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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<p>A trough of low pressure will dive south, with multiple waves of precipitation over the next few days. Areas from the Great Lakes down to the south will have a shot at some rain, ice, and snow.</p><h1>Timing &amp; Alerts</h1><p>At the surface, an Arctic front will work its way south. As it dives south, we can see lake effect snow around the Great Lakes, and as it continues south, rain and snow through Thursday. </p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/0114-1768402585405.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Winter weather advisories are in place across the Great Lakes, with a few advisories in effect across the higher elevations of Tennessee and North Carolina.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 075755-1768402720249.png"></p><h1>Forecast Totals &amp; Impacts</h1><p>Snow totals will be around 1-4 inches, with localized heavier amounts where heavy bands of snow set up. Portions of Michigan and Northern Illinois have the potential to see localized foot of snow through Thursday night. Across the south, snowfall totals are on the lighter ends, with the heaviest of it in the higher elevations. Rainfall totals will be on the lighter side with around a quarter of an inch or less through Thursday night.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 075636-1768402601025.png">Winter storm impacts are expected to be minor to moderate for this part of the country.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 075650-1768402614432.png">Tune into WeatherNation :10 past the hour for the latest updates on this forecast.</p>

Snow and Rain From the Great Lakes to the South

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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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<p>The Warmth continues across the west. A ridge of high pressure and downsloping winds will be key factors to help bring warm air across the Northwest and Southwest this week. Records can be seen all across the West today and tomorrow! A handful fell yesterday, including Montana, where temperatures in Great Falls broke into the 60's</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 043158-1768390374710.png">While not nearly as many will rewrite record books, a few new numbers could be added. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 043116-1768390289438.png">Temperatures on Wednesday will range from 10° - 20° degrees above average. Billings, Montana, will see a high of 64°, almost 30°above average! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/WEDSSSSAAA-1768351355142.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/WEDSAA-1768351364701.png">The southwest will be above average as well. Most cities will be around 10-15 degrees above average. On Wednesday, Los Angeles will reach a high of 83°, almost 20° above the normal! The warmth will stick around for most of the week across the southwest.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/WED THRU FRI DDDD-1768351428681.png">There remains high confidence that temperatures will remain above average across the west from January 18 - 22. The highest confidence is across California and Nevada.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-13 080746-1768316873694.png">For more information on your Western Regional forecast, tune into WeatherNation at :50 past the hour.</p>

Kevin Schneider

Record Warmth in Store For the West

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<p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; color: #454545;">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></span></p>

Rob Bradley

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<p>A blast of freezing air is heading south to end the week, with highs in the 30s and 40s as far south as Atlanta and Birmingham. Freezing overnight lows are expected to drop into Florida, prompting freeze alerts and the potential for stunned/falling Iguanas in South Florida. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 062357-1768397082974.png"></p><h1>Wind Chills</h1><p>Not only will the air temperatures be cold, but gusty winds will aid in forecast wind chills in the single digits and teens. Nashville will feel like 10° on Thursday morning, and Atlanta will have a "feels-like" temperature of just 13°! It will be a cold morning commute, so make sure to layer up!</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-14 06-40-23-1768398454038.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>As we look at the 7-day temperature plot for Nashville you can see temperatures near normal on Wednesday, but by Thursday plummet to the 30s. On Friday, we see temperatures rebound to the 40s before another push of cold air moves in over the weekend.</p><h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/nashvill-1768330169720.png">Southern Appalachian Snow</h1><p>Scattered rain is expected along the front as it moves in across the Southeast Wednesday into Thursday, with some thunderstorms possible but not widespread. As the cold air catches up to the precipitation in the Southern Appalachians rain will turn to snow Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-14 06-48-35-1768398544359.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Snow will mostly be confined to higher elevation areas, with a dusting to an inch possible outside of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The higher elevations along the NC/TN border could see 3-6" of snow, possibly more in the Smokies where a winter storm warning has been issued. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 064821-1768398602596.png">Winter alerts have been issued where snow could accumulate to impact travel. I-26 and I-40 could see impacts, with bigger impacts over Sam's gap on I-26 (higher elevation) compared to I-40.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 064815-1768398613747.png">For your eastern regional forecast, tune into WeatherNation :10 past the hour.</p>

