Patrick Crawford has always been a huge weather buff! He grew up in Plano, Texas, and it was there that he experienced what Mother Nature was capable of doing. He would always turn on the television to see what local meteorologists were saying about the weather. That's when he realized he wanted to be a meteorologist.

Patrick graduated from Northern Illinois University (’04) with a degree in Meteorology and a double minor in Mathematics and Geography. Broadcast Meteorology has been great to him and he has been able to work in television markets all across the country. Some of his stops have included New Orleans, Green Bay and even Yuma, Arizona. He is so excited to be part of the WeatherNation team.

He has been awarded the prestigious CBM (Certified Broadcast Meteorologist) weather seal from the American Meteorological Society.

Feel free to catch up with Patrick Crawford on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MeteorologistPC/">Facebook</a> and on <a href="https://twitter.com/MeteorologistPC">Twitter</a> pages.

Patrick Crawford

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<p>An upper-level low-pressure system from the Pacific moves onshore Tuesday into Wednesday along the west coast and then is expected to move into the Plains by late week, triggering the potential for severe storms. When we look for the chance of severe thunderstorms the four ingredients we highlight make up the acronym <strong>SLIM</strong>: <strong>S</strong>hear,<strong> L</strong>ift, <strong>I</strong>nstability, and <strong>M</strong>oisture. As we head into the midweek, an upper-level low that will bring more rain and snow from California, Nevada, and the Four Corners, will eject into the Plains and bring along with it the shear and lift ingredients needed for storms. Down at the surface, southerly winds at the surface will help draw up Gulf moisture. Once our surface cold front moves in bringing in the lift and instability for storms, this teams up with moisture to help create thunderstorms.</p><h2><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-19_moisture SLIM-1679252987917.JPG">Thursday</h2><p>The severe storm risk on Thursday stretches from the Red River Valley in southern Oklahoma through central and southwest Texas. All severe weather threats are possible, including large hail and tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a slight risk (level 2 out of 5).</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_spc thu-1679422350968.JPG"></p><p>There is also a significant severe potential for portions of western and central Texas on Thursday for potentially very large hail and damaging gusts.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_sig svr thu-1679422522688.JPG"></p><p>Storms develop along the area of low pressure on Thursday afternoon and evening, posing a tornado threat due to the inherent spin in the atmosphere. </p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_12z 3k to 15k thu-1679422628834.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p></p><h2>Friday</h2><p>By Friday the severe weather risk will be across western Kentucky, Tennessee and down the Mississippi delta to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. There is confidence in all modes of severe weather - please plan ahead to your outdoor activities for Friday if you live in the South.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/Capture4-1679394997275.JPG">Generally, forecast models have a difficult time pinpointing exactly where storms will fire when we look over 3 to 4 days out. Here is an early look at who wills see storms and where they will head based on the GFS model.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-21 07-59-32-1679407505712.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Details for this system still need to be fine-tuned, such as exact location, timing, and specific storm threats. Stay with WeatherNation for the latest.</p>

Severe Storm Chances Return to the Plains & South Late Week

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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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<p>FOUR CORNERS - Fresh snow is leading to unstable slopes and the avalanche risk through much of the Southwest and Northwest this week. In addition to your standard winter alerts, Colorado and Northern New Mexico are under <strong>avalanche watches</strong> (orange) for the most dangerous avalanche conditions starting Tuesday and continuing through Thursday. Unfortunately, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://avalanche.org/avalanche-accidents/">avalanches killed two</a> people this past weekend in Colorado alone - on March 17th and 19th. Our thoughts are with those impacted. Snow has been coming down across the Four Corners and will continue to last through midweek bringing wind, snow-covered roads, and heavy accumulations which could lead to potentially difficult travel. Winter weather alerts are in effect through much of the 4 Corners region (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) for higher elevation snowfall. This comes after half a foot of fresh snow in New Mexico and Colorado in the last 24 hours. An additional 12-24" of snow in Utah and 6-12" of snow in Colorado is possible.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_rsw_four corners alerts-1679422052962.JPG"></p><p>Snowfall totals of one to three feet are possible around the highest elevations of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The lower elevations can reach around 6-12 inches. This will result in difficult mountain travel, especially at night and over the high elevation passes.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_rsw_n 4 corn 12z-1679422089883.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_rsw_ s 4 corn 12z-1679422093654.JPG">In addition to snowfall concerns, we also have the risk of snowmelt combining with heavy rainfall to lead to the risk of flooding of rivers, creeks and streams from Southern California into Arizona and Nevada this week. Please be aware especially if you live in a flood-prone area and be prepared to leave if the rivers/streams begin to flood.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_az flood-1679422108021.JPG">Rain and snow become much more widespread through tonight as a frontal system continues to push into the Four Corners. We will see wet weather continue throughout the day as Pacific moisture is carried inland. Snowfall levels will be above 7,000 feet generally, so don't expect much snow at the lower elevations of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. The mountains, however, will see low visibility and difficult travel. Routes to watch will be I-80, I-70 and I-40.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_12z four corners-1679422113471.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>For more on the Southwestern forecast join us on WeatherNation at :50 past the hour.</p>

