WeatherNation Meteorologists

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<p>A rare "high risk" severe weather event unfolded Friday from the southern Plains to the Midwest, with an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes that have killed several people and injured many more. It was the first high risk issued by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in just over two years. The last HIGH risk day was March 25, 2021 when tornadoes were confirmed through Georgia and Alabama. Just one week before there was another HIGH risk day on March 17, 2021. High risks are rare and reserved for the most severe, widespread events. Generally, there is about 1 high risk day every 2 years. Not only did we have a high risk, we had two separate areas of HIGH risk, to include the Mississippi Delta in the South and the triple point of Iowa, NW Illinois and Missouri to the North. Storm surveys are being conducted in the coming days to determine the tornadoes strength, size and distance.</p><h2>Midwest</h2><p>Numerous violent tornadoes were observed across portions of the Midwest, Iowa in particular. Video (below) shows the strong tornado and mesocyclone in Keokuk County. Damage from this storm showed tractor trailers lofted into trees - showing the immense strength of the storms. Numerous tornadoes were confirmed across Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, with many more reports of wind and hail damage. Isolated flooding was also reported into northern Illinois and south Michigan.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1641953531581087749" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1641953531581087749"></div><p></p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/04-01 N Reports-1680362854340.JPG">Sadly, storms lead to a roof collapse at the Apollo theater in <span style="color: rgb(54, 54, 54)">Belvidere, Illinois, which is a suburb of Rockford, IL in the northern portion of the state. Sadly one person was killed when the roof collapsed due to the storms and dozens were injured. The National Weather Service Office in Chicago will be surveying the damage to see if the tornado touched down and caused the collapse. There was a tornado warning in place for the storm as it moved into the area.</span></p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1642187566085722112" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1642187566085722112"></div><h3>Southern Plains</h3><p>Violent tornadoes also caused damage across the south. A strong tornado ripped through the northern side of Little Rock Friday afternoon, causing damage to hundreds of structures. Thousands of customers were without power following the storm. Our field crews captured the storm and immediate damage, saying cars in Little Rock were lofted and tossed as a result of the storm when it pushed through. A state of emergency has been declared as a result of the storms.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1641895353019518988" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1641895353019518988"></div><p>There was another powerful tornado that developed and tore through Wynne, Arkansas, a community about 40 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee. Video (below) out of Wynne shows a terrible damage path across a large area.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1641945824568700928" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1641945824568700928"></div><p><br><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/04-01 Arky Heads-1680362937637.JPG">Tornadoes continued to track east across the South overnight, with confirmed tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/04-01 S Reports-1680362949984.JPG">Nation Weather Service teams will be deployed over the next several days to conduct damage surveys to determine how many tornadoes occurred and what their EF rating is. Stay with WeatherNation through severe weather season for the latest.</p>

Numerous Violent Tornadoes Rip Across the Midwest and South

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<p style="margin: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; color: #454545;">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></span></p>

Rob Bradley

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<p>A potent area of low pressure that produced numerous strong and severe storms in the Midwest and Southern Plains on Friday will impact the East coast with damaging winds and heavy rain along with the severe weather threat on Saturday. A severe thunderstorm WATCH is in effect for western NY, PA and eastern OH through 6 PM ET this evening. Damaging winds and large hail are the primary threat but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.</p><h2>Severe Threat</h2><p>The severe weather threat on Saturday stretches from the Lower Great Lakes into the Northeast, with an ENHANCED (level 3 out of 5) risk from eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and most of New England. New Jersey and Delaware are also included in the slight risk. The primary threat will be for damaging winds, but storms containing hail up to 1" will also be possible. The storm system moving through will continue to intensify at the surface and upper levels, drawing in wind and pressure. Already the storm system will be windy, so any storm that develops will have the potential to reach severe criteria (gusts 58 mph) more quickly. Additionally, there is the tornado threat along the immediate coastline from southern New England to the DelMarVa peninsula, and near the low where its expected to emerge from lake Erie.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/enhanced north today-1680368113499.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/tor today-1680368088519.JPG"></p><h2>Wind Threat</h2><p>Widespread wind alerts are in effect through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic this weekend as the surface low-pressure system and frontal boundaries move through. Wind gusts in the range of 30-40 mph with locally higher gusts are expected, especially along the lakeshores and on the east side of the Appalachians. Please make sure that you tie down anything that can blow away in the wind.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/wind alerts-1680314020160.JPG"></p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/Wind Gusts for RNE-1680327862820.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h2>Forecast</h2><p>Showers and storms push north overnight along the warm front, but most of these should be sub-severe. Still, pockets of heavy rain and gusty winds are likely through the nighttime hours. Another round of storms arrives when the surface low and associated cold front moves through Saturday afternoon and evening. Enough cold air gets wrapped into the system that we will even see some snow showers for northern Maine and New Hampshire. Showers and storms finally clear the area by sundown on Saturday night.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-01 06-22-34-1680351780551.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Rain will be on the order of 1-2" for many with locally higher totals thanks to the elevation. Snow showers will follow the severe weather threat with the potential for a couple of inches of snow and icing through northern New England and New York.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/rne wet weather-1680267932157.JPG">Catch the eastern regional forecast always :10 past the hour and in your top weather headlines always streaming 24/7.</p>

