WeatherNation Meteorologists

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Tropical Storm Dolly formed in the Atlantic on Thursday. Former Invest 96-L was able to create a clearly defined center of circulation Thursday morning with robust convection. It will likely stay around tropical storm strength for much of its life cycle, or even weaker. Though the waters of the Atlantic are warm, there is a considerable amount of shear working against Dolly's strengthening. It will likely move through the Northern Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/pic4-1787866040898.png">Puerto Rico has seen dire drought conditions and is in desperate need of rain. Hopefully, we can see some decent rainfall out of Dolly for them, without the strong, damaging winds. Still, with dry ground and hilly terrain, flash flooding will be a threat. Interests in the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico should stay updated on the forecast in the coming days.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-28 063657-1787920639757.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-28 063703-1787920652176.png">El Niño has been smothering tropical waves in the Atlantic this summer, with four named storms to date but only 12% of average cyclone energy! This doesn't mean the rest of the season will be just as quiet, however, as 66% of all hurricane activity in the Atlantic occurs between August 20th and October 10th. The climatological peak of Atlantic Hurricane Season is September 10.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-27 090839-1787843332378.png">

Rob Bradley

Dolly Heading Toward the Northeast Caribbean

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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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High pressure has returned to the Southwest. Extreme Heat Warnings (in pink) have been issued for cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, and Yuma. Heat Advisories (in orange) have been issued across the Inland Empire of California.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-26 192300-1787793786105.png">We started the week with plenty of triple digits across the Southwest; even Los Angeles is expected to see triple digits over the next few days! Most of the Southwest, which is normally hot, will have many cities running above average. We could see a drop in high temperatures by early next week, but forecast models are hinting at some more heat that could try to build again next week.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 4-1787873847900.png">There are Red Flag Warnings in place for parts of Southern California, so the fire risk will continue for areas of the west.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 3-1787874042866.png">Stay tuned to WeatherNation for the latest.

Extreme Heat In Los Angeles and the Southwest

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Kevin Schneider

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Thursday afternoon, two areas of investigation in the Eastern Pacific were determined strong enough and organized enough to be named. Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell are now being tracked as they slowly track west and northwest through the weekend. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-27 150231-1787864588449.png">With unseasonably warm ocean waters in the EPAC, both of these storms will likely become hurricanes on Friday. We'll have to watch how close they get to one another to see if they have any impact. Good news is, they are expected to stay away from land for the short term. We will keep an eye on Hawaii later next week to see if any additional rainfall heads their way. Click here for more on what is happening in the Atlantic Basin:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/atlantic-tropics-watching-several-areas-strong-tropical-wave-next-week"> Atlantic Tropics.</a>

NEW: Karina & Lowell Named in the Eastern Pacific

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During El Nino, temperatures across the Eastern Pacific Ocean become warmer, or above normal. For the hurricane season, this means an increase in tropical activity across the Eastern Pacific.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-26 160007-1787781615977.png">These warmer sea surface temperatures also mean an increase in shark activity for Southern California beaches. Meteorologist Taban Sharifi spoke to Dr. Christopher Lowe, professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach on how El Nino brings changes to marine life along the coast.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1FcXy4BQcgA" start="0"></iframe></div>As the waters continue to warm through the Fall, Dr. Lowe talked about the changing species that will be seen across the Southern California waters that are not typically there. This includes hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, and even manta rays. This also includes white sharks. The water farther south will get too warm for the white sharks, that are normally off the Baha of California, and they will begin to push north. Dr. Lowe said, "It's going to push those juvenile white sharks that are normally in Mexico into Southern California waters." This is something they have already started to see happen during July and August of this year, and the numbers of these sharks are increasing. Dr. Lowe said the sharks could reach as far north as Santa Cruz, CA.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-26 155905-1787784580682.png">There's a sweet spot for water temperatures for these sharks that sits between 64°-72°. Above 82° is when sharks begin to move north. Currently, water temperatures in the Eastern Pacific are significantly warmer than that 82° threshold.A message to beach goers: "Believe it or not, having all those white sharks off that beach might actually keep people safer. Because they are eating sting rays, there are fewer sting rays that might hurt people," said Dr. Lowe.Watch the full interview for more on how close these sharks get to the coastline and how scientists track their behavior.

El Nino Pushes Sharks into Southern California Beaches

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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" src="https://x.com/weathernation"></div><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2093066020558872742" src="https://x.com/weathernation/status/2093066020558872742?s=46"></div>Strong storms and flash flooding have plagued the I-95 corridor Thursday afternoon. As a front moves through, expect more storms during the evening. All modes of severe weather are possible, but damaging winds and tornadoes are the primary threat. While things are likely to lighten up a bit overnight, another area of low pressure will trace the coast Friday. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-27 085120-1787842388650.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-27 085138-1787843178007.png">Isolated spin-ups can't be ruled out in the I-95 corridor. The green shaded area above shows that the tornado threat is not huge, but not zero. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/nebams-1787862736614.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>What's of some concern is the fact that rain started early and is slow to back off in the evening. And it looks like it will be coming down at a decent clip, too. Some areas could pick up more than 3-4 inches of rain, more than enough to lead to flooding by the evening commute.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-26 095257-1787759591325.jpg">We will have more updates on this risk all day on Thursday, so make sure to tune in to WeatherNation for the latest on Thursday's severe storm threat.

NEW: Karina & Lowell Named in the Eastern Pacific

El Nino Pushes Sharks into Southern California Beaches

Front Brings Severe Weather & Flood Threat to the I-95 Corridor

Dolly Heading Toward the Northeast Caribbean

Extreme Heat In Los Angeles and the Southwest

NEW: Karina & Lowell Named in the Eastern Pacific

El Nino Pushes Sharks into Southern California Beaches

Front Brings Severe Weather & Flood Threat to the I-95 Corridor

Dolly Heading Toward the Northeast Caribbean

Extreme Heat In Los Angeles and the Southwest

NEW: Karina & Lowell Named in the Eastern Pacific

El Nino Pushes Sharks into Southern California Beaches

Front Brings Severe Weather & Flood Threat to the I-95 Corridor