Brittany Lockley

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A powerful storm system tore through the Ohio Valley on Thursday evening into Friday Morning. Warmer air and increasing moisture led the Storm Prediction Center&nbsp;to highlight the region for an enhanced risk of severe weather, even noting the potential for strong EF2+ tornadoes and widespread damaging winds. The atmosphere responded accordingly, with discrete supercells developing ahead of a larger line of storms, a setup often associated with more intense tornado potential.&nbsp;<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2024703055716110662" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2024703055716110662"></div>Storms rapidly intensified Thursday afternoon as warm, humid air surged north ahead of a strong cold front. That unstable air mass, combined with increasing wind shear, created an environment favorable for rotating thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes. By late afternoon and evening, several tornado warnings had been issued across eastern Illinois as storms tracked toward the Indiana state line.&nbsp;<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-20 10-19-01-1771608008044.mkv" controls="true" width="100%"></video>&nbsp;The National Weather Service received reports of tornado touchdowns in Illinois, along with damage to trees, power lines, and structures across several states. In addition to tornadoes, storms produced large hail and wind gusts over 60 mph.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 102028-1771608042339.png">As the cold front pushed east, the severe threat gradually diminished across the Ohio Valley, and even into Friday morning, there were severe thunderstorm warnings in West Virginia and Tennessee. West Virginia saw 1" size hail early Friday morning.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 102124-1771608094178.png">This severe weather event serves as a reminder that when the right ingredients come together, there can be significant severe outbreaks even outside of severe weather season. Reports so far include downed trees, damaged buildings, flipped cars, and power outages.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2024861610670534662" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2024861610670534662"></div>Tune into WeatherNation TV as storm surveys are expected in the coming days to determine how many tornadoes touched down and how strong they were.&nbsp;Also, join us for Severe Weather Awareness. .scene, Week, March 1st through the 7th, as we get you prepared for the upcoming severe season.

Strong Storms Spawned Tornadoes in Illinois Amid Elevated Severe Threat

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Karissa is the Director of On-Air Operations at WeatherNation. Karissa grew up loving math and science, but really fell in love with Meteorology while attending the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. After two summers of storm chasing in the central plains, she knew that it was the career path for her. Standing in front of a thunderstorm and feeling the cool outflow knock her over was an experience she will never forget. After two years at COD, she transferred to Metropolitan State University of Denver. Karissa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology. Her high school and college speech and meteorology professors were extremely supportive and pushed her to succeed. Before joining the WeatherNation team, she previously worked as the Morning Meteorologist at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa and at WMBD-TV in Peoria, IL. She recently was part of a National Edward R. Murrow award winning team for breaking news for their coverage of the EF-4 tornado in Washington, Illinois. In her free time, Karissa enjoys cooking and trying new foods. She is a self proclaimed 'TV Junkie' who can get into just about any show. She is a die hard Chicago sports fan who loves attending professional sporting events.

Karissa Klos

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Snow has become more widespread across Upstate New York and into New England today. As trough of low pressure moves through the region into Saturday, more cold air will wrap into the system allowing for more wintry precipitation. <h1>TIMING</h1><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/BAMSNE-1771608331190.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>A warm front moving north will continue to cause enough lift on the cool side of the system to push mixed precip across New England through Friday evening. a line from Syracuse to Hartford will see rain mixing with snow and ice. Higher elevations and locations north of Boston and Albany will see all snow. The heaviest accumulations will happen into the early morning hours of Saturday, before tapering off by late morning. However, the low pressure system will continue to become wrapped up in itself and limit its movement. That means light snow along the surface trough will linger in the Great Lakes and New England through the day on Saturday. Once this system clears, a coastal low will deepen just off the southeast coast. As it traces north along the northeast coastline, it could bring major snow, wind and coastal impacts into early next week. Stay with WeatherNation for more details on this potential Nor'Easter. <h1>TOTALS</h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 101446-1771607697717.png">Snow totals will reach 6-8" across the Winter Storm Warning areas, with some isolated higher spots up to a foot. Dangerous driving conditions will stick around through Saturday, so avoid the roads if you can. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 102101-1771608071614.png">Lower elevations will be closer to 1-3", including cities like Boston. However, we could see sleet and freezing rain mixing in and adding to issues here. Icing totals will be around a tenth of an inch in some spots, so be careful for slick roadways. Locations in orange could see sleet, which will accumulate more like snow. <h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 101701-1771608000529.png">TEMPERATURES</h1>Highs will remain in the 30s through the event and as the next coastal low moves in. This will mean another potential for wintry mix Sunday and early next weeek.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 102148-1771608128058.png">