Arctic Air Blasts The South Twice This Week

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<p>You wouldn't think we had enough snow in the mountains to bring on avalanches, but that's the case. All it takes are two differing layers of snow and you could have a problem. Insane footage came out of the past weekend, where a group of snowboarders got caught up in one, thankfully living to tell the tale.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2010788181818618102" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2010788181818618102"></div><p>The lack of snowfall doesn't mean there is none. While many areas like Colorado are running behind schedule, it's less about the amount of snowfall and more about the conditions on the mountain.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-14 042729-1768390057082.png">This comes on the heels of two losing their lives in Washington over the last weekend in an avalanche. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-13 062416-1768310799259.jpg">We talked to Brian Lazar of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center about staying safe and what other factors go into avalanche danger. </p><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hBfX8wgfPHg" start="0"></iframe></div><p></p><p></p>

Avalanche Danger Continues Out West

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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<h1><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202513">COURTESY: NCEI <strong><span>Assessing the U.S. Temperature and Precipitation Analysis in 2025</span></strong></a></h1><h2><strong>Annual Key Points:</strong></h2><ul><li><p>For the first time since 2015, no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. or its territories during 2025.</p></li><li><p>The tornado in Enderlin, North Dakota, was the first verified EF-5 since 2013.</p></li><li><p>The Eaton and Palisades Fires were the second- and third-most destructive California wildfires on record, respectively.</p></li><li><p>The Texas Hill Country experienced a 1-in-100- to 1-in-1,000-year flood event that killed at least 135 people after nearly two feet of rain fell in just a few days.</p></li><li><p>Utah and Nevada set new annual temperature records, with Utah eclipsing its previous record that had stood since 1934.</p></li></ul><p><em><img src="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/Notable-Weathe-Climate-US-132025_Final_2.png" alt="Map of the U.S. showing locations of notable weather and climate events in 2025 with text describing each event and title at top stating “Notable Weather and Climate Events: 2025”. " title="Map of the U.S. showing locations of notable weather and climate events in 2025 with text describing each event and title at top stating “Notable Weather and Climate Events: 2025”. ">Map of the U.S. notable weather and climate events in 2025.</em></p><h2><strong>Other Highlights:</strong></h2><h3><strong>Temperature</strong></h3><p>Annual temperatures across the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) averaged 54.6°F in 2025, which was 2.6°F above the 20th-century average and ranked as the fourth-warmest year in the 131-year record. Temperatures were above average nationwide, with the most pronounced warmth across the western third of the country. Averaged across the entire region from the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/reference-maps/rockies-and-westward"><u>West Coast through the Rocky Mountains</u></a>, this area recorded its warmest annual temperature on record.</p><p><em><img src="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/grid-ranks-tavg-202501-202512_0.png" alt="Map of the U.S. showing temperature percentiles for 2025 with warmer areas in gradients of red and cooler areas in gradients of blue. (Courtesy of NOAA NCEI.)" title="Map of the U.S. showing temperature percentiles for 2025 with warmer areas in gradients of red and cooler areas in gradients of blue. (Courtesy of NOAA NCEI.)"></em></p><p><em>Map of the U.S. Mean Temperature Percentiles in 2025.</em></p><p>Based on average annual temperatures across <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/reference-maps/"><u>NOAA climate regions</u></a>, the Southwest saw its warmest year on record; the West and Northwest both ranked third warmest, and the South tied for its fourth-warmest year. Statewide, Utah and Nevada recorded their warmest years on record at 4.3°F and 3.7°F above their 20th-century averages, respectively. In total, a dozen states experienced one of their four warmest years. At the county level, 62 counties across 10 states—more than eight million people—recorded their warmest year on record.