Kara James

Windy & Severe Storms Hit the Northeast Saturday

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<p>The same front that brought widespread storms to the southern Plains is moving into the Southeast. While a lot of the energy and moisture for the severe weather will be used up with Friday's storms a few strong and severe storms will linger into the weekend. There is enough CAPE (convective available potential energy) for these storms to develop (shown above). As a result, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a SLIGHT risk mostly for damaging winds. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, given the shear and spin in the atmosphere.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/spc today-1680368255148.JPG"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/spc tor today-1680368287297.JPG"></p><p>Showers and storms will develop along the cold front on Saturday morning, continuing to push to the east throughout the day. This is a fairly fast moving system, so we anticipate storms to be off the coast around dinner time on Saturday.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-01 06-15-52-1680351375968.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Rainfall accumulations will be generally light - in the range of of 1-2" through the south and because storms are moving quickly we won't have the potential for repeated rounds of rainfall, or "training" of storms. Isolated flooding is possible across southern Alabama, Georgia, and in the Florida Panhandle.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/rainfall-1680271567319.JPG">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest in the severe weather potential and rain chances in the South. Your Southeast regional forecast is always :10 past the hour.</p>

Saturday Features a Few Storms in the Southeast

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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>Yet another coast-to-coast storm is expected to move onshore and create issues from snow and wind in the northern tier of the country and severe weather through the Midwest and southern tier of the country. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has already highlighted the potential for severe weather on Tuesday of next week. Yet another powerful area of low pressure sweeps out of the Pacific and into the western U.S. this weekend, prompting mountain snowfall in the Rockies and Cascades. That upper-level energy then moves into the central and eastern U.S., drawing in moisture and building instability, prompting more snow in the northern tier and severe weather in the southern tier of the plains.</p><h2>Severe Weather Threat</h2><p>The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has been highlighting the threat for severe weather on Tuesday as this progressive system makes its way across the country. However, we have the opportunity for a few strong storms on Monday as well, with an outlook stretching fro Kansas through Texas. We will likely see an adjustment of the severe weather threat as the day draws closer. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/spc monday-1680366587743.JPG"></p><p>There is an outlook for severe weather on Tuesday encompassing much of Missouri, southern Iowa, northern Arkansas, and east toward the Ohio River Valley. These are similar areas to those with the severe threat from Friday. Plan ahead to Tuesday and the threat of severe weather - move plans indoors and think about your safe place in the event of severe weather.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/spc tuesday-1680366328105.JPG"></p><h2>Snow Chances</h2><p>On the northern side of the system, we will see the opportunity for cold air to meet the area of low pressure in our upper atmosphere. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico races north to meet the front and helps to produce snow chances.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/cold air setup-1680279002034.JPG">The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) has highlighted the risk for heavy snowfall through the northern tier of Monday - Tuesday. This is still just an outlook and doesn't account for the amount of snowfall and the location is subject to change, but we have seen a very active winter through the northern Plains and this system is following suit.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/snow northern us-1680366817419.JPG">Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on the severe and snow forecast, streaming 24/7.</p>