Administrator

New England Snow & Ice Into Saturday

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Tracey Anthony

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PLAINS - Multiple active fires broke out on Tuesday across the Plains of Kansas and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Fire danger continues through the end of the week with red flag warnings and fire weather watches in place until then.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Web 1-1771598109859.png">The fires that began on Tuesday have burned a large amount of real estate, estimates show over 310,000 acres of wildfires burned since Tuesday afternoon causing low visibility and evacuation orders issued.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-18 165212-1771458739592.png">In the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, the Ranger Road Fire has burned nearly 300,000 acres since Tuesday with little to no containment.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Web 2-1771598242357.png">As our front has been moving through, a critical fire weather outlook risk is in place. Wind gusts up to 60 mph will be possible. Fire weather outlooks continue into through Friday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/1-1771557468980.png">Some winds were clocked close to triple digits. The winds prompted a blowing dust advisory to be issued on Tuesday afternoon, and a 30+-vehicle pileup resulted from brownout conditions along I-25 in southern Colorado.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Web 9-1771425927888.png">

Patrick Crawford

Wildfire Danger: Critical Conditions

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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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CALIFORNIA - After almost a week of relentless rain and snow, skies in California are finally clearing into the weekend. Despite the system exiting the region, impacts will linger for some time, especially in the mountains where feet of snow wait to be cleared. As of Friday morning, I-80 and the Donner Pass are back open after hundreds of cars became stranded from the intense snowfall.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-19 075311-1771512817264.png">Snow totals surpassed 7 ft. for a few areas, with 4-6 feet across many locations in the Sierra. Even the mountains in Southern California saw 2-4 feet of snow on the peaks.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 092932-1771605166528.png">Those numbers, despite being incredibly high, did not bring California's snow pack back to the average, but numbers did see a massive jump from 54% to start the week to 72% as of Thursday afternoon.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 093002-1771605324693.png">Unfortunately the heavy snow led to multiple deaths. A large avalanche killed 8 people on a back country ski tour, while another man failed to return to his vehicle after parking at a ski resort.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2024232039315296461" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2024232039315296461"></div><h1>Lingering Cold</h1>Cold air will linger behind the low into Saturday morning, where a round of frost and even a freeze is possible in the Central Valley of California.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 093030-1771605310811.png"><h1>Next Round</h1>Another series of storms systems is expected to move in around the ridge of high pressure in the Four Corners this weekend. This will focus the next round of heavy and rain and snow farther north, with impacts expected in Northern California into Central Oregon. Warming temperatures will mean some areas that received intense snow could see nothing but rain next week. This could lead to flooding issues, especially with runoff in the mountains.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 093723-1771605465112.png">The heaviest rain is expected from the Northern Sierra near Lake Tahoe up to the coastal mountains in California and Oregon. Flash flooding is a concern on Monday and Tuesday in these areas.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 093736-1771605471846.png">