</p><p>Annual temperatures in Alaska averaged 29.5°F, 3.5°F above the 1925–2000 average, ranking as the ninth warmest in the 101-year record. Much-above-average temperatures persisted through most of the year, producing the third-warmest January–November statewide, though a notably cold December lowered the annual ranking.</p><p>Hawaiʻi recorded an average annual temperature of 67.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991–2020 average, placing the year within the warmest third of the 35-year record.</p><h3><strong>Precipitation&nbsp;</strong></h3><p>The CONUS received an average of 29.19 inches of precipitation in 2025, 0.73 inch below the 20th-century average, placing the year in the driest third of the 131-year record. The annual average does not fully reflect some of the pronounced regional wet and dry patterns seen throughout the year: the western U.S. experienced drier-than-average conditions in the first half of the year, followed by wetter-than-average conditions late in the year, while central and eastern regions generally saw above-average precipitation in spring and early summer, then below-average totals in the fall.&nbsp;</p><p><em><img src="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/inline-images/grid-ranks-prcp-202501-202512_0.png" alt="Map of the U.S. showing precipitation percentiles for 2025 with wetter areas in gradients of green and drier areas in gradients of brown. (Courtesy of NOAA NCEI)" title="Map of the U.S. showing precipitation percentiles for 2025 with wetter areas in gradients of green and drier areas in gradients of brown. (Courtesy of NOAA NCEI)"></em></p><p><em>Map of the U.S. Total Precipitation Percentiles in 2025.</em></p><p>Much of the Southwest and Southeast ended the year below average, with deficits exceeding one foot in parts of the Southeast, while the central and northern Plains, along with the western Ohio Valley, were wetter than average. Kentucky had its 10th-wettest year on record, with over a third of its counties receiving more than a foot above their average annual rainfall.</p><p>Alaska received 39.72 inches of precipitation in 2025, 3.02 inches above average, placing the year within the wettest third of the 101-year record. Hawaiʻi recorded a total of 41.96 inches, 19.77 inches below average for the state, or about 68 percent of normal (1991–2020), marking its third-driest year in the 35-year record.</p><h3><strong>Tropical Cyclones</strong></h3><p>Despite the lack of U.S. landfalls in 2025, the North Atlantic hurricane season was active, producing 13 named storms, including five hurricanes and four major hurricanes; this amount was near the long-term average. The season was particularly notable for three Category 5 hurricanes—Erin, Humberto and Melissa—the second-most to form in a single year. While Erin and Humberto remained offshore, Hurricane Melissa made landfall on Jamaica at peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph—tying with the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane as the strongest landfall on record in the Atlantic Basin and ranking as the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2025. Although no direct landfalls occurred, remnants of tropical systems—including Super Typhoon Halong (Alaska) and Hurricane Priscilla (Southwest)—brought flooding impacts to the U.S. late in the year.</p><h3><strong>Floods</strong></h3><p>2025 was characterized by widespread and significant flooding, driven by a combination of atmospheric rivers, slow-moving convective systems and tropical moisture. Significant flood events were observed in every season and region; July alone recorded 1,434 flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service—the second-highest July total in 40 years. Several historic precipitation events overwhelmed infrastructure, producing 1-in-1,000-year rainfall recurrence intervals in parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Texas. These events resulted in significant loss of life; catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country in July resulted in at least 135 fatalities, while recurring storms in the Ohio Valley and severe weather across the South contributed to dozens of additional fatalities throughout the year.