Patrick Crawford has always been a huge weather buff! He grew up in Plano, Texas, and it was there that he experienced what Mother Nature was capable of doing. He would always turn on the television to see what local meteorologists were saying about the weather. That's when he realized he wanted to be a meteorologist.

Patrick graduated from Northern Illinois University (’04) with a degree in Meteorology and a double minor in Mathematics and Geography. Broadcast Meteorology has been great to him and he has been able to work in television markets all across the country. Some of his stops have included New Orleans, Green Bay and even Yuma, Arizona. He is so excited to be part of the WeatherNation team.

He has been awarded the prestigious CBM (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) weather seal from the American Meteorological Society.

Feel free to catch up with Patrick Crawford on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MeteorologistPC/">Facebook</a> and on <a href="https://twitter.com/MeteorologistPC">Twitter</a> pages.

Patrick Crawford

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<p>A surface trough will be the focus for showers and storms today and tonight for the Midwest. This includes some big cities like Chicago and Indianapolis. Here is the latest severe forecast.</p><h1>Severe Outlook (Tuesday)</h1><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/PIC 4-1695723639173.jpg"></p><h1>Tornado Outlook (Tuesday)</h1><p>A few isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out for parts of Illinois and Indiana. Today's set-up will favor more of a hail and wind there, but some rotation will be possible also.</p><h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/PIC 2-1695723655388.jpg">Forecast Timing</h1><p>The daytime heating should be a player in the severe threat today. Once we reach the peak heating in the afternoon, storms should be turning severe. The threat is isolated for severe, but storms will be widespread in this region.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/FORECAST-1695727632591.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>Severe Outlook (Wednesday)</h1><p>This same system will keep moving East and on Wednesday severe storms should build around the Ohio River Valley.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/PIC 3-1695723649742.jpg">The main risk with this set-up will be damaging winds and large hail.</p><p></p><p></p><p>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!</p>

Isolated Severe Threat for Illinois and Indiana Tuesday

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Kara has always been passionate about weather and knew from an early age that she wanted to become a meteorologist. Living in different regions of the country and experiencing weather events ranging from ice storms to tornadoes drove her to pursue a bachelor's degree in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. Throughout college, storm chasing became a regular event for Kara, where she saw first-hand the power of the atmosphere. Kara graduated cum laude from OU and decided to further her meteorology education with a Master's degree from Mississippi State University. The deadly April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak struck while Kara was studying at MSU; her first “Dixie Alley” tornado event and an up close glimpse into the destruction of the storms she so closely studied. Her broadcast career began in Elvis’ birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi, where she earned her Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the American Meteorological Society. Kara's career has included coverage of all types of severe weather including tornado events, flooding and tropical systems across multiple southern states. Recently she helped cover the 2020 Easter Sunday deadly tornado outbreak in southeast Mississippi. In her free time, you can find Kara outdoors exploring new areas with her mini poodle,Truffles. Kara is also an avid runner and frequently races in 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons. Say hi to Kara on <a href="https://twitter.com/wxkara">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/karajameswx">Facebook</a>!

Kara James

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<p><strong>WEST COAST: </strong>An early-season atmospheric river has been bringing in rainy days to the west coast of Washington, Oregon, and California. In fact, on the atmospheric river scale, this event is forecast to become an AR4. These forecasts are released by the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/iwv-and-ivt-forecasts/">Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes</a> from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_ar scale-1695668238161.jpg">The AR Scale can be complicated to understand, but the bottom line is that it is based on the duration of the event and the amount of water these systems hold.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/r scale-1695599361864.jpg">The heavy rain will slow down overnight along the west coast, but additional pushes of moisture coming onshore from the Pacific will bring more rounds of rain into mid-week. Tuesday's heavy rain risk is primarily into Washington and Oregon, while California doesn't get much rain until later in the week.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/9-25 RNW rain-1695696468618.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Rainfall totals will be heaviest along the Pacific Coast and into the foothills of the Cascades, with isolated pockets of half a foot of rainfall through Wednesday! Cooler air moving in with the next front will also bring some snow to the Cascades!</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_west acc 18z-1695688775809.jpg">Isolated areas of flooding are possible in spots that are prone to flood, and near burn scars from previous fires. Never drive over flooded roadways!</p>

Atmospheric River for Coastal Washington, Oregon & California

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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!

