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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Several cold fronts are coming from the Midwest and will interact with lots of instability to fuel severe weather and heavy rain. The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted a Marginal risk for severe weather for Friday and Saturday across the Southern Plains. The main threat will be gusty winds and large hail.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778206570184.png">Thunderstorms should fire up along the first front Friday afternoon from Central Oklahoma up into Southwestern Missouri. Throughout the evening and overnight, storms could get strong as it move southward down into the Red River Valley. A small break during Saturday before the next round of severe weather develops. A strong cold front will arrive Saturday night into Sunday to produce more storms and a few will be severe again across the Red River Valley.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/BARON 5-1778206769269.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778206796458.png">We are anticipating some heavy rain with the repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Models are forecasting up to 1-3" of rain with some isolated heavier totals before drier air arrives on Monday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778206869450.png">

Severe Threat Increasing for the Southern Plains

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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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<h1>Wednesday</h1>A cyclic supercell produced a damaging tornado across a large swath of southwestern Mississippi on Wednesday afternoon. The tornado caused damaged to homes in several towns, including Purvis and Brookhaven. WeatherNation field correspondent Brandon Clement was in the town of Brookhaven shortly after the tornado went through, showing significant damage to one neighborhood.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2052365331382108233" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2052365331382108233"></div>Two supercells raced across Southern Mississippi Wednesday. These cells both took on the classic supercell appearance at times, including showcasing hook echoes and a donut signature. Both cells produced damaging tornadoes.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-07 07-07-38-1778159496391.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video><h1>Friday- Saturday</h1>The severe risk is ending across the Southeast for tonight as the front stalls along the Southeast coast. More storms will be possible in the next few days as more cold fronts drop southward. The biggest concerns will be heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and some hail.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778195014500.png">Storms look to have the greatest severe weather potential in the afternoon and evening hours. However, some strong storms could linger into the overnight hours through the Mother's Day weekend.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/BARON 5-1778195155955.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Along with the severe weather chances, heavy rain is likely across the Deep South. The forecast is calling for 2-4" of rain with some locally higher amounts, and some flooding could be possible with the repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms. We are slowly trying to put a dent in the drought for the South, as it will take more consistent rains over the next few months to make some significant changes.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778195211246.png">

Tornadoes Cause Damage in Mississippi, Strong Storms Linger in the South

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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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WEST - Denver just received 5.8" of snowfall from May 5-6 and is now in store for well-above-average temperatures heading into early next week. In fact, the forecast high a week later is in the upper 80s for the Mile High City!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 164523-1778107597662.png">So, what’s causing this rapid warming trend? An upper-level ridge. As the ridge moves onshore, temperatures will begin to climb heading into the weekend. Dozens of records are expected to fall starting on Mother’s Day and continuing into next week. Each city represented by a pink dot is a location that could break or tie record highs.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 164255-1778107740580.png">Temperatures on Sunday for cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix are expected to soar into the triple digits which is around 15 degrees above average for this time of year.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 164307-1778107915078.png">The heat continues into the long-range forecast as well, with the Climate Prediction Center showing high confidence that the Southwest will remain above average through the middle of May.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/1-1778194738066.png">For more details on just how hot your Southwestern city could get, be sure to join us at :50 past the hour for more in your western regional forecast.

Weekend Warm-up for the Southwest

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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Ready for hurricane season? As a reminder, waters here tend to warm faster than in the Atlantic; thus, the season starts about two weeks earlier in the Eastern Pacific. If a storm were to form and reach tropical storm status, it would be named Amanda. <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-02 080308-1777731407202.png">Ocean heat content has been rapidly increasing in the Eastern Pacific this Spring, which is not surprising. You might've heard about the potential for a "super" El Niño this summer. Well, the warm water created in the Eastern/Central Pacific by El Niño can lead to supercharged hurricane seasons in those regions.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-02 080401-1777731353504.png">Global circulations influenced by El Niño tend to create less disruptive wind shear in the Eastern Pacific as well. Weak upper-level winds combined with warm waters tend to lead to many tropical systems. At the same time, wind shear tends to increase in the Caribbean during these events, leading to a tougher environment for tropical systems to form and survive.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-02 080343-1777731377186.png">Last season was quite active in the Eastern Pacific, with 20 named storms and 5 major hurricanes. The Mexican National Meteorological Service issued an early outlook for the 2026 season in April, calling for another active year with roughly 20 named storms.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-02 081157-1777731386253.png">We're going to get you ready for hurricane season at the beginning of June. Be sure to tune in for updated forecasts, information, and tips to prepare!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-02 083105-1777732279156.png">

