WeatherNation Meteorologists

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<p>Lala continues to move westward of Kauai, still bringing bands of heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of the smaller Hawaiian Islands.</p><p>The Hawaii Department of Transportation reported that parts of Highway 11 on the Big Island were shut down due to flooding. More than 130,000 customers lost power Saturday as a result of the storm. As the storm moves west-northwest, expect conditions to deteriorate for each island through Sunday.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2088807962383143316" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2088807962383143316"></div><p>Interaction with Hawaii will likely cause subtle weakening into Monday. However, once it moves into the open waters of the Pacific, expect it to return to Hurricane status.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 191924-1786929580185.png"></p><p><strong>Tropical Storm Warnings </strong>remain in place for the island of Maui, but have been discontinued for Oahu, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Lanai, and Oahu.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 191949-1786929597625.png">Beach conditions are also expected to deteriorate as Lala gets closer. Larger swells generated by the system could lead to increasing surf and dangerous conditions along exposed coastlines.<span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36)">&nbsp;High Surf Warnings are in place for most eastern-facing shores.</span></p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 192142-1786929716269.png"></p>

Alana Cameron

Lala Impacting Hawaii with Damaging Winds, Flooding

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Kevin Schneider

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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2088604118151479464" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2088604118151479464"></div><p>The Midwest can't catch a break. After a damaging week of severe thunderstorms and flooding, the pattern of destructive weather continues.</p><h1>FLOODING</h1><p>The Weather Prediction Center continues with another<strong> Moderate</strong> risk (Level 3 of 4) of excessive rainfall. Grounds are still saturated and local waterways are crested near record levels in Indiana, so any additional rain could have devastating impacts.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 190540-1786928746932.png"></p><p><strong>Flood Alerts</strong> continue for portions of the Ohio Valley and Appalachia region through Monday.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 190644-1786928839875.png"></p><p>At this point, any additional rainfall could trigger the potential for flash flooding across the Midwest, Ohio Valley and Appalachian region. It won't take much, however, models have a few areas still receiving an additional inch or two as we head into the work week ahead.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 190416-1786928845649.png"></p>

Flooding Risk Lingers for Another Day

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<p>A ridge of high pressure continues to dominate the southern tier of the US, sending storms riding around the ridge through the Midwest and Northeast. Under the high-pressure block, extreme heat and humidity will persist, lasting into next week for some locations.</p><p>The long-lasting heat dome has triggered heat alerts from Missouri through Florida, with extreme heat warnings in effect (pink boxes, below) along with many heat advisories. Highs will soar into the triple digits, feeling 5-15 degrees hotter with the humidity. Make sure to find adequate ways to stay cool!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 192808-1786930129882.png">Feels-like temperatures remain dangerously hot across the central United States. Many areas will feel like 110-115 in the afternoon.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 192836-1786930176018.png"></p>

Stifling Heat Holds Steady for Southern U.S.

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<p>The last few days Mother Nature has turned down the heat somewhat for the Southwest, with the extra clouds and monsoon storms back in the picture. As we start a new work week, high pressure returns westward to the Desert Southwest. <strong>Extreme heat alerts</strong> has been issued for cities including Phoenix, Vegas, Tucson, and Yuma.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 041704-1786875443493.png"></p><p>Monday high temperatures will return to the upper 100s and low 110s for the Southwest. So, make sure you stay hydrated and look after the elderly with the high heat returning. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 191136-1786929123615.png"></p><p>If you thought the hot temperatures would be a short-term thing, you would be wrong! Hot temperatures are here to stay for end of August.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 191155-1786929128565.png"></p>

Heat Returning to the Desert This Week

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<p>Last week several rounds of storms moved through areas of the Midwest, producing significant wind gusts and flash flooding. notably for portions of Iowa and Illinois, while Nebraska and Kansas saw their share of impacts as well. Another cold front will arrive shortly after the previous front leaves, sparking a new wave of severe storms, including potential for flash flooding.</p><h1>Forecast</h1><p>Wind shear will increase across the Plains and Midwest as a strong trough moves across Canada, while a cold front will cut into the United States. Along the front on Monday and Tuesday, isolated to scattered severe storms are possible. Instability will be somewhat limited, so severe storms are more likely in the afternoons when daytime heating can add energy to the atmosphere.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/08-16 rnc overnight-1786930238582.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>Outlooks</h1><p>As the front dips into the Upper-Midwest on Monday, scattered severe storms will be possible from Sioux Falls down to central Nebraska, with isolated severe storms possible from NW Oklahoma though Minnesota.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 124406-1786905904789.png"></p><p>Wind and hail damage are the primary hazards with these storms, but a few tornadoes are possible as well (below).</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 124413-1786905909274.png"></p><p>As the front swings farther south and east on Tuesday, another round of scattered severe storms is anticipated from Nebraska though western Illinois.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 124417-1786905913292.png"></p><p>By Tuesday, heavy rain will become a bigger hazard, with scattered flash flooding possible for areas in dark green (below). Soils are saturated from last weeks rain in many of these areas, meaning runoff or flooding will occur more quickly than normal.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-16 043445-1786876722136.png"></p>

