Meteorologist Jesse Kelley is excited to join the talented staff at Weather Nation. Jesse spent most of his childhood in Birmingham, Alabama. The state of Alabama is prone to seeing various types of weather from severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and winter weather. For college, Jesse attended the University of South Alabama where he received his degree in Broadcast Meteorology along with minors in Math and Geography. From Alabama, Jesse started his broadcast television working three years at KAVU-TV in Victoria. Recently, he finished a stint in Shreveport, LA. Jesse and his wife are looking forward to making the Rocky Mountains and Colorado home. If you would like to follow me, you can follow me on Twitter @JesseKelleywx and on Facebook at Meteorologist Jesse Kelley.

Jesse Kelley

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<p>The last few days mother nature has turned down the heat some for the Southwest with the extra clouds and monsoon storms back in the picture. As we start a new work week, the high pressure ridge returns westward to the Desert Southwest. An Extreme Heat Warning has been issued for cities like Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1png-1786846790347.png"></p><p>Monday high temperatures will return to the upper 100s and low 110s for the Southwest. So make sure you are staying hydrated and looking after the elderly with the high heat returning. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786847315125.png"></p><p>If you thought the hot temperatures would be a short term thing, you would be wrong! Hot temperatures are here to stay for end of August.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786847600823.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786847631251.png"></p>

Heat Returning to the Southwest

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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<p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/pic4-1786829397799.png"></p><p>Lala is less than 50 miles from the Southern tip of Hawaii. Recent satellite and radar data have determined it has reached hurricane strength as it grazes the Big Island. Outer rain bands have already started to impact the eastern shores of the southernmost islands. Winds are picking up and will do so through the rest of Saturday.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2088663590991712642" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2088663590991712642"></div><p></p><p>Lala's intensity has gradually increased in the last 24 hours. It is expected to stay at low-end Category 1 strength as it passes the Big Island. If the center of circulation goes over the Big Island as a category 1 hurricane, it will be the first time a hurricane has made landfall on the Big Island in the satellite era.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786845708984.png"></p><p></p><p>A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Big Island. Tropical Storm Warnings have been added for Maui and all other islands.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-14 214457-1786765516348.png">Tropical storm and even hurricane conditions could reach portions of the state as the system moves through, even if the center does not move directly over an island. If the eye of the storm stays south of the islands, the higher wind impacts will be felt on the east side of the Big Island, as the front right quadrant sees the strongest winds. Tropical storm winds will start to impact the islands and spreading west through Sunday.</p><p>Flooding will likely be the biggest threat with this system, as terrain enhanced rain could top a foot of accumulation on the Big Island. When heavy rain saturated soils, trees can be toppled more easily. Tropical storm force winds could have bigger impacts in this scenario.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786845800744.png"></p><p>Beach conditions are also expected to deteriorate as Lala gets closer. Larger swells generated by the system could lead to increasing surf and dangerous conditions along exposed coastlines.<span style="color: rgb(36, 36, 36)">&nbsp;High Surf Warnings are in place for most eastern facing shores.</span></p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-14 215314-1786766061651.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-14 215329-1786766061650.png"></p>

UPDATE: Hurricane Lala Approaches Hawaii Coast

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<p>A ridge of high pressure continues to dominate the southern tier of the US, sending storms riding around the ridge through the Midwest and Northeast. Under the high-pressure block, extreme heat and humidity will persist, lasting into next week for some locations.</p><h2>Central U.S.</h2><p>The long-lasting heat dome has triggered heat alerts from Missouri through Florida, with extreme heat warnings in effect (pink boxes, below) along with many heat advisories. Highs will soar into the triple digits, feeling 5-15 degrees hotter with the humidity. Make sure to find adequate ways to stay cool!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786845928114.png"></p><p></p><p>Feels-like temperatures remain dangerously hot across the central United States. For cities like Little Rock, our temperatures will feel over 110 degrees.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786845989875.png"></p><p></p><h2>Southeast</h2><p>Heat alerts are also in place from Mississippi and toward the Atlantic Coast for the dangerous heat index values through the weekend. Many areas will feel like 110-115 in the afternoon. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786846017373.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-15 043558-1786790173846.png"></p>

