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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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2018383921759535517" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2018383921759535517"></div>Charlotte, NC had record snowfall on Saturday picking up 11inches and a little farther to the north the Big Apple rounded out January with below freezing temps for nine days in a row! By February 2nd, temperatures finally touched above freezing. However another cold spell is on the way for the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Web2-1770199553792.png">Morning temperatures will drop to the single digits for most of the Northeast by the weekend, with a few isolated areas such as Burlington, VT, dropping those lows into the sub-zero category!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 111703-1770229032633.png">Snow begins early Friday morning across the Great Lakes and pushes into the Northeast into the weekend. The highest totals should be more confined to the Great Lakes.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172246-1770250971959.png">Winter weather alerts have been issued for the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and Pennsylvania for Friday through Saturday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172306-1770250991330.png">The highest totals look to be downwind of the Great Lakes. Other locations are expected to see a few inches of snow.More details on your Eastern Regional Forecast can be found :10 past the hour on WeatherNation.

Jackie Brown

The Arctic Grip Holds Across the Northeast

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Record-high temperatures were shattered at the start of February in California. Escondido, in Southern California, hit 92°. Another ridge of high pressure builds in midweek, bringing another round of record high potential. All the red dots indicate cities that could break their record high temperature on Thursday. A few spots in Montana broke records on Wednesday, reaching the 60s in the afternoon.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172616-1770251184223.png">Cities like Los Angeles have average highs this time of the year in the 60s. While Thursday may not be as warm as Wednesday, the city is still running well-above average for this time of year. Cities like Denver will run upwards of 20 degrees above average on Friday and Saturday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 171940-1770250853861.png">With warm temperatures, we are also looking at strong winds in Southern California. Wind advisories have been issued through Thursday, as wind gusts are likely to reach upwards of 45 mph.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172141-1770250906277.png">Farther north, temperatures will also be around 10° to, in some cases, even 30° above average!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172155-1770250920361.png">In better news, these warm temperatures will likely follow the ridge of high pressure out east. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), giving us good confidence in above-average temperatures shifting eastward into next week!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Web1-1770213123716.png">

Feeling More Like Summer Out West

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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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<h1>Carolina Ice:</h1>A frontal boundary moving east has been bringing precipitation to the northeast and southeast, and along the boundary, some light ice and a wintry mix continues through Thursday morning.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/02-04_midatl-1770251408653.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Winter weather advisories remain in place through Thursday morning for the likelihood of snow and freezing rain. Along the Virginia border is where the heaviest freezing rain is likely, with up to .1" possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 172927-1770251442866.png"><h1>South Cold</h1>After dealing with rain most of Wednesday in the southeast, the front will still push through Florida to bring rain to the state on Thursday.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/02-04_east-1770251813395.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>When all is said and done, most of us walk away with about an inch of rain at most across the southeast!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 173629-1770251820909.png"><h1>Cold Post Front:</h1>Some cold weather alerts have been issued for portions of the southeast behind the front. Tonight, temperatures along the Gulf Coast will drop and cold weather advisories have been issued for wind chills down into the low 20s.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 113439-1770230151672.png">Thursday night through Friday morning, freeze watches have been issued for Florida and southern Georgia.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 113443-1770230156744.png">Make sure to stay tuned to WeatherNation, as we'll continue to track this system for you!

Cool Post-Front in the Southeast

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Kevin Schneider

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The championship of the National Football League is set to be decided this upcoming Sunday. The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots for the right to claim the title at 5:30 PM Sunday. But will the weather have a say in who is hoisting the trophy at the end of it?<h3>PATTERN BREAKING DOWN</h3>A strong area of high pressure is currently in charge of the weather out west. That's pushing temperatures to the extreme in Los Angeles, especially for early February. If you plan on attending any of the pregame festivities this week before the game kicks off, no issues at all!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 175014-1770252631968.png"> That will begin to break down towards the end of the week, but will it be in enough time to start talking about rain chances in Santa Clara? Right now, it's a firm, maybe.Rain doesn't look like it's going to ruin the game or any of the activities, but it bears watching as we go throughout the week. Better bet to see some weather will be a bit farther north, into Oregon and Washington by the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-04 175020-1770252647163.png">Stay with us as we iron out the details on the big forecast for the big game on Sunday.

