Kevin Schneider

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NORTHWEST - A state of emergency was declared for Washington State on Wednesday following days of heavy rain that led to historic river flooding. Thankfully, river levels have been dropping since Friday for many areas. The entire Skagit River Valley (in the 100-year flood plain) was given the "GO" order to evacuate early Thursday morning. The Skagit River in Mt Vernon crested at a new record high of 37.73 feet, but thankfully began to drop on Friday afternoon. The river is now in minor flood stage, but with additional rain this week it could reach major flood stage again by Tuesday night.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-15 043357-1765798451405.png"><h1>Additional Rain</h1>Another atmospheric river will aim at the Northwest overnight and into Monday. Multiple rounds of heavy rain are expected, but there will be a few differences compared to the last event. The bad news? River levels are already high, and soils are saturated, so flooding will develop quickly. The good news is the heavy rain is not expected to be as consistent as last week's event, and snow levels will drop late Tuesday into Wednesday. That means as the early-week moisture surge comes in, more precipitation will fall as snow and stick, leading to less runoff. Regardless, heavy rain and flooding are likely to present big issues, including the potential for flash flooding. A new Flood Watch has been issued for parts of Washington through Thursday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/web1-1765815260068.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/web2-1765815968420.png">A brief round of moderate rainfall is expected overnight, but the heavier precipitation arrives Monday into Tuesday, with additional rounds of heavy rain and snow late in the week. We won't have a lot of new snow until late Tuesday when temperatures begin to drop.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-15 11-26-40-1765816029471.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Additional rainfall is expected to top 5-8 inches for the highest elevations through Tuesday night. Excessive rainfall outlooks (flash flood potential) have been issued through Thursday so far. Today features a SLIGHT risk of excessive rainfall, with the risk slowly tapering off into the middle of the week.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-15 11-27-53-1765816090408.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>For more details, be sure to join us live at :50 past the hour for your Western Regional forecast.

Adrian Hernandez

River Levels Expected to Rise Again in the Northwest

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Rounds of arctic air have been funneling in from the north, and those bitterly cold temperatures remain this week. There are widespread cold alerts (above) from the Midwest all the way down to the Gulf Coast! Millions are waking up and feeling the chill Monday morning. Feels like temperatures have dropped anywhere from -15° to -25°. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-15 043840-1765798727558.png">High pressure will slide in over the next day or two, bringing back some thawing temperatures. We'll start to feel better by this afternoon, with temperatures threatening some record highs by Tuesday! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 115901-1765738749952.png">Tell that to folks waking up in the southeast, though! The wind chill has falling into the single digits here!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 034530-1765709162977.png">The thaw here will take a day or two, with temperatures closer to average by the middle of the week. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/FKDSSSS-1765759545765.png">

Arctic Blast Settles into the Southeast

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Unseasonably warm temperatures are continuing to dominate much of the western United States, with several cities breaking or tying daily record highs. An area of high pressure is keeping the jet stream north, which is helping to lock in the warm air! Another round of records was broken today—Phoenix &amp; Tucson, AZ both broke records. Tucson saw a high of 83°, and Phoenix saw a high of 82°, which beat out the old record of 78° in 2010. The record warmth will remain in place through this week.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/southwest record highs -1765761184247.png">The warm temperatures are sticking around, bringing a spring-like feel to cities across the southwest. Denver and Albuquerque normally see highs in the 40s, but will be digging into the 60s! Los Angeles has an average high of 66 ° and will see high temperatures in the low 80s this week!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-15 083906-1765813157579.jpg">Here's a look at who can break records this week:<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/reocrd highss-1765761716176.png">The warmth is also impacting higher elevations. Mountain communities across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are seeing milder daytime temperatures, accelerating snowmelt, and reducing snowpack at lower elevations, while ski resorts at higher altitudes remain largely unaffected for now. Hydrologists are monitoring conditions, as early melt can influence water availability later in the year.&nbsp;As we look at the temperature trend for December 20th - 24th, a large portion of the country has a high confidence level that temperatures will be well above average. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/decem-1765761297885.png">Make sure to tune into WeatherNation :50 past the hour, every hour for your Western regional forecast.

Record Warmth Out West Continues

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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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So far this winter season, the major cities along Interstate 95 haven't seen much snow! Some areas of New York and West Virginia have picked up over a FOOT of snow from this weekend's system.As we head into the work week, the National Weather Service has left lingering lake effect snow warnings in place for the snowbelt regions of the northeast for additional snowfall through Monday. In fact, another system drops through the Great Lakes early Monday to add to some snowfall totals in these regions.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 182316-1765761932562.png">Snowfall totals through Monday look to be locally heavy, but widespread the heaviest of the snowfall has already happened. Be cautious on the roads as it may take a minute to plow all of the secondary and tertiary streets in your region.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-14 182322-1765761980192.png">Here's a look at the timing of the quick moving clipper before our next system comes zooming in later into the week. The next one appears to be warmer, so be prepared for slushy conditions where the snow has not melted later this week.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/12-14 east-1765762018892.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Be sure to join us on WeatherNation at :10 past the hour for your eastern regional forecast, where we discuss temperature swings throughout the last full week of work and school before the holidays!

