Caitlin Connell

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The town of Sulphur, OK took taken a direct hit from a destructive tornado on Saturday night. Unfortunately, more sights like this are coming to light throughout Sunday. Our Field Correspondent, Brandon Clement, took this video earlier in the day:Related articles: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/tornadoes-touch-down-in-nebraska-and-iowa-on-friday">Destructive Tornadoes Tear Through Plains Friday</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/this-week-severe-weather-threat-continues">This Week: Severe Weather Threat Continues</a><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1784590897423765833" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1784590897423765833"></div>Unlike Friday, Saturday brought in more than double the amount of hail reports compared to tornado reports. The red dots below are all reports of tornadoes, not yet confirmed, but reports.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/lsr-1714302865222.png">The hail was large and damaging, along with the strong wind gusts and the confirmed tornadoes that touched down. About teacup-sized hail fell in Fox, OK on Saturday, and we're sure that hailstones that large will easily cause damage.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot 2024-04-28 052810-1714303700198.png">This is a terrifying view of a tornado touching down in the rural area of Kendall, KS. You can easily see the wide base of it on the ground along with much of the dust and debris that was picked up.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/VO_042724_RNC_NEAR KENDALL, KS_SHORTER VERSION OF TORNADO JOSH INTERCEPTED AND DEBRIS FLYING AT THE END_EMAIL_JOSH HEYNEN_DW_E042724-1714303991447.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>

Patrick Crawford

More Destructive Tornadoes Touch Down in Oklahoma

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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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If it seems like April has been particularly busy with severe weather, that would be correct - except for two days, each day this month has produced severe weather. Nearly half of those days have been Level 3 or higher. Please do not become a victim of severe weather fatigue and don't let your guard down.Related Articles: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/tornadoes-tear-through-the-heartland-friday">Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland Friday</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/more-destructive-tornadoes-touch-down-in-oklahoma">More Destructive Tornadoes Touch Down in Oklahoma</a><h2>Sunday</h2>More severe weather is imminent on Sunday as the front slowly moves east into warmer, moist air in the central and southern Plains. The Storm Prediction Center issued an Enhanced risk (level 3 out of 5) across the ArkLaTex where the atmosphere is best able to produce severe storms. Wind, hail, and a few tornadoes will be possible this evening. Severe weather will continue overnight Sunday into Monday, so please multiple ways to get alerts overnight.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/04-28 RSC Sun Mon-1714341577570.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>For the third day in a row, tornadoes will be possible, especially in the areas highlighted in brown below. The window of time for isolated tornadoes continues through around 8 pm, before individual supercells become embedded into a line of mainly wind-producing storms overnight.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot 2024-04-28 153115-1714339893424.png"><h2>Monday</h2>The start of our workweek also comes with a risk of strong storms and all forms of severe weather possible. Sunday's storms will continue moving south and east overnight, emerging into the Lower Mississippi Valley by daybreak Monday. Right now there is a Marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) mainly for damaging wind and large hail, but a brief spin-up tornado within the gusty line can't be ruled out. The line will continue to track south and east toward the Gulf Monday, with additional isolated storms firing in Texas near the dryline for the afternoon and evening.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/0428-1714340031420.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h2>Flood Threat</h2>In addition to the severe weather, there is an ongoing flood threat. Many places in the Central Plains have already seen over 7" of rain in the past few days. This means the ground is already highly saturated in some spots, making it more likely to flood. The bullseye for the heaviest rain will likely fall in places towards the Western Gulf through Tuesday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot 2024-04-28 153455-1714340103769.png">A marginal and slight risk of flooding has been highlighted through southern Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, eastern Texas, and western Louisiana. With multiple rounds of heavy rainfall, the ground will struggle to absorb additional rain that falls over the coming days. Numerous areas of flash flooding, water over the roads, and rapidly rising rivers and creeks are expected in this area due to the torrential downpours.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/04281-1714340158171.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>We're already starting to see our next <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/midweek-severe-storm-risk">severe weather threat form towards the middle of the workweek.</a> Continue to stay weather-aware and keep up with WeatherNation for all things weather.