Major Storm System Winds Down in California

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A pair of storms dropped feet of snow across the Midwest this week, snarling travel at times, including Thursday evening where traffic in Nebraska and Iowa slowed to a halt. This second system is expected to slowly move through the Great Lakes into the weekend, with light to moderate snow on the way. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 090547-1771603742862.png">The first system brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to areas of North Dakota and Minnesota, with over two feet of snow on the west side of Lake Superior. The trailing system tracked along I-80 on Thursday, bringing heavy snow from Nebraska to Central Iowa before it began shifting north. Parts of central and eastern Iowa measured over 15" of snow Thursday night into early Friday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 090711-1771603752118.png">Winter alerts remain in effect on Friday, but are set to expire through the evening and overnight as heavy snow turns to lighter snow.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-20 09-08-16-1771603801509.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Snow will continue to wrap around the low on Friday, bringing moderate snowfall to portions of Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Light snow lingers Saturday as the low nearly stalls, inching its way across Lake Huron before it eventually brings light snow to the Northeastern US.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 090721-1771603761646.png">Additional snow and ice totals are enough to cause some significant impacts, especially between Green Bay and Houghton. This is where 6-12" of snow is still possible.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-20 090726-1771603772506.png">Tune in at :30 past each hour for the latest Central Regional forecast, or access our regional forecasts on demand, anytime, with the WeatherNation app.

Heavy Snow Slams Parts of the Midwest, Lingers This Weekend

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More record highs fell across parts of the Southeast with temperatures well above average in the 70s and 80s. With the high pressure ridge sticking around the Southeast, the above average warmth continues into the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/1-1771558130599.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/1-1771558107283.png">More record high temperatures will be possible through Saturday as the heat builds east.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/1-1771558163052.png">Before a cold front knocks temperatures down this weekend, the above average warmth continues, but it will change very quickly. A handful of cities in Florida will go from Record Warm potential to Record low potential for their daytime max temperature. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-20 09-13-07-1771596992617.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Southern Plains anomalous warmth will help to increase the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/active-weather-weekend-ahead">severe weather threat</a> over the next couple of days. Confidence is very high in spring-like warmth sticking around as we wrap up the month and head into March. The chance for thunderstorms in a more spring-like pattern will continue along with it!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-18 185013-1771465823044.png">

Fake Spring Hits the Southeast

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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ROCKIES - Widespread winter alerts remain in place across the Four Corners, with additional snowfall expected in the region. Some parts of Utah and Colorado have already seen over a foot of snowfall in the last few days! An additional amount of snowfall is on the way for the Four Corners through the weekend.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-19 202603-1771558194020.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot 2026-02-19 203032-1771558246278.png">An additional 6-12" will be possible in favored mountain areas of northern Arizona, Utah, and western Colorado.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/02/2026-02-20 09-29-32-1771597795085.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Stay tuned to WeatherNation for the latest updates.

Rocky Mountains Receive Much Needed Snow

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<img class="alignnone wp-image-97678" src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2018/09/Iowa-Tornado.jpg" alt="" width="583" height="328" />

The National Weather Service confirms a tornado<a href="https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/lsr/#DVN/201809251853/201809251853/0100" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> touched down</a> just south of Mechanicsville, Iowa, a town of population 1,102, on Tuesday, September 25th, 2018.

According to the storm survey, a brief tornado touched down just south of town early Tuesday afternoon, lofting 2 grain bins and causing damage to corn.

This was one of many damage reports due to storms sweeping across parts of the Midwest on Tuesday.

For WeatherNation, I am Meteorologist Marcus Walter.

&nbsp;

NWS: Tornado Confirmed Just South Mechanicsville, Iowa on Tuesday

Strong Storms Spawned Tornadoes in Illinois Amid Elevated Severe Threat

A powerful storm system tore through the Ohio

New England Snow & Ice Into Saturday

Snow has become more widespread across Upstat

Wildfire Danger: Critical Conditions

PLAINS - Multiple active fires broke out on T

Major Storm System Winds Down in California

CALIFORNIA - After almost a week of relentles

Heavy Snow Slams Parts of the Midwest, Lingers This Weekend

A pair of storms dropped feet of snow across

Fake Spring Hits the Southeast

More record highs fell across parts of the So

Rocky Mountains Receive Much Needed Snow

ROCKIES - Widespread winter alerts remain in