Big Game Forecast!

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While it has now been about a week since a major ice storm swept across the southern tier of the country, over a hundred thousand customers remain without power, the majority across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. While temperatures warmed some, it's been a cold week for people to be without power, creating dangerous conditions for those without heat.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-03 115640-1770145007230.png">Customers without power are beginning to improve as temperatures climb.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-03 115635-1770145012216.png">Low temperatures will begin to rebound, more noticeably, by midweek. However, with another system bringing even more cool air, temps plummet right back down into the high 20s!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-03 084341-1770133432445.png">Will continue to update this story on Weather Nation, including your Southeast Regional Forecast, every 10 past the hour.

Thousands of Customers Still Remain Without Power

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While the snow has ended, the slippery travel hasn't.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2017796406862614965" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2017796406862614965?s=20"></div>This comes after some locations in the Carolinas have seen historic snow totals, comparable with some of the heaviest snows in recent history. In addition to heavy snow, this low brought strong winds to the East Coast, coastal flooding, and has pulled arctic air all the way to South Florida. Miami and West Palm Beach are a couple of the FL cities that broke record lows on Sunday AM.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-01 105502-1769968516931.png">Totals in some North Carolina cities exceeded 20"!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-01 160422-1769987074148.png">Sunshine's helping start the melting process. However, anything that might melt during the day will likely refreeze during the overnights. Leaving slick roads for the morning commute. Wednesday morning lows and road temperatures will continue to see improvements, this will help some of that snow and ice begin to melt and stay melted.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-03 084546-1770133570185.png">Temperatures will climb into the 40's by the middle of the week, which should help get any of the leftover snow to clear out. Another chance of rain/snow moves into the forecast by Wednesday, but it doesn't appear to be quite as threatening.

Historic Snow Leaves Slick Roads

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You've been warned, iguanas. We've had glancing blows of cold weather recently, stunning a few cold-blooded reptiles. This one's going to be more widespread and could even bring the threat of snow as far south as Tampa.<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IusUvOmydJc" start="0"></iframe></div><h1>COLD</h1>A developing low-pressure will cutted across the Gulf Friday. This system did bring some impressive snow to the Carolinas before moving up the coast. That system will leave the door WIDE OPEN behind it, letting the Arctic air flow much farther south than it has been recently. Overnight lows in the 30's will make it as far south as Miami, where they haven't seen the 30's for more than a decade!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-28 101841-1769620728751.png">Even areas like the Tampa area will slip into the freezer by Sunday morning. That's where things might get interesting...<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/web1-1769944569000.png"><h1>GULF-EFFECT SNOW</h1>We've started shutting down the lake-effect machine a little bit--it's been that cold recently. Great Lake ice coverage has rocketed way above average for the time of year. Let's find another body of water. The Gulf won't freeze over!<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2016346284802629827" src="https://x.com/NWSWPC/status/2016346284802629827?s=20"></div>For any sort of "-effect" to happen (rain or snow) there just needs to be a sizable difference in temperatures. Some lesser-known include ocean-effect snow that can sometimes affect places like Nantucket, MA. This is similar, where cold, Arctic air will flow over warmer waters of the Gulf around the Big Bend this weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot 2026-01-28 102535-1769621144325.png">The difference in temperatures will drive persistent showers onshore into Sunday. The thinking is that temperatures could catch up to the showers, turning the rain over to snow. This won't be a long-lived setup, so is expected to be more novelty than anything. It's still wild that Florida could pick up snow twice in the same Winter, though! For the record, the last time Tampa picked up measurable snow was January 19, 1977.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-01 06-16-37-1769944619717.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>

Gulf-Effect Snow Possible This Weekend

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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

The Arctic Grip Holds Across the Northeast

Charlotte, NC had record snowfall on Saturday

Feeling More Like Summer Out West

Record-high temperatures were shattered at th

Cool Post-Front in the Southeast

Carolina Ice:A frontal boundary moving east h

Big Game Forecast!

The championship of the National Football Lea

Thousands of Customers Still Remain Without Power

While it has now been about a week since a ma

Historic Snow Leaves Slick Roads

While the snow has ended, the slippery travel

Gulf-Effect Snow Possible This Weekend

You've been warned, iguanas. We've had glanci