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 as we wrap up the weekend, but additional rainfall could cause rivers to rise again into the work 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 flood stage, but with additional rain this week it could reach major flood stage again by Tuesday night.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 181518-1765761365511.png"><h1>Additional Rain</h1>Another atmospheric river will aim at the Northwest overnight and into Monday. 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 through Thursday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 181632-1765761404364.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 181919-1765761610083.png">A brief round of moderate rainfall is expected overnight, 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/2025/12/12-14_west bams-1765761623146.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/2025/12/12-14 west eros-1765761668730.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.

Alana Cameron

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest  -  Heavy Rain Returns

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Originally born in Spokane, Washington,  Jackie's Dad was in the Air Force which led her to a life of travel. She has lived in Wichita, Okinawa, Japan, Baltimore, New Jersey, Indiana and South Carolina.  After graduating from Kadena High School, in Okinawa Japan, she got a full basketball scholarship to Coppin State College. On the court she was a 4-year starter and reached over 1000 points in her basketball career. She was also named Athlete of the Year for the whole university in 2002. Off the court, she earned a degree in Broadcast Production/English.

After college, she landed a job as a radio personality. Jackie went on to have a successful career for 12 years working at KXLY broadcast center. While on the radio, she decided to change career. Jackie went back to school, graduating from the Mississippi State Meteorology Broadcast Program. From snow, to tornadoes, to hurricanes, she has had experience forecasting all these events.

Jackie Brown

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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. An area of high pressure is keeping the jet stream north, which is helping to lock in the warm air! Another round of records was broken today—Phoenix &amp; Tucson, AZ both broke records. Tucson saw a high of 83°, and Phoenix saw a high of 82°, which beat out the old record of 78° in 2010. The record warmth will remain in place through this week. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/southwest record highs -1765761184247.png">The warm temperatures are sticking around, bringing a spring-like feel to cities across the southwest. Denver and Albuquerque normally see highs in the 40s, but will be digging into the 60s! Los Angeles has an average high of 66 ° and will see high temperatures in the low 80s this week! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/recprd jogjs-1765761174708.png">Here's a look at who can break records this week: <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/reocrd highss-1765761716176.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;As we look at the temperature trend for December 20th - 24th, a large portion of the country has a high confidence level that temperatures will be well above average. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/decem-1765761297885.png">Make sure to tune into WeatherNation :50 past the hour, every hour for your Western regional forecast.

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

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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.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 115714-1765738641517.png">As we look ahead, temperatures will slowly rebound heading towards midweek.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 115901-1765738749952.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. 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/WIND CHILL-1765743926176.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/FKDSSSS-1765759545765.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 Settling In

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So far this winter season, the major cities along Interstate 95 haven't seen much snow! Some areas of New York and West Virginia have picked up over a FOOT of snow in the last 24 hours!The timing of 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/2025/12/2025-12-14 11-48-44-1765738155306.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>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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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 Settling In

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest - Heavy Rain Returns

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

Brutal Cold Settling In

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records

River Levels Dropping in the Northwest - Heavy Rain Returns

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

Brutal Cold Settling In

Breaking Out the Shovels For the First Time in the Northeast

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records