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<div>Lucy is originally from the Boston area but has spent the last four years forecasting and living in Colorado! She stayed in the northeast for her education, graduating Summa Cum Laude from SUNY Oswego with a B.S. in Meteorology. Just a few days after graduation, she made the cross country move to Colorado Springs, CO to begin her career at KKTV, the CBS affiliate. Lucy has covered historic blizzards, tornadoes, windstorms, the largest wildfires in Colorado state history and dust storms ... they truly "get it all" in Colorado! Lucy is excited to forecast on a national level and continue her passion of explaining the science behind the weather!</div>
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Lucy Bergemann

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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1707394275217186823" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1707394275217186823"></div>Thursday, September 28 marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ian slamming into Florida's Gulf Coast. Ian was the 6th category four or stronger storm to hit the Gulf Coast in just 6 years. The other storms to precede it were:<ol><li>Ida (2021)</li><li>Laura (2020)</li><li>Michael (2018)</li><li>Harvey (2017)</li><li>Irma (2017)</li></ol>Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, Florida as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 miles per hour. Post storm analysis showed Ian was a monster CAT 5 just before landfall. Our field correspondents covering the storm witness roofs fly off buildings and tremendous damage in the eyewall of the storm.And though Ian's winds were fierce, the storm will be remembered for its incredible surge. 12 feet of surge slammed Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island. The seawater took over the first floors of homes and wiped away entire buildings on barrier islands.Farther south, in the front right quadrant of the storm, dramatic surge overtook Naples and Marco Island. Sadly, 41 people lost their lives as a result of storm surge, 36 in Lee County, FL alone (home of Cape Coral and Fort Myers).Over 2,000 people were rescued in the aftermath of Ian, airlifted from barrier islands like Sanibel where the causeway was wiped away in the storm. Many roads were destroyed and all terrain vehicles came in to pull people to safety.Ian's impacts stretched beyond that of Southwest Florida: over 20" of rain fell in central and Northeast Florida, turning roads into rivers from Orlando to Daytona. Onshore flow pounded the seawall at Daytona Beach, which then was hit later in the season by Hurricane Nicole leading to homes collapsing into the ocean.After a grueling 24 hours in Florida, Ian reemerged over the Atalntic making a final landfall as a category one hurricane on September 30th near Georgetown, South Carolina. Storm surge on the order of 2-4' impacted coastal South Carolina and the Outer Banks of North Carolina along with torrential rainfall that lead to the evacuation of communities.Sadly, 150 people lost their lives as a result of hurricane Ian, which is the third costliest hurricane in U.S. history and the costliest for Florida.

Hurricane Ian: One Year Later

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The southern tier of the country has been no stranger to a hot and dry summer, with extreme and exceptional drought conditions spreading from Texas into Louisiana and Mississippi. The drought aided in large fires in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/high-fire-danger-extreme-heat-in-texas">Texas and Louisiana </a>this summer and now is impacting low water levels on the Mississippi River.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/drought-1695757297057.jpg">As drought conditions persist, a new issue is impacting southern Louisiana, the saltwater intrusion. Because the mouth of the Mississippi river lies below sea-level is it normal for saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to run back into the Mississippi. However, under normal conditions there is enough river flow coming downstream to combat serious salt-water progression north into the river. This year due to the drought and low water levels the saltwater is moving upriver, threatening water treatment plants for suburbs of New Orleans.<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1469707107145385" data-width="500" src="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1469707107145385" style="display: flex; justify-content: center"></div>On Wednesday, September 27th, a National Disaster assistance for the area was given, and according to FEMA, "to supplement state and local response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from the seawater intrusion beginning Sept. 20, 2023, and continuing. [This] authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures to save lives, protect property&nbsp;and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines&nbsp;and St. Bernard Parishes."This has prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer to increase an underwater sill to reduce the impact of the saltwater intrusion. According to the agency, "“As a result of continued falling conditions, this existing sill was overtopped and the toe of the saltwater wedge has reached River Mile 69, near the community of Jesuit Bend,” said Col. Cullen Jones, USACE New Orleans District commander. “Our modeling indicates that by augmenting the existing sill, we can support state and local preparedness and response efforts by delaying further upriver progression of the salt water by approximately 10 to 15 days.”"Freshwater is also being transported in, according to USACE, "during previous low-water events, such as 1988 and 2012, barging was used to transport fresh water to treatment facilities downriver of the saltwater toe." This ensures that the treatment facilities aren't negatively impacted by processing saltwater instead of the normal fresh water, which could lead to corrosion or deterioration of the plants.Part of the reason is that upstream precipitation also isn't coming through the Ohio River valley and mid-Mississippi River valley. In fact, we are below flood stage for the Mississippi River at Memphis.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/MS RIVER-1695757284950.jpg">With no rainfall in sight, the saltwater intrusion and drought conditions will worsen further.