Avalanches in Colorado Claim the Lives of Two - Avalanche Alerts Continue this Week

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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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<p>The California snowpack statewide is over double the normal, in particular, the southern Sierra has benefited the most from the active winter season. For example, Soda Springs, CA has received over 56 feet of snow this season, making this season the 2nd snowiest since records started in 1946! The Sierra is only about 11 feet shy of the record 1951-52 year. Another upper-level low pressure is teaming up with an abundance of Pacific moisture, this will keep the southwest active through mid-week. We expect the heaviest rainfall to favor southern California while the heaviest snow favors the central and northern Sierra. Steady snow continues into Tuesday evening with showers into Wednesday. Dangerous rain and flooding are expected due to the falling rain and snowmelt in southern California and along the coastline.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/FORECAST-1679405648146.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p></p><h2>Flood Risk</h2><p>Once again flash flooding remains our primary concern, especially through southern California to include LA and San Diego along the I-5 corridor and HWY 101. Flood alerts are in effect here along with central Arizona and Nevada where snowmelt combines with heavy rainfall to create high running rivers, creeks and streams. Rain totals up to another 3" for coastal California and the Central Valleys will enhance the flood threat through Wednesday. Due to saturated soils from the previous downpours, an additional inch of rain could be enough to overwhelm the soils and cause flooding again.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/3-1679404770587.jpg"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/5-1679404246836.jpg"></p><h2>Snow Threat</h2><p>Winter alerts stretch through the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel mountains for heavy snow and gusty winds. Notice where the Winter Storm Warnings (pink) are versus where the snowfall totals will be the heaviest. Mountains over 7,000' could see accumulations from a foot to up to several additional feet of snow.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/1-1679404155490.jpg"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/2-1679404172092.jpg">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest in the snow amounts and timing for the Western U.S., the Western regional forecast is at :50 past the hour!</p>

Yet Another Atmospheric River Slams California with Flooding Rain & Mountain Snowfall

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<p>In addition to severe storms, heavy rain is expected from the Ohio Valley through the Ozarks. Rainfall totals are likely to range from 1-3 inches, with isolated higher totals. On the northern side of the surface low, generally, our rain shield sets up to create heavy soaking rain. Forecast models are aggressive on totals into the northern Mississippi and Ohio Valley. However, there are some slight differences on the axis of the heaviest rainfall. The GFS model shows the heaviest rainfall for the Ohio Valley and Midwest states while the Baron model puts the heaviest of the rain closer to the Arklatex. Bottom line, there is still time for this forecast to come into focus but we anticipate a streak of 4-5" of rainfall leading to the flash flood concern for many in the Central U.S..</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_gfs rain-1679422877902.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_baron-1679422883259.JPG"></p><p>The Weather Prediction Center has issued an excessive rainfall outlook for much of the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys on both Thursday and Friday with the incoming heavy rainfall.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_wpc thu day 3 ecess-1679422888168.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_fri excess-1679422891867.JPG"></p>

Heavy Rain & Flood Threat for the Ohio Valley Late Week

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Lauren Bostwick grew up in the small town of Aledo, Texas. Her interests have always involved sports, science, and of course, the weather! After interning at KBTX in College Station, she graduated from Texas A&amp;M University with a B.S. in Meteorology. During her time at Texas A&amp;M she became efficient in many areas of meteorology such as analyzing the radar, detecting severe weather, and forecasting for different regions. Straight out of college, Lauren started her career as a Weekend Meteorologist and Multimedia Journalist at CBS7 in Odessa, Texas. Due to the large coverage area, she was responsible for forecasting for many types of terrain stretching from the Big Bend National Park to southeastern New Mexico. She has experienced reporting on a variety of severe weather events, such as tornadoes, disastrous flooding events, and the devastating February 2021 winter storm. Lauren is thrilled to be a part of the WeatherNation team. Say howdy to Lauren on <a href="https://twitter.com/LBostwickWX">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LBostwickWX">Facebook</a>!

