WeatherNation Meteorologists

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The Pacific Ocean has been incredibly active so far this hurricane season, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Meanwhile, the Atlantic remains mostly quiet, as record wind shear continues to tear apart tropical waves moving off Africa. There is a low chance of tropical development being monitored in the Atlantic Basin.<h1>Atlantic Basin</h1>There is an area being monitored east of Bermuda with a medium chance of tropical development. Right now, no deterministic models love this area, but plenty of AI models seem to. Worth watching, but again, not threatening unless you're going to Bermuda.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-17 090945-1789657794411.png">The end of September and start of October could get interesting in the Atlantic, as more widespread lift is expected to develop. Wind shear is still at a record high, which should be able o crush any waves coming off of Africa. Tropical development will have better potential in the western Atlantic and Gulf, where shear is much lower.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-17 091009-1789657855421.png"><h1>Eastern &amp; Central Pacific Basins</h1>Several systems are being monitored in the Pacific, with good chances for two of the waves to develop into tropical cyclones. The central wave will track west, while the more easterly wave could stay closer to Mexico. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-17 091238-1789657964939.png">Neither has a clear path toward land yet, but both are worth monitoring for interests in Mexico and Hawaii. Global models develop both systems, with the central wave looking at better conditions to strengthen quickly. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-17 094208-1789659741282.png"><h1>El Niño Fueling Pacific Activity</h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-15 105410-1789491264736.png">The surge in tropical activity comes as El Niño continues to strengthen across the equatorial Pacific. El Niño is characterized by warmer-than-average ocean temperatures across portions of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. Those unusually warm waters can influence weather patterns around the globe while also creating an environment that can favor tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-16 073748-1789565873978.png">This year’s El Nino has already strengthened considerably, and forecasts indicate it could become exceptionally strong later this year.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-12 063433-1789216512410.png">

Rob Bradley

Topics: Pacific Stays Active, Watching One Wave in the Atlantic

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Tracey Anthony

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It's no secret that the Midwest has been the spot to watch for severe weather. However, when severe weather strikes, it's important to never sleep on that flooding threat.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2100200528651198923" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2100200528651198923"></div>With a stubborn ridge draped across the southeast, Gulf moisture will continue to get pushed into the central U.S. through the week. Multiple rounds of fronts will spark up showers and thunderstorm. When the same locations see a multi-day threat, you know the flood potential increases.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-04-07 060930-1789643847317.png">Flood Watches continue across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio with additional heavy rain in the forecast for Thursday &amp; into the weekend. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-04-06 063011-1789643778825.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-03-31 062728-1789643791853.png">The heaviest of the rain moving forward through the weekend positions itself across Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-04-06 063258-1789643863028.png">Tune into WeatherNation for your full Central U.S. breakdown at :30 past the hour!

Rounds of Storms Increase the Flood Threat in the Midwest

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No surprise here: More records were broken across the Southern U.S. on Wednesday (above). Dallas, TX has had a very hot September. Dallas, TX did not break a record high today, but they did record another high temperature of 100 degrees. This is the most days at or above 100° the Dallas metro has ever seen now at 15 days.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-03-29 061131-1789642283328.png">The Heat paired with very dry conditions, is now leading to brush &amp; wildfire issues for the South Central Plains<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2100336425468387653" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2100336425468387653"></div>Heat Advisories remain in place through this week. Temperatures will be hot and the humidity will make it feel even hotter.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-03-29 061654-1789642292760.png">On Thursday, temperatures will be hot for many. But with the temperatures combined with the humidity, things are going to be hot. With the humidity spots like Little Rock will feel like 108°. New Orleans will have a high of 89°, but will feel like 96°.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/1-1789610325839.png">The longer-range forecast does not bring much relief in sight. There remains a higher confidence that temperatures will stay above normal through mid-late September.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-16 045119-1789555890283.png">

Summer Heat Holds it's Grip on the South

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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>

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For the first time in the satellite era (since 1966), no hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic Basin to date, breaking the record for the latest date in the season. Two seasons previously held the record, with both Gustav (2002) and Humberto (2013) becoming the first hurricanes of their respective seasons at 8 am on September 11th. For the real nerds and weather historians out there, 1907 and 1914 did not have hurricanes either, but records in these years relied on observations from ships in the ocean or if a hurricane made landfall. Hurricanes could have formed in these years, but may have been missed due to a lack of satellites.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2098422798066798906" src="https://x.com/philklotzbach/status/2098422798066798906"></div>While there have been five named storms to date, they've all been tropical storms, producing limited energy. ACE (Accumulated Cyclone Energy) measures total energy released by tropical cyclones and can be a good way to compare seasonal activity. So far, the Atlantic has produced less than 10% of its average ACE, while the Pacific has been nearly doubling what's expected.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-14 073312-1789392812595.png"><h1>El Niño Continues to Crush Atlantic Activity, Set To Break Records</h1>It's not surprising the Atlantic has been quiet while activity in the Pacific has been exploding. El Niño continues to break records and is expected to be the strongest on record as it peaks from the fall into the winter. El Niño is a global weather pattern, characterized by a shift in wind direction which pushes warm water east across the equator toward South America. These warmer water temperatures fuel tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific, but the warm water also alters the behavior of trade winds in the Atlantic. The increased wind shear from the trades often tears apart tropical systems as they try to get organized.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-16 074742-1789566465249.png">El Niño is expected to continue to intensify through the end of hurricane season, with a gradual wind down through the late winter and spring months. This should continue to limit tropical activity in the Atlantic, but that doesn't mean additional systems can't form and hit the United States. Remember, while wind shear increases over most of the Atlantic during strong El Niño events, the Gulf and western Atlantic (off the east coast of the US) can have less shear, leading to a better chance of systems forming closer to the coast. We've already experienced that several times this season with tropical storms.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-10 124853-1789066432246.png">