Cold Front Brings Severe Storms Back to the Midwest

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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2087625672491721115" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2087625672491721115"></div><p>Get ready for one of the most spectacular displays of the cosmos visible on earth - a total solar eclipse! Totality will only cover a small portion of the globe, however, while many others will see a partial solar eclipse.<br><br>A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between the sun and earth, casting a shadow on the Earth's surface. There's a small "hard shadow" where the total solar eclipse occurs, where the sun is completely obscured by the moon, leaving only the outer ring, or corona, of the sun visible. The larger "soft shadow" covers a larger portion of the globe, but only a section of the sun will be obscured. Even though both are eclipses, the experience in the path of totality is completely different than in the partial zone. Totality ushers in darkness and massive changes, including temperature drops, changes in animal behavior, and more. If you have the chance to see a total solar eclipse, it is highly recommended you take advantage of the opportunity.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-07 124538-1786128790332.png"></p><h1>Path of Totality</h1><p>People in parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and an incredibly small piece of Portugal, will be able to experience totality if skies are clear enough. The eclipse will begin in the arctic circle before dropping south to cruise over the North Atlantic and eventually western Europe.<br><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-07 124037-1786128740977.png"><br>Western Iceland, including Reykjavik, will get to experience totality for a about 60 seconds in the late afternoon on Wednesday, August 12th. This will occur around 5:45 - 5:50 GMT from north to south.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/2026-08-07 13-00-09-1786129629600.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Some lucky folks in Spain will have nearly two minutes of totality (toward the middle of the path), while folks closer to the outside of the path will only get about 20-30 seconds of magic. The sun will be approaching the western horizon, or sunset, as totality occurs, making for a truly incredible sight. Totality begins on the northern coast around 8:26 pm local time (CEST) and will end as it moves south of Mallorca in the Mediterranean around 8:33 pm.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/2026-08-07 13-00-28-1786129642319.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>Partial Solar Eclipse</h1><p>In the United States, only a partial eclipse will be visible and only for a portion of the country. A partial eclipse will be visible in the early afternoon, peaking around 2:00 pm ET, from portions of Montana to eastern North Carolina. Only a small sliver of the sun will be obscured for many, with about a fifth of the sun obscured in northern New England, mostly in Maine. All of Alaska (expect the far western Aleutians) will experience a partial solar eclipse as well. Southern Alaska will see a quarter of the sun obscured, peaking around 8:15 - 8:30 am Alaskan Daylight Time, while northern Alaska will see about half of the sun covered by the moon.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-07 124624-1786128804207.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-07 124629-1786131371992.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-08 103029-1786206678322.png"></p><h1>Next Total Solar Eclipse in the U.S.</h1><p>A total solar eclipse will cover portions of the United States in 2044, mostly moving through Canada, but parts of western North Dakota and Montana will get a view. In 2045, a large section of the United States will be able to experience a total solar eclipse. The path of totality runs from Northern California through Salt Lake City and Denver, before moving across the South from Little Rock to Miami, FL. It's never too early to make plans...</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-07 124638-1786131683080.png"></p><h2><strong>NASA's Research:</strong></h2><p>Through this eclipse, NASA will have multiple scientific experiments on-going related to the eclipse to help us better understand these celestial events. We spoke with NASA to learn more.</p><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EyvkXNZBrYk" start="0"></iframe></div>

Tracey Anthony

What to Know About the Total Solar Eclipse on August 12th

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Alana Cameron was born and raised in Canada in the city of Mississauga, just outside of Toronto. Alana is the oldest of 4 siblings, all close in age, and grew up playing outside with them in all types of weather. After graduating high school, Alana moved to study at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna for a year before transferring to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Atmospheric Science. Upon completion, Alana moved back to Toronto where she completed a post-grad degree in Meteorology at York University. After her post-grad, she went on to complete another post-grad in Broadcast Journalism - TV News at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. During her final year of studies she had the privilege of interning with the best in the business in Canada at The Weather Network. Once she finished her internship, she got the call from small-town Denison, Texas where she accepted a job as an on-air meteorologist at KTEN-TV, right in tornado alley, covering severe weather from Sherman/Denison (North Texas) to Ada (Southern Oklahoma). After the most active tornado season Oklahoma had seen in May 2019 (105 tornadoes!) Alana is excited to join WeatherNation to cover weather all across the nation. If you're interested in following her on social media she can be found @alanacameronwx!