Alana Cameron

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<p>We are now down to one tropical wave and one named storm in the Atlantic: Philippe (pronounced: <em>fee - LEEP</em>). Tropical Storm Philippe is moving west at 12 mph and is forecast to maintain its strength as a tropical storm over open waters passing north of the Leeward and Windward islands.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/philippe depressed-1695696343596.jpg">We are also watching an area of low pressure that has formed several hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands. Gradual development is likely and we could see a tropical depression form over the next few days. This wave is moving west - northwest.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_al 91 new headlines n60-1695688336975.jpg">Since the National Hurricane Center is investigating this wave, spaghetti plots have been released on this potential storm. Invest 91L is the identifier of this system.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_spags-1695696408138.jpg">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.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_atl-1695696450973.jpg"></p>

Tropics: Philippe in the Atlantic, Another Wave to Watch

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<p>After a very hot, dry last few months, Texas is finally getting rain, and severe storms as a front dips south. Baseball-sized hail fell in Round Rock (just north of Austin) Sunday evening and destroyed cars (above)! Check out the tornado-warned storm that moved through Commerce, Texas late Sunday afternoon/evening (below).</p><blockquote><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/VO_092423_RSC_COMMERCE, TX_COOL TIME LAPSE APPROACHING THE ROTATING TORNADO WARNED STORM_TW_@ONLYNADERS_DW_E092423-1695610708228.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video></blockquote><p>While a few severe storms produced quarter size hail and winds up to 60 mph Monday, it was a much less stormy day compared to Sunday. As the front drops even farther south overnight, the severe risk shifts into coastal Texas. Isolated storms will be capable of quarter-size hail and damaging winds, with heavy rain a hazard in all storms.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/9-25 tx ovn svr-1695695975129.png"></p><p>The tail end of the front will also fire up storms on Tuesday, especially along the higher terrain of New Mexico. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09-25_rsc_tue spc-1695670366271.jpg">Once again we expect a few stronger storms but heavy rain is the primary threat. Storms will start firing up in the late morning and early afternoon, diminishing in the evening.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/9-25 RSC Tue svr-1695696122604.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Be sure to move any valuable property to safety before the storms arrive, because some thunderstorms may bring flooding rain and damaging wind and/or hail. Have multiple ways to get weather warnings and know where to go in the event of severe weather!</p>

Baseball Hail in Texas Destroys Cars

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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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<p>Right now much of the fall foliage is seen in the Rockies where cooler air is starting to make an influence. We want to avoid a quick freeze though, as that could cause the leaves to wilt and die before they reach their true potential! Colors should start to explode in the coming days across Colorado when the Aspens turn. In addition, cooler air moving into the Northwest should create further color across the Cascades!</p><p>Have the leaves started changing where you live? We are now into Meteorological Fall, with the Autumnal Equinox just around the corner. We will continue to notice the changing leaves in the coming weeks.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/PKG_092920_TRT 1.52_WHEN LEAVES CHANGE_ROB BRADLEY_CM_E092920-1694870877324.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>But why and how do leaves change color? It is due to Chlorophyll in the leaves decaying into the cooler weather of the season. We've still been quite warm so the changeover has been slow for many.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/why they change-1694871127699.jpg">In fact, the majority of the country (outside of mountains over 10k feet) hasn't dropped below freezing or close to it yet this fall - we are roughly two weeks behind schedule for the Rockies, Bitterroots, and Cascades which could be contributing to the slow to develop colors. The colder air is arriving though, which should speed up the color changes.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1704911375175393467" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1704911375175393467"></div><p>Have fall foliage photos to share? Tag us on social media @weathernation</p>