Looking Ahead: Yet Another Coast to Coast Storm First Week of April

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<p>The same system that produced severe weather also brought heavy snow to the Midwest, with over 15 inches reported in parts of South Dakota and Wisconsin. Blizzard conditions were observed in portions of Minnesota and South Dakota as well. The heavy, wet snow weighed down on trees to create spotty power outages across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the U.P. of Michigan. You can see the power go out in Eagan in the video below.</p><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1642180547853324289" src="https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1642180547853324289"></div><p>The heaviest snow is now tapering off but lingering flurries and wet bursts of snow will be possible into the early afternoon before exiting Michigan.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-01 09-15-38-1680362162957.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Additional snow should be light, generally less than 1-3 inches, expect in the eastern U.P., near Sault Ste. Marie. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/04-01 Snow-1680361870231.JPG">Stay with WeatherNation for the most up-to-date conditions on the winter that won't end in the Central U.S. - your central regional forecast is always :30 past the hour.</p>

Blizzard Conditions End As Snow Tapers in the Midwest

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<p>We are deep into the Spring severe weather season and there is yet another opportunity for strong and severe storms in the southern Plains this weekend. An area of low pressure pushing out of the Rockies will impact the Red River Valley of Texas and Oklahoma on Sunday with all modes of severe weather possible. Heavy rain also looks likely, which is good news for the ongoing drought but bad news for the flood threat this weekend. A MARGINAL risk has been issued for much of the Red River Valley included the DFW metro to account for large hail and damaging winds (above). An additional outlook for tornadoes is possible through northwest Texas. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/tor threat sunday-1680367300485.JPG"></p><p>Showers and storms develop through the afternoon and evening on Sunday along the dryline, or front separating moist air from dry air. This difference in dew points and moisture helps to fire off storms through the afternoon and evening. Those storms then push east, with the threat shifting into Louisiana, hard hit Mississippi and Alabama overnight Sunday into Monday. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/forecsat moisture-1680367172058.JPG"></p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-01 10-32-45-1680367188586.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p>Heavy rainfall is also a factor with the potential for 1-3" of fresh rain for areas in the southern Plains. Be prepared for flooding, especially given how saturated the soils are. Stay with WeatherNation for the latest in the next severe weather threat in the south. </p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/rainfall-1680367105182.JPG"></p>

Storms Develop in Texas & Oklahoma Once Again Sunday

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<p>Strong winds and dry air have combined once again Friday afternoon to heighten the fire danger across a large area of the country. Red Flag Warnings are in place for the southern High Plains Numerous fires across multiple states have already been reported including one in the western suburbs of Denver, Colorado! The Storm Prediction Center, which produces outlooks for severe weather, also produces fire outlooks; they have highlighted this weekend with critical fire risk. Winds will be quite gusty, in the range of 20-30 mph with locally stronger gusts. Tie down anything that could blow away and be prepared for pockets of blowing dust and dirt.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/fire sunday-1680364495520.JPG"></p><p>Areas of west Texas, central Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas are suffering under extreme and exceptional drought conditions. We will be concerned about any spark spreading quickly through dry brush and grass. Relative humidity values during the day will be in the single digits during the daytime hours, allowing flames to grow rather than dampen under the increased humidity of the atmosphere. We have already seen impressive wind gusts this week with more wind possible today.</p><video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/2023-04-01 09-52-20-1680365890093.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/04/co wind alerts-1680364452735.JPG"></p><p>Here are some tips on preventing the spark of wildfires: Properly dispose of lit matches, cigarettes, or cigars. Avoid using equipment that causes a spark. Obey local burn bans by postponing any prescribed burns you may have had. If allowed to burn, make sure campfires are completely extinguished, cool to the touch!</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2023/03/8-1680216396828.jpg">For the latest on the fire danger and wind in the Southern Plains, join WeatherNation, streaming 24/7.</p>

High Fire Danger This Weekend

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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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<p>FEATURE IMAGE AND INFORMATION COURTESY: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.noradsanta.org/en/map">NORAD</a> Watch along with WeatherNation as we track Santa's journey around the world on Christmas Eve! </p><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mzOIVqs_Exs" start="0"></iframe></div><h1>How Did NORAD Get Their Start Tracking Santa?</h1><p>For more than 60 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.</p><p><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2016/12/santa_and_shoup.jpg"> </p><p>(Image: Colonel Harry Shoup, NORAD's First Santa Tracker September 29, 1917 - March 14, 2009)</p><p>The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck &amp; Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.</p><p>In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.</p><p> </p><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y8eKH9VxeRY" start="0"></iframe></div>