Lauren Bostwick

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<p>Temperatures have been much below average over the past several days, in fact, record-breaking! Frost and freeze alerts have been dominating the mornings, with temperatures in the teens and twenties. It is not out of the ordinary to see the last freeze and frost of the season in mid-March for many who live between I-10 and I-20 in the South, but with plants starting to blossom, this burst of cold has caused some issues. The coldest air will last today before the temperature then quickly shoots back up to seasonal and eventually, above average. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/8-1679399815897.png">A ridge of high pressure is building from the south, while the low responsible for cold temps retreats back into the northern tier of the country. Relief from the cold is back in-sight, just in time for Spring Breakers to get on the beach! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_wed to fri-1679423002733.JPG">Temperatures will climb in the upcoming days going from chilly to warm! There is even an opportunity to tie or break records in Florida from Thursday through Sunday of this week. Highs will soar into the 80s with even some low 90s, potentially setting records each day this weekend. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-21_wed to fri fl-1679423039016.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/2-1679400879177.png">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on the temperature swings, streaming 24/7!</p>

Record Cold to Record Heat for the Southeast

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<p>Winter weather alerts have been issued for northern Minnesota and North Dakota for 3 to 7 inches of snowfall. Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for the Bismarck area in North Dakota for 3 to 5 inches of snow. In Nebraska, we have Winter Weather Advisories in effect for a light coat of ice and snow which will make the roadways slippery. Rain and snow advance out of the Rockies along an area of low-pressure today, impacting the Dakotas with wind and heavy snowfall. The area of low pressure will then push into the Upper Great Lakes, bringing snow to the I-29 corridor with a sharp cutoff for central and southern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Be prepared for pockets of blowing snow and low visibility into Wednesday.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-21 08-39-27-1679409660653.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/plains snowfall-1679409649512.jpg"></p><p>If you feel like we have had a particularly snowy winter in the Northern Plains, it has been. Both Minneapolis and Duluth are ahead of schedule for wet weather this year, with Minneapolis seeing its third snowiest winter ever on record! This next storm looks to be mainly raining for the Twin Cities area, but Duluth will pick up on additional meaningful snowfall.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-19_duluith mn snow-1679272346247.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-19_snowiest wwinters msp-1679272351351.JPG">For more on the next snow maker in the High Plains, join WeatherNation for your eastern regional forecast, always :30 past the hour.</p>

Winter Storm Warnings in the Northern Plains Tonight

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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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<h1>Northwestern U.S.</h1><p>Winter alerts remain in effect for the Bitterroots, Rockies, and Tetons. A moderate amount of snow is expected, with the highest elevations expecting around 10 inches. Greater impacts will be felt at higher elevations, with the valleys expecting only around 3-6", depending on your location.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/northwest-1679350617796.JPG">Rain and snow have been progressing east while also pivoting around another low center off the coast of Washington. Moisture will remain into Tuesday morning, bringing rain and snow to many areas. Rain will be favored in mild areas of Eastern Washington. Snow should conclude sometime Tuesday afternoon or evening. Another round of snow and rain moves through the region Wednesday.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-20_rnw_18z-1679359443910.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Total snowfall will bring 6-10" of snow in the Rockies. Rainfall amounts will max out around 1-1.5" through Washington and Oregon.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-20_rnw_18z snow-1679359459063.JPG">A closer look at the ski forecast across the Northern Rockies shows places like Grand Targhee and Pebble Creek getting another foot of snow through Wednesday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/new-1679359475909.JPG">In the days that follow, expect more mild temps in places like Seattle, Portland, and Medford, even Boise could see 50s by midweek. But for the Rockies and Northern High Plains, chilly temps will be more persistent in Casper and Billings.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/03-20_rnw_tue to thu-1679336169097.JPG"></p><p>For more on this weather headline be sure to join us at :50 minutes past the hour for your western regional forecast.</p>

Northern Rockies and Tetons Snow

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Strong Santa Ana Winds are moving into parts of Southern California for today. High Wind Alerts are in effect until later this afternoon as winds gusts are expected in some areas near 75 mph.

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Santa Ana Winds are dry and warm and lead to high fire danger. Santa Ana Winds this strong are likely to yield power poles to buckle which could lead to fires sparking as power lines come loose.

As a result,  Southern California Edison is looking at the unprecedented step of shutting off power for today.

In recent years, power equipment has been blamed for setting off wildfires that spread quickly among the same type of dry, windy conditions expected today and overnight Monday. The company is facing lawsuits over allegations its equipment was involved in starting the massive Thomas Fire which went down as the largest in the state's history nearly one year ago this December.

According to recent reports, SoCal Edison has launched a new program called "Public Safety Power Shutoff" that allows the power company to proactively turn off power in areas where the winds could be strongest. Today could be the first time this new program is put into action.

The company has sent out alerts notifying customers in 41 cities in Southern California spread throughout four counties - Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino - that power could possibly be turned off on Monday as Santa Ana Winds become very strong threatening power lines.

The company urges residents to understand that this potential power shut off is only temporary and to preemptively avoid any fires that could spark.

Meteorologist Merry Matthews