Emergency Declaration Issued for Louisiana Due to Saltwater Intrusion

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A powerful area of low pressure in our upper atmosphere will move onshore into the Southwest U.S. this weekend, bringing gusty winds, heavy rain and even high elevation snowfall (above). It has been just over 2 months since Mammoth ski area closed for the 2022-23 season, after a very snowy winter in the California Sierra Nevada mountains! Now, early season snow is on the way, signaling the change in the pattern. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/setup-1695910970168.png">Showers begin in northern California on Friday afternoon and evening as a surface low pressure system develops thanks to the upper atmosphere support. That low will push inland throughout the day on Friday and into Saturday, bringing with it the heavy rainfall threat into Nevada and Utah. As temperatures fall as a result of the front and through the overnight hours, we will see rain change over to snow for areas over 7k feet. A couple inches of wet, slushy snow looks likely through Saturday night! Rainfall totals will be on the order of 1-2" through the Southwest which could create some flood concerns. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-28 08-09-40-1695910236713.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>The other actor to the area of low pressure will be the wind, which will gust in the range of 30-40 mph especially for areas around the mountains. This could lead to an elevated fire danger threat for Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado ahead of any rainfall potential. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-28 08-11-47-1695910556838.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>

Snow Coming Back to the California Mountains

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Tropical storm Rina formed in the Atlantic ocean on Thursday morning, in-between the Leeward and Cabo Verde Islands. The storm is NOT anticipated to impact the Caribbean as it is pulled northward around an area of high pressure. The current forecasts maintain tropical storm force winds for Rina, which will be a "fish storm". Meanwhile Tropical Storm Phillipe will have a very scattered path the next few days, moving slowly westward before eventually turning north over open waters.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/phillipe fan-1695914998959.png">Interaction with Rina could cause this system to spin around a center point between the two lows, an effect called Fujiwhara. Regardless, impacts to the eastern Caribbean Islands looks minimal, with very little rain, but high surf and rip currents are likely through the weekend.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-28 09-16-42-1695914659441.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>We have about 30% of the Atlantic hurricane season left. The rest of September and October can be busy months, tropically speaking because of warm sea surface temperatures this time of the season.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_atl-1695696450973.jpg"> While we continue to monitor the MDR (main development region) of the Atlantic now, October could bring a few areas of potential development closer to the lower 48. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is highlighting a low chance for development during the 7-14 day window.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-28 Long Range Toprical Outlook-1695902188586.jpg">

Tropical Storm Rina Forms, Watching Philippe

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An upper-level low is bringing much-needed rain to the Northwest. In addition to this, we've seen some snow in the higher elevations of Washington State including the Mount Rainier Visitor Center, which sits at around 5400' in elevation.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-27_rnw_snow-1695841384892.jpg">We have seen impressive rainfall totals, especially in Washington. Ocean Park saw 3.67" of rain! The heaviest rainfall has been along the Cascades and to the west. As this system continues inland, expect increasing rainfall and gusty winds!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/washingtong rain reports-1695816151228.png">Multiple rounds of rain will move through the Northwest over the next couple of days. Gusty winds and heavy rain will be possible the next few days. Rainfall will not nearly be as heavy or widespread in intensity as we wrap up the work week. On average folks will see an additional one inch of rain, localized amounts of up to 2 inches will be possible. In some portions of the mountains, we can see snow. Expect isolated snowfall totals of up to a foot in the Cascades through Friday.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-28 08-05-04-1695910011717.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>For more updates on this story, tune into our Western Regional Forecast at :50 past the hour.