Breaking Out the Shovels in the Northeast

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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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<div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GtdF4xLBGXc" start="0"></iframe></div>As 2025 comes to an end, many people are expected to travel for the holiday season. AAA expects an increase in travelers compared to last year, 2024. The forecast calls for 119.7 million travelers, which is a 2.2% increase from 2024.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151722-1765405796099.png">Traveling by car is the favorite for the holidays. AAA notes gas prices, on average, are also down in comparison to 2024.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151733-1765406300348.png">Air travel is also up since 2024 by 2.3%. AAA expects 8.03 million people to be traveling to their destinations for the holidays via airplane. This will be the first time air travel for the year end holiday will exceed 8 million.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151738-1765406099314.png">All other travel has also gone up by 9% since last year. This includes cruises, bus travel, and travel by train.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151743-1765406410699.png">The top 10 destinations domestically are as follows:<ol><li>Orlando, FL</li><li>Fort Lauderdale, FL</li><li>Miami, FL</li><li>Anaheim/Los Angeles, CA</li><li>Honolulu, HI</li><li>Tampa, FL</li><li>New York City, NY</li><li>Maui, HI</li><li>Dallas/Fort Worth, TX</li><li>Las Vegas, NV</li></ol>For those major destinations, below are the busiest travel times.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-10 151754-1765406540451.png">More more information on the AAA travel forecast, including details on best and worst travel times: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/12/aaa-year-end-holiday-travel-forecast/">Year-End Holiday Travel Expected to Set New Record</a>.

End of Year Travel Expected to Break Records

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A series of clipper systems continues to track from the Midwest into the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic through Sunday. The first system brought around 2-6" of snow from Iowa into Virginia last Thursday night into early Friday.The next system is trekking east with another round of snow and much colder air, bringing some snowy impacts to the coast through Sunday. Alerts are in place for snowfall that's expected to be slightly heavier than the first round! With colder temperatures in place, fluffier snow is expected, which could add up more quickly. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 202643-1765682809765.png">Snowfall is gradually winding down from west to east and will continue to do so overnight, with continued snow and gusty winds over the spine of the Appalachians for Sunday. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/New Baron Video 3-1765682650515.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Snowfall totals could top 4-6" in numerous areas (dark blue/purple colors - top of page) with 1-3" for areas outside of the main bands. BRUTALLY cold air will settle in during and behind the snowfall, with wind chills to nearly -20° in Indiana Sunday morning.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 202345-1765682631264.png">For more information on this, be sure to join us on WeatherNation at :10 past the hour for your east regional and :30 past the hour for your central regional.

Dave Holder

Next Round: More Snow for the Ohio Valley and Appalachians Overnight

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One of the best meteors showers of the year is expected to peak this weekend, with ideal viewing conditions producing up to 100 meteors per hour! The Geminid Meteor shower rivals the Perseids for the most prolific of the year, but it does happen in December so it is a much colder astronomical event to take in. Geminids tend to be bright and fast, producing tails of yellow. They originate from debris left behind from comet/asteroid 3200 Phaethon. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 070941-1765635559162.png">Most viewers in dark skies can expect to see about 40-50 meteors per hour, about one every minute or 90 seconds. Getting away from city lights will help you spy more meteors, especially earlier in night since the moon will be rising after midnight. I would recommend heading out to watch about two hours after sunset and settling in until the moonlight begins to influence viewing conditions.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 071009-1765635567841.png">Cloud cover can completely ruin meteor shower viewing, and unfortunately a lot of people from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast will have some cloud cover to completely cloudy skies Saturday night. The Western U.S. will have better viewing conditions, as will parts of Florida. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 071934-1765635594077.png">The other factor that may keep you inside is the extreme cold spilling across the country. Temperatures are expected to be below freezing and even below zero for many along and north of I-40. Mild temperatures will persist in the South and West.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot 2025-12-13 071945-1765635600044.png">While meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Gemini in the eastern sky, try to watch as much of the sky as possible to view the highest number of meteors. You'll miss most meteors if you use binoculars or a telescope so just watch naturally, hopefully lying on your back for awhile to let you eyes adjust. Happy hunting!

Jesse Kelley

Over 100 Meteors Per Hour Possible - Geminids Peak Saturday Night!

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Take a look at which videos made the list of WeatherNation’s Top 5 Videos of the Week for June 23 - 29, 2019.  Meteorologist Karissa Klos has all the wild weather details.

https://youtu.be/x7lcNbfM8Q4
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#5 - This absolutely jaw dropping video captures the moment an EF-1 tornado passes by a group of boaters in Gilbertsville, Kentucky.  Amazingly, the entire resort remains open despite damage to the docks.

#4 - Damaging hail pounded parts of the Lone Star State.  If you think these hailstones were huge, others near Lubbock were measured up to baseball-size and teacup-size.  As the old saying goes, "Everything's bigger in Texas!"

#3 - Wildfires continue to scorch parts of the western United States, including in central California where the Rock Fire burned more than two thousand acres in just a few days.  Thanks to hardworking fire crews, this fire is fully contained.  Unfortunately, more than 40 other fires continue to burn across the country.

#2 - Independence Day is just a few days away, and it seems Mother Nature is ready....showing off what looks like a spaceship (hint: think 1996 movie) moving into Loretto, Minnesota.  A shelf cloud is a somewhat common cloud formation preceding a thunderstorm.  Shelf clouds are often accompanied by gusty outflow winds ahead of the storm.

#1 - It's the moment you've been waiting for....the TOP video of the week!  An impressive lightning crawler creeps across the sky at sunset, moving from cloud to cloud.  While beautiful to watch, always remember, "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors."  If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike.

Do you think you can top these Top 5?  Give it a try!  Share your best weather video with us on social media.  Find WeatherNation on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/weathernation/">Instagram</a>, or <a href="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation">Twitter</a>.  (<a href="https://media.weathernationtv.com/terms/">Read WeatherNation Terms of Service</a>)

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