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<p><strong>HIGH PLAINS</strong> - Tuesday proved to be an incredibly active day across the Central and High Plains. Storms in these parts had updrafts that exceeded 100 mph! Therefore, we were seeing hailstones that were 4.5" in diameter! That's about the size of a grapefruit. Once again, strong storms fired up Wednesday afternoon, bringing large hail and damaging winds. Wind gusts reached over 70 mph for portions of Iowa.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/plains winds-1786581631787.png"></p><h2>Overnight</h2><p>The severe threat will continue through Thursday morning. The threats we'll be tracking out here will be very similar to yesterday: damaging winds and some hail.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-12 200422-1786586713559.png"></p><p>Some storms will hold together into the overnight hours. Expect more rounds of rain and storms again on Thursday!</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/paisnsss-1786581513163.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>Rainfall totals</h1><p></p><p>Not only will severe weather be a threat, but heavy rainfall will be embedded in some of these storms. Our model data shows some areas through South Dakota and Iowa receiving upwards of 4 inches of rain through Friday!</p><h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/forecast rianfll through friday-1786581841657.png"></h1><p>Be sure to join us on WeatherNation for this story during:30 past the hour on your Central Regional Forecast.</p>

Repeated Severe Threat for the High Plains

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<p>Meteorological Spring is almost here, the first day begins this Saturday, March 1! The meteorological seasonal calendar is based on the annual temperature cycle, so meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months. Statistically speaking, meteorological winter, December - January - February, is the coldest time of the year. We wanted to look back at our most significant weather events of this winter season.</p><h2>Drought Monitor</h2><p>When we compare the drought monitor from the beginning of meteorological winter to the end, certain areas stand out. The southwestern U.S. saw worsening drought whereas the Mid-south U.S. saw improvements to the drought monitor. This is what was to be expected, especially as we remain in a La Niña pattern.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/ezgif-37a1bccc7ea81c-1740620901634.gif"></p><h2>Southern California Wildfires</h2><p>A series of catastrophic wildfires developed in Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025 and continued through January 31, 2025. 14 destructive wildfires affected southern California after worsening drought conditions, low humidity, dry vegetation, and strong Santa Ana winds.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184055-1740621082254.jpg"><br>The largest fires in southern California included the Eaton Fire, which burned a total of 14,021 acres and destroyed over 9.4k+ structures. The Palisades Fire burned a total of 23,707 acres and destroyed over 6.8k structures.<br><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184101-1740622026400.jpg">Unfortunately, the weather leading up to these fires was one of the biggest causes of such destruction. For more information on these fires, visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/santa-ana-winds-kick-up-fire-danger"><strong>this website article</strong></a>.</p><p>As we look back at this winter season, some locations in the southwest, including Phoenix, Arizona, have seen their warmest winter on record.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184448-1740622217467.jpg">And some areas such as Albuquerque and Yuma have had their driest winter on record.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184455-1740622266181.jpg"></p><h2>Gulf Coast Snowfall</h2><p>On January 21 - 22, 2025, a historic winter system brought snowfall down to the Gulf Coast.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184015-1740621129216.jpg">Many locations saw daily snowfall records including Baton Rouge (7.6"), New Orleans (8.0"), Thibodaux (8.5"), Mobile (7.5"), and Pensacola (10.0").</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot 2025-02-26 184045-1740622295443.jpg">It was certainly a winter to remember across the Gulf Coast!</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/02/VO_NO BUG_RSC_TX &amp; LOUISIANA SNOWBALL FIGHTS FROM HISTORIC SNOWFALL PRIEST, COPS, FIRE DEPARTMENT_DO_E022625-1740622421146.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>For more on your Spring Outlook, be sure to visit our article:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/La-Nina-Still-Spilling-Into-Spring-Outlook"><strong><em> La Nina Spilling Into Spring Outlook.</em></strong></a></p>

A LOOK BACK: Meteorological Winter 2024-2025

Drought Monitor

Southern California Wildfires

Gulf Coast Snowfall

Lala Impacting Hawaii with Damaging Winds, Flooding

Lala continues to move westward of Kauai, sti

Flooding Risk Lingers for Another Day

The Midwest can't catch a break. After a dama

Stifling Heat Holds Steady for Southern U.S.

A ridge of high pressure continues to dominat

Heat Returning to the Desert This Week

The last few days Mother Nature has turned do

Cold Front Brings Severe Storms Back to the Midwest

Last week several rounds of storms moved thro

What to Know About the Total Solar Eclipse on August 12th

Get ready for one of the most spectacular dis

Repeated Severe Threat for the High Plains

HIGH PLAINS - Tuesday proved to be an incredi