No Hurricanes Yet in the Atlantic, A New Record

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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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Monday proved to be an active severe weather day for the plains. The significant wind threat definitely materialized across this region, giving us wind reports out of Nebraska, close to 90 mph!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-15 034852-1789466001637.png">Tuesday, another marginal threat for severe weather stretches all the way from Texas to Southern Michigan. Cities in the risk include Kansas City, Chicago, and Indianapolis. Damaging winds will be the main concern on Tuesday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-15 034906-1789466030835.png">These storms are expected to form and roll on through around dinnertime. This is also when we'll see the highest likelihood for some of these severe storms.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-15 03-49-33-1789466093879.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Stay with WeatherNation TV for the latest forecast, severe weather alerts and updates throughout the weekend.&nbsp;

Adrian Hernandez

Active Pattern Takes Shape Across the Plains

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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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<h1>WHAT TO EXPECT </h1>Record rainfall has fallen across the Northeast. Bridgeport, CT, saw a daily rainfall record of 4.25" on Sunday! Multiple cities saw rainfall totals of 3-4 inches these past few days. Overnight, a few storms will be possible as the cold front moves through, but things will continue to taper off into the overnight hours. <h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-13 072247-1789305785489.png">GENERAL THUNDERSTORMS</h1>As a cold front works through, there is a general risk for thunderstorms overnight. This was downgraded by the SPC, as earlier on Sunday there was a severe threat. Now overnight, you can see a few storms and isolated heavy downpours. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/ne overngith-1789348423494.png"><h1>OVERNIGHT </h1>As the frontal boundary moves through, there will be a few storms developing along it. Expect dry conditions for your morning commute. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/cold front overngiht-1789348490359.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>For more on your eastern regional forecast tune in at :10 past the hour.

Storms Winding Down Across Northeast

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Temperatures not only broke records on Wednesday but the heat index for some Southern California cities hit near 120° (above). While many do not associate tropical storms and hurricanes with the Desert Southwest, it's not unusual to see remnant moisture from these systems pulled into the region several times a year from decaying systems in the Eastern Pacific. The leftover moisture from Marie that streamed into the area over the holiday weekend is still lingering. Rainfall totals from Marie brought 2" in some locations. This also significantly increased the high surf and rip currents over the weekend holiday. Beach erosion and coastal impacts have been significant! <div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2097052283859070982" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2097052283859070982"></div>The higher moisture is also impacting the heat across the region. Dew point temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s. Heat Alerts remain active through Thursday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-09 190346-1789002230793.png">Temperatures across this area are running 10-20° above average for Thursday, before more seasonable temperatures for Friday. Near 90 is expected for San Diego! When the humidity is factored in, temperatures could feel nearly 10 degrees warmer, and today that humidity is lingering. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-09 190400-1789002244390.png">Below are just a few of the records that broke in Southern California on Wednesday. Temperatures will start to reach near normal again for many by the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-09 190417-1789002291052.png">Had plans to hit the beach and beat the heat? Might not be the best idea to head into the water. Beach hazards statements have been issued for coastal California. Mainly, large waves and dangerous rip currents will be the threats to watch out for. Some of these alerts will last through the rest of the work week.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-09 190510-1789002316119.png">If you are going to the beaches, swim near a lifeguard! This is true even for more experienced swimmers.If you ever find yourself caught in a rip current:<ol><li>Don't panic. If you panic and try to swim back to shore against the current, you will exhaust your energy.</li><li>Swim parallel to the coastline. Once you're out of the grip of the rip you'll be able to move towards the shoreline.</li><li>If swimming parallel is too difficult. Float on your back and try to signal for help!</li><li>Listen to the lifeguards and monitor beach conditions before you go into the water.</li></ol><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot 2026-09-02 081848-1788368179615.jpg">Stay tuned to WeatherNation for the latest in the forecast.

High Heat & Humidity Across the Southwest

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How strong is the jet stream? Enough to take a standard National Weather Service upper-air observation balloon on a journey nearly a thousand miles!

https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/966741182532304896

Twice a day, every day NWS offices across the country launch radiosondes, or balloons with attached weather observing instruments. Scientists use the data collected as the balloon travels upwards in the atmosphere to build vertical profiles, which are essential to understanding the structure of weather systems. When collected at a large number of locations, upper-air observations help establish the initial conditions for computer models that forecast weather and climate conditions.

On Thursday morning, the NWS office in Fort Worth, TX received word that one of their balloons got caught up in the powerful jet stream of the current storm system and traveled all the way to Dexter, MI. That's nearly 1,000 miles away!

https://twitter.com/NWSFortWorth/status/966750854878564354

For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Karissa Klos.

Dallas to Dexter: The Journey of a Weather Balloon

Topics: Pacific Stays Active, Watching One Wave in the Atlantic

The Pacific Ocean has been incredibly active

Rounds of Storms Increase the Flood Threat in the Midwest

It's no secret that the Midwest has been the

Summer Heat Holds it's Grip on the South

No surprise here: More records were broken ac

No Hurricanes Yet in the Atlantic, A New Record

For the first time in the satellite era (sinc

Active Pattern Takes Shape Across the Plains

Monday proved to be an active severe weather

Storms Winding Down Across Northeast

WHAT TO EXPECT Record rainfall has fallen acr

High Heat & Humidity Across the Southwest

Temperatures not only broke records on Wednes