuesday into Wednesday. That means as the early-week moisture surge comes in, more precipitation will fall as snow and stick, leading to less runoff. Regardless, heavy rain and flooding are likely to present big issues, including the potential for flash flooding. A new Flood Watch has been issued for parts of Washington into Thursday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/1-1765681885130.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 062121-1765632627274.png">A brief round of moderate rainfall is expected late into Sunday, but the heavier precipitation arrives Monday into Tuesday, with additional rounds of heavy rain and snow late in the week. We won't have a lot of new snow until late Tuesday when temperatures begin to drop.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-13 06-27-41-1765632640379.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Additional rainfall is expected to top 5-8 inches for the highest elevations through Tuesday night. Excessive rainfall outlooks (flash flood potential) have been issued from Sunday through Wednesday so far.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-14 04-05-32-1765710358890.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>For more details, be sure to join us live at :50 past the hour for your Western Regional forecast.

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest  -  Heavy Rain Returns Sunday Night

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So far this winter season, the major cities along Interstate 95 haven't seen much snow! However, snow is inbound for the corridor starting tonight into Sunday! Winter Storm Warnings and Advisories have been issued for the upcoming snow.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/1-1765655081553.png">The timing of the precipitation will begin this evening as rain! Throughout the night as temperatures cool, a transition to snow will be likely and a few inches are likely! The current thinking is most of the snow will fall during overnight Sunday and lasting into the early afternoon hours! If you are traveling to some of the early NFL kickoffs Sunday, you might want to start the travel a little early as roadway conditions will be slick!<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/New Baron Video 3-1765682017812.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Our forecast calls for snow amounts between 3-6" between Philadelphia and New York City! Lower amounts of 1-3" look likely from Boston down to Richmond, VA. Some areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey have already stacked up a few inches.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 035528-1765709760845.png">With tricky travel expected Sunday morning, plan on needing some extra time to get around, especially during the first part of the day. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 035659-1765709965610.png">

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

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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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Rounds of arctic air have been funneling in from the north and those bitterly cold temperatures remain this week. There are widespread cold alerts (above) from the Northern Plains all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Temperatures across the Northern Plains through the Great Lakes Sunday will be the coldest. Temperatures will slowly rebound heading towards midweek.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034041-1765708847560.png">The dramatic difference can be seen when comparing the average high temperatures typically seen for this time of year for cities like Louisville, KY. Even New York City will be several degrees below normal.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034316-1765709001733.png">This cold air makes its way far to the south. Extreme Cold Alerts extend all the way to the Gulf Coast.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034506-1765709110861.png">Some wind chill temperatures, or "feels like", temperatures will drop down into the teens, even single digits!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034530-1765709162977.png">High temperatures for cities like Montgomery, AL don't make it past 50 degrees through Monday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034609-1765709197044.png">If you're planning to be outside in the cold, cover all exposed skin and try to minimize the time spent outside. This is especially true when dealing with wind chill values below zero.

Brutal Cold from the Plains to the Gulf Coast

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Brittany Lockley

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Unseasonably warm temperatures are continuing to dominate much of the western United States, with several cities breaking or tying daily record highs. A persistent ridge of high pressure parked over the region is allowing warmer air to sink and compress, driving temperatures well above seasonal averages from the Pacific Coast to the Rockies.&nbsp; The one exception is in the state's Central Valley, where locked-in fog has kept temperatures chilly and skies gray. More on that in a minute...<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-11 162825-1765495734843.png">In parts of California, the Southwest, and the Intermountain West, afternoon highs have surged into the 70s and 80s. Temperatures are more typical of late spring than winter. Cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City have reported temperatures 15 to 25 degrees above normal, with some locations challenging long-standing records dating back decades.&nbsp;<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 041422-1765710873775.png">The warmth is also impacting higher elevations. Mountain communities across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are seeing milder daytime temperatures, accelerating snowmelt, and reducing snowpack at lower elevations, while ski resorts at higher altitudes remain largely unaffected for now. Hydrologists are monitoring conditions, as early melt can influence water availability later in the year.&nbsp;<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 041518-1765710924530.png">High temperature records up and down the western third of the country could fall through the weekend and the first half of next week. The upper-level ridge is forecast to stubbornly remain. This stretch of warmth is expected to persist into the near term, though temperatures may gradually trend closer to normal as the ridge weakens. Until then, residents are encouraged to remain mindful of fire&nbsp;weather concerns.<h1>Tule Fog</h1>You may have noticed the persistent fog in the Central Valley, or even the much colder temperatures compared to the rest of the state. This fog is known as Tule (TOO-lee) Fog, and is somewhat common in the winter months. It's a radiational fog that occurs overnight, gets locked into the Central Valley (sometimes the Bay Area), and is beneficial to California's agricultural industry. However, with high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere not going anywhere lately, the Tule Fog has been incredibly persistent.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-12 170158-1765584125255.png">The fog is making a huge difference in temperatures! Fresno has sitting under gray skies and a temperature of 48°. At the same time, over the Grapevine and into the valleys, temperatures were pushing into the upper 70s with blue skies.

Record Warmth Out West, Except for California's Central Valley

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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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<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GtdF4xLBGXc" start="0"></iframe></div>As 2025 comes to an end, many people are expected to travel for the holiday season. AAA expects an increase in travelers compared to last year, 2024. The forecast calls for 119.7 million travelers, which is a 2.2% increase from 2024.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151722-1765405796099.png">Traveling by car is the favorite for the holidays. AAA notes gas prices, on average, are also down in comparison to 2024.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151733-1765406300348.png">Air travel is also up since 2024 by 2.3%. AAA expects 8.03 million people to be traveling to their destinations for the holidays via airplane. This will be the first time air travel for the year end holiday will exceed 8 million.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151738-1765406099314.png">All other travel has also gone up by 9% since last year. This includes cruises, bus travel, and travel by train.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151743-1765406410699.png">The top 10 destinations domestically are as follows:<ol><li>Orlando, FL</li><li>Fort Lauderdale, FL</li><li>Miami, FL</li><li>Anaheim/Los Angeles, CA</li><li>Honolulu, HI</li><li>Tampa, FL</li><li>New York City, NY</li><li>Maui, HI</li><li>Dallas/Fort Worth, TX</li><li>Las Vegas, NV</li></ol>For those major destinations, below are the busiest travel times.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151754-1765406540451.png">More more information on the AAA travel forecast, including details on best and worst travel times: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/12/aaa-year-end-holiday-travel-forecast/">Year-End Holiday Travel Expected to Set New Record</a>.

Brutal Cold from the Plains to the Gulf Coast

Record Warmth Out West, Except for California's Central Valley

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest - Heavy Rain Returns Sunday Night

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

Brutal Cold from the Plains to the Gulf Coast

Record Warmth Out West, Except for California's Central Valley

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest - Heavy Rain Returns Sunday Night

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

Brutal Cold from the Plains to the Gulf Coast

Record Warmth Out West, Except for California's Central Valley

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records