Kara James

Severe Weather Threat Continues for the Plains

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Even though we just dealt with a powerful low pressure system and tornado outbreak this past week, it's the middle of storm season and the next low is already on the way. This low is arriving from the Pacific Northwest, targeting the Plains for Tuesday and Wednesday. Once the associated surface front taps into the moisture from the Gulf, we'll start to see the instability increase in the atmosphere and storms begin to fire.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/forecast-1714311741388.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a marginal and slight risk for Tuesday. The slight risk reaches through Spencer, IA, Omaha, NE, and down to Kansas City, MO. All forms of severe weather are on the table.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/spc-1714311927248.jpg">The severe weather risk continues on Wednesday for central Kansas and western Oklahoma. Since these severe weather threats are still a few days out, this highlights the level of confidence the SPC has in the forecast.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/spc-1714312223064.jpg">The exact timing of this system is yet to be determined. As we get closer to this timeframe, details will get hammered out. But it's important to keep checking the forecast at least once a day to keep up with any tweaks that happen between now and Tuesday.As of now, isolated storms have the potential to fire off around the peak heating hours of the day both Tuesday and Wednesday. The severe threat lingers into the overnight hours on both days, too.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/04-28 RSC RNC Tue Wed-1714355746520.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>There is another heavy rain and flooding risk associated with this next low pressure system too. Widespread rain totals for most of the country's heartland could add up to another 2-4". While this is needed rain especially for the Midwest and central Plains as drought has been increasing, too much rain will cause runoff and flooding concerns.Check back in with WeatherNation for more updates on this next system as we get closer to it.

Midweek Severe Storm Risk

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Kevin Schneider

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We've kicked out the chilly weather and are welcoming back in warm temperatures! High pressure along the East Coast will help bump up highs into the 70's and 80's this afternoon. Some locations like Toledo and Evansville could threaten record highs.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-26 08-55-00-1714144926800.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Highs will tack on another few degrees to kick off the workweek tomorrow. That will put a few more of us in the record conversation on Monday. Marks as old as 1899 could fall by Monday afternoon in Cleveland if they get to 84°.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Highs Mon-Wed-1714310627347.png">If you like the warm weather, you're in luck on Tuesday, too! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/potentiall records-1714310362394.png">More on your Eastern Regional Forecast can be found :10 past the hour on WeatherNation.

Record Highs in Trouble in the Northeast

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Summer of 1993, New England Dragway. That's when and where Steve knew he wanted to become a meteorologist. More than 20 years later he is extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to live his childhood dream. As a lover of math and science, Steve had a consistent interest in weather in elementary, middle, and high school before discovering you can major in meteorology. He attended Lyndon State College in Vermont where he received a bachelor's in meteorology-broadcasting and associate's in television news. He has worked as a meteorologist and reporter in Winchester, VA, Burlington, VT, and most recently in West Palm Beach, FL. He's recognized by the American Meteorological Society with the Certification of Broadcast Meteorologists.