Fall Colors in Full Effect for the Rockies

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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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<p>Ophelia made landfall around 6:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, near Emerald Isle, North Carolina as a strong tropical storm. Maximum sustained winds reached 70 mph, with a minimum pressure of 981 mb. Even though Ophelia has now weakened into a Post-Tropical Cyclone, it will continue to bring gusty winds, storm surge, high surf, and heavy rain to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through the rest of this weekend. Power outages have been isolated in some communities, but utility crews have been fast-acting in getting power restored.</p><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1001927184348846" data-width="500" src="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/1001927184348846" style="display: flex; justify-content: center"></div><p>The heaviest rain will favor Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey going forward into Sunday. Ophelia will slowly nudge up the I-95 corridor, and continue to weaken as it moves north. Even as a remnant low, it will bring rain and wind impacts Sunday and Monday to the Northeast.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/0924-1695577066510.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h2>Flood Threat</h2><p>Heavy rainfall could lead to flooding, especially in areas that are prone to gathering high water. This includes coastal communities along with inland areas. Upwards of 6" of rain already fell since Ophelia's impacts began and an additional 1-2" of rain is possible through Monday morning as Ophelia makes its way up the Eastern Seaboard. Localized heavier amounts of up to 3 inches may be possible. Heavy rain in the urban corridors of the Northeast could lead to flash flooding, especially in areas of New England that have been soggy over the last few weeks.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot 2023-09-24 113817-1695577103492.png">Coastal flood alerts have been issued through the Mid-Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Virginia for the push of seawater moving on shore due to Ophelia's wind field. This is where we expect freshwater rainfall flooding and the rise of rivers and oceans to create flooding on low-lying areas.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot 2023-09-24 113838-1695577123655.png">The Weather Prediction center has issued a marginal and slight risk for heavy rain as this system moves north. Please do not drive through flooded roadways and limit travel.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/ophelia-1695562731437.jpg"></p><h2>Wind</h2><p>Winds will gust in the range of 20- 35 mph for coastal communities and 10-20 mph for inland areas. The wind will stir up the ocean and onshore flooding will create issues for barrier islands and east-facing beaches.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/09241-1695577183538.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p></p><p>Continue to monitor the latest weather hazards, including any alerts, with regard to Ophelia. Be safe venturing out into the conditions this weekend!</p>

Ophelia Makes Landfall in North Carolina, Now Post-Tropical

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<p>ROCKIES - It's September in the Rockies and while some of us may be leaf-peeping, a taste of winter is knocking at our door. The National Weather Service has issued its first winter weather advisories for the northern Rockies of Montana and Bitterroots of Idaho. From 6,000 to 6,500 feet about 1-2" of wet snow can be expected. Above 7,500 feet between 2-5" of snow, and at the summits up to 10" are possible. This includes Glacier National Park. In addition to snowfall, winds over the Divide may gust as high as 45 mph which will lower visibility for travelers.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/snow-1695329702997.jpg">In addition to the chance of snowfall, much cooler air is expected across the Northwest as this incoming upper-level low swings through. Rain is expected at many lower elevations, and generally unsettled weather can be expected for the next few days. Rainfall may be heavy at times, so excessive rainfall outlooks have been issued through the start of the weekend.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/09/2023-09-22 07-59-48-1695391216763.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>If you live in any of the areas and take a weather picture or video, be sure to tag us on X, Facebook, or Instagram @weathernation and we may feature your video!</p>

More Snow for the Rockies

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From flooding to reports of tornadoes in different parts of the United States, it was a wild day of weather on Thursday.

https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/10156598453754874/

There were at least three tornadoes reported from Missouri to Illinois to even in Idaho!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1009904840644820992

Flooding across the state of Texas lead to Governor Greg Abbott declaring a Disaster Declaration for six counties.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1009865432008818688

There were also multiple reports of funnel clouds, like this one in Iowa earlier in the day on Thursday.

https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/10156597241674874/

We will have the latest for you all day Friday on where the severe weather threat heads next and what you can expect.

For WeatherNation, I'm <a href="https://media.weathernationtv.com/team/meredith-garofalo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo</a>.

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Crazy Weather Thursday!

Isolated Severe Threat for Illinois and Indiana Tuesday

A surface trough will be the focus for shower

Atmospheric River for Coastal Washington, Oregon & California

WEST COAST: An early-season atmospheric river

Tropics: Philippe in the Atlantic, Another Wave to Watch

We are now down to one tropical wave and one

Baseball Hail in Texas Destroys Cars

After a very hot, dry last few months, Texas

Fall Colors in Full Effect for the Rockies

Right now much of the fall foliage is seen in

Ophelia Makes Landfall in North Carolina, Now Post-Tropical

Ophelia made landfall around 6:15 a.m. ET on

More Snow for the Rockies

ROCKIES - It's September in the Rockies and w