</p><p>The year featured stark regional extremes, beginning and ending with strong atmospheric rivers that impacted the West Coast; notable events in February, November and December caused widespread damage and fatalities in California and the Pacific Northwest. In the interior, stalled spring fronts produced historic rainfall across the Lower Ohio Valley, while summer saw a shift to the Northeast, where record-breaking rainfall rates inundated the New York City metro area. Unique hydrological extremes also marked the year, including a record-breaking glacial outburst flood in Alaska, tsunami-induced flooding in Hawaiʻi and deadly flash floods over wildfire burn scars in New Mexico.</p><h3><strong>Tornadoes</strong></h3><p>The preliminary U.S. tornado count for 2025 was 1,559, ranking as the fifth-highest on record and 127 percent of the 30-year (1991–2020) average. The year was marked by several notable extremes, including 300 preliminary tornado reports in March—a new March record—more than three times average. In addition to the Enderlin EF-5 tornado, five EF-4 tornadoes occurred in Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois and Kentucky. At the state level, North Dakota shattered its previous annual tornado record of 61 (set in 2010), with 72 tornado reports in 2025.</p><h3><strong>Wildfires</strong></h3><p>The number of wildfires in 2025 was approximately 105 percent of the 20-year (2001–20) average, with more than 72,000 wildfires reported. The total number of acres burned from these wildfires—5.0 million acres—was 72 percent of the 20-year average of nearly seven million acres.</p><p>Southern California experienced some of the year’s most destructive fires. Fueled by Santa Ana winds gusting up to 90 miles per hour and dry conditions, the Eaton Fire burned 14,000 acres, while the Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres and was the most destructive wildfire on record for Los Angeles. Together, these fires damaged or destroyed over 18,000 structures during January and were responsible for 31 fatalities. Later in the year, the Gifford Fire became the largest wildfire for California in 2025, burning over 131,000 acres across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in August.</p><p>In Arizona, the Dragon Bravo Fire burned more than 145,000 acres between July and September, making it the largest wildfire of the year in the U.S. and the 10th-largest in Arizona history.</p><p>Alaska had a below-average 2025 wildfire season, with approximately one million acres burned—about two-thirds of the state’s 20-year (2001–20) average.</p><h3><strong>Drought</strong></h3><p>The drought footprint across the CONUS experienced marked fluctuations during 2025, following a distinct pattern of spring expansion, early summer contraction and autumn resurgence. The year began with 38.1 percent of the lower 48 states in moderate to exceptional drought (D1–D4). Coverage expanded steadily through March, reaching a spring peak of 44.7 percent on March 25. Widespread precipitation then drove a substantial decline, with drought coverage falling to its annual minimum of 29.6 percent by June 3. However, this improvement was short-lived. Drought conditions intensified during late summer and autumn, with coverage increasing rapidly to a yearly maximum of 46.1 percent on October 21 and again on November 18. By the final week of the year (December 30), drought coverage had eased slightly but remained elevated at 42.8 percent, leaving a larger portion of the country in drought than at the start of 2025.</p><h3><strong>Snowfall</strong></h3><p>The 2024–25 snow season featured above-average snowfall across parts of the mountainous West, central Plains, Gulf Coast, Southeast and Ohio Valley, while below-average snowfall occurred across much of the Great Basin, southern Rockies, northern Plains, Upper Midwest and portions of the Northeast.</p><p>The 2025–26 snowfall season to date (October 1–December 31, 2025) saw above-average snowfall across much of the Midwest and Great Lakes region, with lake-effect areas receiving more than a foot above average for this period. In contrast, much of the Mountain West and High Plains received lower-than-average snowfall, particularly the Cascades, Wasatch and Uinta and the northern and southern Rockies, with the exception of the Sierra Nevada and parts of the northern Cascades, Bitterroots and middle Rockies.&nbsp;<br></p>

Arctic Air Blasts The South Twice This Week

Avalanche Danger Continues Out West

Year in Review: 2025 4th Warmest on Record

Snow and Rain From the Great Lakes to the South

Record Warmth in Store For the West

Arctic Air Blasts The South Twice This Week

Avalanche Danger Continues Out West

Year in Review: 2025 4th Warmest on Record

Snow and Rain From the Great Lakes to the South

Record Warmth in Store For the West

Arctic Air Blasts The South Twice This Week

Avalanche Danger Continues Out West

Year in Review: 2025 4th Warmest on Record