Steven Glazier

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<h2>North Side - Nebraska &amp; Iowa</h2>Several teams of meteorologists and storm damage experts are actively investigating and surveying damage from Friday across the I-80 corridor. The National Weather Service in Omaha has five survey teams actively surveying damaged areas.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot 2024-04-27 091236-1714230904887.png">It all started when a tornado touched down in Lincoln, NE, just before 3 PM central time on Friday. This storm was tornado-warned for more than 50 miles as it tore through suburbs of the Omaha metro and eventually moved across the Missouri River and into Iowa.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1783955995875565622" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1783955995875565622"></div>This tornado struck Waverly, NE, a suburb on the NE side of Lincoln, where it derailed a train. It also moved through Elkhorn, NE which sits on the west side of the city of Omaha.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1784243608318595371" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1784243608318595371"></div>There was a "tornado emergency" issued for the northern suburbs of Omaha, NE, at around 3:45 PM CT Friday - this is the highest level of tornado warning the National Weather Service can issue and signals that there is a confirmed tornado on the ground and an extremely dangerous situation unfolding. A traffic camera in the Omaha area caught the tornado. Our field crews observed high-tension power lines snapped in Elkhorn, NE, outside of Omaha after the tornado moved through. Another tornado warning was issued for the city of Omaha, including downtown and damage was confirmed in the region.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1783961145100980348" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1783961145100980348"></div>Severe weather will be possible in this area once again Saturday and Sunday. This weekend could feature more significant tornadoes farther south too, which you can learn more about here in our other story: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/weekend-forecast-more-severe-weather-in-the-plains">Weekend Severe Threat</a><h2>South Side - Tex-a-Homa</h2>Storms in Texas and Oklahoma intensified overnight Thursday into Friday morning, producing large hail and tornadoes in Oklahoma before sunrise. More storms developed midday, and another confirmed tornado touched down in Waco, TX. It moved northeast, impacting cities south of Dallas along I-35 and I-45.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1783923252944920977" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1783923252944920977"></div>More active <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/weekend-forecast-more-severe-weather-in-the-plains">weather is imminent on Saturday! </a>Please stay weather-aware for the rest of the weekend and take all weather alerts seriously!

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland Friday

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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>

Rob Bradley

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Snow piled up in the Rocky Mountains this weekend, with over two feet of snow reported in parts of Colorado! Even the Denver metro area saw accumulating snow Saturday morning.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1784356854233178450" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1784356854233178450"></div> Many mountainous areas from the Cascades to the Rockies reported heavy snow from mid-week into the weekend, with the Front Range of Colorado reported the highest totals thus far.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/Screenshot 2024-04-28 062758-1714307296262.png">Moisture lingering behind the trough and afternoon heating will lead to a few more pop-up rain and snow showers on Sunday. Winter alerts are in effect for SE Wyoming's Snowy Range, where several inches of snow and gusty winds are expected.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/forecast-1714319083449.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Additional snowfall is only expected to top a few inches on Sunday but could create travel issues on mountain passes, including on I-70 and I-80.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/snow accumulation-1714319142786.jpg">Snow this late in the season is not unusual in the Colorado Rockies. In fact, even more snow is possible toward the end of the computing workweek. Denver has recorded measurable snow into late May - with mountain snow chances lingering even longer. This is great news for the handful of ski resorts that remain open, and hope to extend their season even further.

Late-Season Snow Dumps 2 Feet Across the Rockies

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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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More people die from heat every year than ALL other extreme weather COMBINED. So how do you know how hot it is it really going to be?&nbsp;The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control [CDC] worked collaboratively to produce a new HeatRisk tool rolling out this summer from coast to coast. The tool had previously been used on the West Coast, but the 2024 summer will bring this experimental product to all cities across the U.S. According to Kimberly McMahon, the NWS Public Weather Services Program Manager, "HeatRisk is a great tool to just put into context, how hot it's going to be compared to what they're used to." The HeatRisk scale ranges from minor to extreme impacts and is color-coded from yellow to magenta. For reference, a MINOR impact day is your typical summer day.&nbsp;MODERATE days bring impact to vulnerable populations, especially people who are in the sun for long periods or without A/C. On these days, fans and open windows help to alleviate heat impacts inside.&nbsp;<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/major-1713896597233.jpg">MAJOR impact days can be deadly for those without A/C and power interruptions are possible due to the heat stress. Hospitals are likely to see an increase in the number of ER visits due to heat-related illnesses. Outdoor activities should be shifted to cooler times of the day.&nbsp;<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/mod-1713896597231.jpg">Finally, EXTREME impact days are for long-duration or potentially record-breaking heat events. There will be little to no relief from the heat overnight... and power outages are likely due to the stress on the grid. Outdoor activities should be canceled, and you should stay in cool spaces.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2023 during Phoenix's month-long stretch of 100°+ degree days, more people died in their un-air conditions homes than outdoors. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/04/xtreme-1713896597235.jpg">The HeatRisk tool incorporated heat forecast and historical data from NOAA to include: how above normal the temperatures are, the time of year, the duration of the heat, and overnight relief potential.&nbsp;It also considers at what temperature heat deaths occur for over 700 cities in the U.S.. That data was imperative in designing the tool to know at what level heat becomes deadly, unique to geographic location. For example, Phoenix's 110°, though hot, wouldn't be an "extreme" day during the summer. Take that same 110° but for Chicago? The risk becomes extreme. Look for the new HeatRisk product and temperature forecasts this summer on WeatherNationTV. For more information from NOAA, visit the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/heatrisk/#:~:text=The%20NWS%20HeatRisk%20is%20an,both%20daytime%20and%20nighttime%20temperatures">HeatRisk Dashboard.</a>