Slushy Snow in Mount Rainier, Washington

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Happening Wednesday, October 4th at 2:20 PM ET, FEMA will be conducting a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). Test messages will be sent to all cell phones with emergency alerts enabled, TVs and radios. The test is broken down into two parts: <h2>PART 1: Emergency Alert System (EAS) </h2>Test messages are sent to radios and televisions. From FEMA: <ul><li>The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers&nbsp;and wireline video providers.</li><li>The test message will be similar to the regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. It will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.</li></ul><h2>PART 2: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)</h2>These are sent to cell phones only. The test will display in English or Spanish, depending on the user language settings. The following is from FEMA: All wireless phones should receive the message only once. The following can be expected from the nationwide WEA test:<ul><li>Beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.&nbsp;</li><li>For consumers, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”</li><li>Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”</li></ul>The test sections will happen at the same time, so if you are listening to the radio and have your cell phone expect to hear both messages. According to FEMA, "The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level."In case of widespread severe weather or events, the backup/postponement day will be for October 11th.

Next Week: Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System

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Following strong storms in the mid-South on Wednesday afternoon and evening, a complex of storms survived overnight, bringing heavy rain and plenty of lightning to Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. This is thanks to an area of surface low pressure that has been moving through the region and will continue to bring the storm threat today. <div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1707374531403481423" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1707374531403481423"></div>However, our risk for severe weather (1" hail, 58 mph winds, tornadoes) is quite limited with the primary concern for heavy rainfall. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-28 07-22-24-1695907610547.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>As a result of the rain threat, flood watches are in effect for southern Kentucky through this afternoon. Don't drive through flooded roadways. Rainfall totals on average will be around 1-2 inches. Localized heavier amounts of up to 4 inches will be possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/KY-1695907792468.png">For more on this top weather headline be sure to join us live for the latest details. And if you're starting to see the foliage turn in these spots be sure to tag us on X, Facebook, and Instagram @weathernation for a chance for your weather to be shared on national television!

Stormy Day for the Mid-South

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AAA expects that a record-breaking 112.5 million travelers will take to the nation’s runways, roads and rails for the year-end holidays. That number represents a 4.4 percent increase over last year and the most since AAA has been tracking holiday travel.  In other words, more than one-third of Americans will travel this holiday season.
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The more than 102 million people who will pack up their cars for a holiday road trip, INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could be as much as four times longer than a normal trip.
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So, why so busy?
“We're really attributing this to the strength of the economy throughout 2018,” said Tamra Johnson, Spokesperson and PR Manager with AAA National. “We see that consumer spending is strong and also unemployment numbers are low. Also travelers are getting a little break at the gas pump.”
While gas has been relatively expensive throughout this year, a recent drop to the cheapest national gas price averages of the year, combined with rising disposable income, is motivating more Americans to hit the road this holiday season. Gas prices averaged $2.46 for the first week of December, which is two cents per gallon less than one year ago.

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According to AAA, the year-end holiday travel period is defined as Saturday, December 22 through Tuesday, January 1, 2019. The 11-day span is one day longer than last year, due to Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Tuesdays this year.
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AAA advises you take plenty of extra caution if bad weather is anticipated for your travels.

“AAA projects we're going to have to rescue 960,000 travelers...mostly due to dead batteries, flat tires, and lock outs,” said Johnson. “For those that are going to be hitting the road, you want to make sure you're checking the weather not only at your current location and final destination, but all the way along your route.”

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Warm-weather destinations are top draws in the winter months, occupying nine of the top 10 spots on the list of most popular holiday destinations, based on AAA’s online and travel agency air and tour bookings.

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Check your travel forecast anytime,<a href="https://media.weathernationtv.com/video/"> on demand, right here on WeatherNationTV.com </a>

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AAA Projects Record Numbers of Holiday Travelers

Hurricane Ian: One Year Later

Thursday, September 28 marks the one year ann

Emergency Declaration Issued for Louisiana Due to Saltwater Intrusion

The southern tier of the country has been no

Snow Coming Back to the California Mountains

A powerful area of low pressure in our upper

Tropical Storm Rina Forms, Watching Philippe

Tropical storm Rina formed in the Atlantic oc

Slushy Snow in Mount Rainier, Washington

An upper-level low is bringing much-needed ra

Next Week: Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System

Happening Wednesday, October 4th at 2:20 PM E

Stormy Day for the Mid-South

Following strong storms in the mid-South on W