Stifling Heat Slides East This Week

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Kevin Schneider

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<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2088604118151479464" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2088604118151479464"></div><p>The Midwest can't catch a break! After a damaging week of severe thunderstorms and flooding, the pattern of destructive weather continues. Rounds of storms are likely in the same spots through Saturday. This will lead to a risk of flooding across these areas.</p><h1>FLOODING</h1><p>The Weather Prediction Center continues with another Moderate risk (Level 3 of 4). Grounds are saturated and local waterways are cresting at record levels in Indiana, so any additional rain could have devastating impacts.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 2-1786838017523.jpg"></p><p>The NWS has issued Flood Watches (dark green) for areal flooding. The brighter green is where rivers, creeks and streams are already seeing issues with Flood Warnings. A stationary boundary draped across the same areas, stretching from Iowa to West Virginia, has led to more flooding issues. Since it will not take much more heavy rain to cause more flooding issues, please heed any flood warnings for your area.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 2-1786838059068.jpg"></p><p>Storms will steer clockwise around that high through the weekend. An additional 3-6 inches will be possible over these waterlogged areas.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/1-1786760544741.png"></p><h1>SEVERE</h1><p>Sunday's threat doesn't look much different. The Lee side of the Rockies will once again be the target for strong storms. As the ridge starts to flatten/drag south, we will see the severe threat in the east drop from the eastern Ohio Valley to the DelMarVa.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 2-1786837797960.jpg">Monday will also be active in a lot of the exact same spots. Here is a look at where we could see some severe storms on Monday.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/PIC 3-1786837841249.jpg">Here is the latest timing of the storms over the next few days. It won't all be afternoon storms as the risk will also be there in these spots for the overnight and early morning hours.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/FORECAST-1786837980662.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p></p><p></p><p>Make sure to stay tuned to WeatherNation for the latest on this forecast!</p>

Patrick Crawford

More Devastating Rain for the Midwest

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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!

Alana Cameron

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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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<p>After the solar eclipse happens Wednesday afternoon grab some coffee, because one of the best meteor showers of the year peaks late Wednesday night into Thursday morning!<br><br>The Perseid meteor shower is often considered the best of the year for it's high rate of meteors and warm overnight temperatures, especially compared with the Geminids which peak in December. This year's show could be particularly dazzling since the moon will be new, leaving skies perfectly dark away from light pollution. The meteors are named after the constellation from which the appear to emanate, which is Perseus, located in the east-northeast this time of year.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-08 092352-1786203103738.png">While clouds are forgotten about most days that don't involve the beach, they become your worst enemy when it comes to viewing the cosmos at night. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-12 081926-1786544372075.png">Do you need to bring binoculars for a meteor shower? No! Try to take in as much of the sky as possible at once, which will let you see as many meteors as possible. Find a dark place away from city lights, give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust, and wait for the show! Meteors can come in bursts so don't be discouraged if you don't see many initially, or if the rates slow down. Bring some lawn chairs or a blanket, snacks, and some beverages.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot 2026-08-08 093010-1786203095588.png"></p>

Taban Sharifi

One of the Best Meteor Showers of the Year Peaks Tonight

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https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1041074511091851265

Tropical Storm (formerly Hurricane) Florence has battered North Carolina with damaging winds and flooding storm surge since Thursday.  Heavy rainfall continues to be the major concern, however.  River levels are incredibly high in some parts of the Tar Heel State, flooding many communities.  It should come as no surprise, either.  Rainfall totals have exceeded two feet in some cases.

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In the days before the storm made landfall, Florence was forecast to bring potentially record-breaking rainfall.

https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1039974922959953923

Florence delivered, unfortunately.  By Saturday morning, several North Carolina communities witnessed rain totals that were greater than the state tropical rainfall record.  Until Florence, the record for tropical rainfall was 24.06 inches.  This occurred during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

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In neighboring South Carolina, rainfall totals were nearing ten inches by midday Saturday.  The record for tropical rainfall in South Carolina is 18.51 inches.  This occurred during Tropical Storm Jerry in 1995.

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With the slow movement of Florence, final rainfall totals will likely be higher.  Follow WeatherNation on social media (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/WeatherNation">Twitter</a>) for the latest updates.

- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MeteorologistJoeAstolfi">Meteorologist Joe Astolfi</a>

State Rainfall Record Shattered

Heat Returning to the Southwest

The last few days mother nature has turned do

UPDATE: Hurricane Lala Approaches Hawaii Coast

Lala is less than 50 miles from the Southern

Stifling Heat Slides East This Week

A ridge of high pressure continues to dominat

More Devastating Rain for the Midwest

The Midwest can't catch a break! After a dama

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

One of the Best Meteor Showers of the Year Peaks Tonight

After the solar eclipse happens Wednesday aft