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>As we get through the work week, high pressure returns westward to the Desert Southwest. <strong>Extreme heat warnings </strong>(in pink) have been issued for cities including Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, and Yuma. <strong>Heat advisories </strong>(in orange) have been issued across the Valley of California.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 120211-1787162563910.png">We started the week with plenty of triple digits across the Southwest, and the heat will continue through the end of this week. Temperatures will run a tad above average for folks across an already hot Southwest.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 120219-1787162574605.png">If you thought the hot temperatures would be a short-term thing, you would be wrong! Hot temperatures are here to stay for the end of August.</p><h2><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-18 191736-1787102330600.png">Storm Threat</h2><p>With a high pressure system sliding in, we'll manage to pick up some moisture increasing the heat index but also increasing the chance for some storms in Arizona for Wednesday afternoon. The SPC has issued a<strong> SLIGHT </strong>(level 1 out of 5) risk for severe storms.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 120233-1787162583032.png">There is a <strong>MARGINAL</strong> risk for severe weather in the same spots on Thursday as well.<br><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 120238-1787162633640.png"></p><p>The timing of these storms favors the afternoon hours during peak heating.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/0819-1787147139618.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>A blowing dust advisory has also been issued across portions of Arizona through tonight.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074546-1787147171444.png"></p><p>For more on this be sure to join us :50 past the hour for your west regional forecast.</p>

Alana Cameron

Heat, Some Humidity, and Storms Return to the Southwest

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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<p>Today, there are two areas of a <strong>slight </strong>risk for severe weather. For the mid-south, wind will be the primary concern, but isolated tornadoes will also be possible.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 075629-1787147805738.png"> For more on the Southwest severe and heat: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/heat-returning-to-the-southwest"><strong><u>Heat, Some Humidity, and Storms Return to the Southwest</u></strong></a></p><p>A few areas of <strong>marginal</strong> risks of severe weather remain through Thursday. This includes cities like Minneapolis, MN and Washington D.C.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074751-1787147482393.png">Storms stick around through Friday across the Plains and the Southeast. There is a <strong>slight</strong> risk of severe weather in Nebraska.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074757-1787147492046.png">Watch for areas of <strong>isolated</strong> to <strong>scattered</strong> flooding over the next few days.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/08191-1787147607763.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>For more on your top weather headlines, watch WeatherNation live on-air or online!</p>

Severe Storms Stick Around the Country This Week

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<p>A ridge of high pressure has dominated the southern U.S., with multiple records being broken daily. Miami, Florida, saw a record of 100° Tuesday, which ties the previous record of 100°, set in 1942. This is only the second time Miami has reached this temperature since records began in 1895! The heat alerts will remain in place across the south through Wednesday.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074145-1787146912208.png">Feels-like temperatures remain dangerously hot across the central and southern United States. Many areas will feel like 110-115 in the afternoon. Charleston will have a high of 96° on Wednesday, but a feels-like temperature of 113°.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074215-1787146939630.png">Many cities across the South will be challenging the potential of tying to break records across the South, as this high-pressure system dominates.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074226-1787146951730.png">Heat alerts are in place across the Southwest too. This includes Las Vegas, Phoenix, and parts of California.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074245-1787147007891.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-19 074334-1787147020120.png"></p>

Stifling Heat Holds Steady for Southern U.S.

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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 at the height of the storm. As the storm moves west-northwest, expect conditions to slowly improve as the blustery showers back off.</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>Flooding continues to be a problem for Hawaii as all of this rain makes it back into the ocean. Some areas picked up more than 3 FEET of rain thanks to Lala!</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-17 101407-1786983268612.jpg"></p><p>Lala, now over open Pacific waters, has strengthened back into a hurricane. According to the NHC, Lala is expected to remain a category 2. At this point, additional impacts to the Hawaiian Islands are over, but surf and rip currents will be something to watch. Larger swells generated by the system could amplify these coastal concerns.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-18 192701-1787102828054.png"></p>

Hawaii Cleaning Up after Lala Grazed the Islands

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Kevin Schneider

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<p><strong>MIDWEST - </strong>After a week of flooding rains in the Midwest, today we enjoy a break from the relentless rainfall. However, many remain under flood watches and warnings as rivers remain swollen.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2088604118151479464" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2088604118151479464"></div><p></p><p><strong>FLOOD THREAT</strong></p><p></p><p>Additional rainfall could increase the risk of flash flooding across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and Appalachian region. As the front works through, some localized flooding will be possible overnight. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/OVERNSSSS-1787016460932.png"></p><h2>Overnight Severe Threat</h2><p>The Storm Prediction Center and National Weather Service have issued a severe thunderstorm watch through tonight across the Southern Appalachians. The SPC has us under a slight risk (level 2 out of 5) for severe storms through the overnight hours.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-17 193201-1787016747073.png"></p><p></p><p></p>

Front That Caused Flooding Heading East

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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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A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Oaxaca, Mexico Friday afternoon sending shock waves that were felt by many in Mexico City. There are no tsunami alerts for the United States.

https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/964663485081690112

Video on social media showed indoor lights swinging, building windows bowing, street lights rocking back and forth, and people waiting in the streets for the shaking to stop.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfRuz_-n54a/?taken-by=rtx34855

Video credit (above) Instagram user @rtx34855 and (below) Twitter user @antogold

https://twitter.com/antogold/status/964647786447687680

Using the Richter Scale, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake is considered a major earthquake.

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Meteorologist Andy Stein recently published a piece on understanding earthquakes. <a href="https://media.weathernationtv.com/news/understanding-earthquakes/">You can read the story by clicking/tapping here</a>.

We have not heard of damage or injuries just yet, but we'll update this and other stories if that changes.

For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier

Major Earthquake Hits Mexico

Heat, Some Humidity, and Storms Return to the Southwest

As we get through the work week, high pressur

Severe Storms Stick Around the Country This Week

Today, there are two areas of a slight risk f

Stifling Heat Holds Steady for Southern U.S.

A ridge of high pressure has dominated the so

Hawaii Cleaning Up after Lala Grazed the Islands

Lala continues to move westward of Kauai, sti

Front That Caused Flooding Heading East

MIDWEST - After a week of flooding rains in t

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