NOAA Debuts "HeatRisk" Tool Nationwide

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"It was nerve racking, it jolted me. I was kind-of shocked for a second. The umbrella flew out of my hand and I was kind-of disoriented and ran to my car and just tried to get out of harms way," recounts Romulus McNeill after he found himself way too close to a cloud-to-ground lightning strike.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-111518" src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2019/08/waterspout.jpg" alt="" width="1708" height="813" />

WeatherNation Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo spoke with Romulus about this video, showing an incredibly-close lightning strike that occurred on Thursday.

"We were having a teacher-parent conference night for back to school and it was 6:42 p.m. and every one had already left the building. I had reservations about going
outside because I didn't want to get struck by lightning. And when I went outside, it just struck. And it was just kind-of shocking. It was nerve racking, it jolted me.
I was kind-of shocked for a second. The umbrella flew out of my hand and I was kind-of disoriented and ran to my car and just tried to get out of harms way," describes Romulus.

Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes happen in an instant. Lightning can strike miles from the base or top of a thunderstorm cloud. Always remember, 'When Thunder Roars, Head Indoors.'

Romulus continues his experience, "I felt like a static shock to my body. Like I said it hit on my right side and it was so quick, I just instantly got nervous and nerve racked. My principal said he
watched it through the inside of the building. He saw it from inside the building. It was thunder and lightning at the same time. What was crazy was that I saw the
lightning strike in front of me across the street by a store, but the lightning actually...I guess may have diverted or it could have been another lightning strike that
came right towards me."

In terms of advice for folks reading/watching this story?

"I'm going to be super careful about going outside in any lightning period...or thunder!"

Our appreciation to Romulus for allowing us to share this weather story to help others truly understand the dangers of lightning!

For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier

Man Describes His Close Encounter With A Lightning Strike

More Destructive Tornadoes Touch Down in Oklahoma

The town of Sulphur, OK took taken a direct h

Severe Weather Threat Continues for the Plains

If it seems like April has been particularly

Midweek Severe Storm Risk

Even though we just dealt with a powerful low

Record Highs in Trouble in the Northeast

We've kicked out the chilly weather and are w

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland Friday

North Side - Nebraska & IowaSeveral teams

Late-Season Snow Dumps 2 Feet Across the Rockies

Snow piled up in the Rocky Mountains this wee

NOAA Debuts "HeatRisk" Tool Nationwide

More people die from heat every year than ALL

Man Describes His Close Encounter With A Lightning Strike

More Destructive Tornadoes Touch Down in Oklahoma

The town of Sulphur, OK took taken a direct h

Severe Weather Threat Continues for the Plains

If it seems like April has been particularly

Midweek Severe Storm Risk

Even though we just dealt with a powerful low

Record Highs in Trouble in the Northeast

We've kicked out the chilly weather and are w

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland Friday

North Side - Nebraska &amp; IowaSeveral teams

Late-Season Snow Dumps 2 Feet Across the Rockies

Snow piled up in the Rocky Mountains this wee

NOAA Debuts "HeatRisk" Tool Nationwide

More people die from heat every year than ALL

North Side - Nebraska & IowaSeveral teams