The Countdown to Hurricane Season

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<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/WEB 4-1778158721365.png"><div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2052184135439901068" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2052184135439901068"></div><h3>WHAT TO EXPECT:</h3>With an active pattern in store for the south, more rainfall is expected heading into the end of the week. There's no secret that there's plenty of rich moisture currently along the Gulf Coast states. It'll only serve to make those rain and thunderstorm chances greater.On Friday, this front will linger towards the Gulf Coast, presenting a MARGINAL (level 1 out of 4) risk for flash flooding. This includes cities like Houston, New Orleans, and San Antonio.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/pic5-1778195796315.png">By the time we hit the weekend, we can see totals toppling over 3-4" across the South.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 160538-1778105152908.png">Considering how dry things have been across the south, all of this rainfall is going to be to our benefit. We have to be careful, however, of how fast we pick up some of these totals.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/WEB 3-1778157729645.png">Stay tuned to WeatherNation, as we track all this rainfall into the end of the work week!

Patrick Crawford

Drought Conditions Could Improve with Deep South Rain

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Kevin Schneider

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Parts of Colorado and Wyoming received up to two feet of snowfall since yesterday, with Estes Park receiving some of the highest amounts at 28" so far.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 160827-1778105324524.png">The Denver International Airport accumulated 5.8" of snowfall, which was the 12th highest 2-day May snow total.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 160832-1778105401858.png">Our Meteorologist Rob Bradley had some fun in the Denver area during this snow day, before we start to warm back up through the end of the week.<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="2052093538314436924" src="https://x.com/WeatherNation/status/2052093538314436924"></div>Watch the roads tonight, as freeze warnings have been issued for the I-25 corridor. Roads that are wet could be frozen in the morning which could cause difficult travel for the morning drive.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 161118-1778105490776.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 161123-1778105495430.png">For Denver, only 33.1 inches of snow have accumulated so far this season. On average, year-to-date snowfall totals should be around 50 inches. This is much-needed moisture for the Mile High City.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-05 033530-1777973743777.png">Follow along for more information this week, @WeatherNation!

CO May Snowstorm Could Lead to Icy Thursday Roads

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Adrian Hernandez

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WHAT TO EXPECTThe Northeast is forecast to get a lot of rain going into the midweek. This will likely leave very few spots WITHOUT seeing rain into the next few days.<h1>TIMING:</h1>Rain will move along the frontal boundary as this frontal boundary and its associated low-pressure system move through. Areas of rain will stick around with this system through Thursday morning. On Thursday afternoon and evening, a low-pressure system will lift from the south, bringing more rounds of rain. There can be some localized heavy rain as these systems move through.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-06 04-51-37-1778064718750.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>By Saturday, almost all of the Northeast and Ohio Valley is expected to see rain in some form or fashion. Higher totals could potentially up to 2" across Kentucky, Virginia, and even the New England area! <img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 045312-1778064809757.png">While not under a severe weather threat, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a warning for thunderstorm activity across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 045426-1778064878376.png">With this active pattern in store, cloud cover and cooler air will likely drop temperatures on Thursday, but pick back up on Saturday and Sunday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2026/05/Screenshot 2026-05-06 045716-1778065049312.png">Make sure to stay tuned to WeatherNation at :10 past the hour for your Northeast regional breakdown!

Northeast in for Some Heavy Rain

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This week we dig into the Illinois tornado event, discuss the origin of "Santa Ana wind", and are joined by Mike Eliason of Santa Barbara County Fire.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-100727 size-full" src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2018/12/thumbnail0.png" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" />

<script src="https://www.buzzsprout.com/228869/881014-wild-wild-wildfires-episode-2.js?player=small" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>

You also watch the video version on our <a href="https://youtu.be/r0YHZmHksL0">YouTube channel</a>.

You can listen to all of our episodes on <a href="https://apple.co/2raWEy2">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://spoti.fi/2Smuk7G">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://bit.ly/2FLN9PZ">Stitcher</a>, or where ever you get your podcasts.

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Enjoy!

Wild, Wild, Wildfires - The WeatherNation Podcast

Severe Threat Increasing for the Southern Plains

Several cold fronts are coming from the Midwe

Tornadoes Cause Damage in Mississippi, Strong Storms Linger in the South

WednesdayA cyclic supercell produced a damagi

Weekend Warm-up for the Southwest

WEST - Denver just received 5.8" of snowfall

The Countdown to Hurricane Season

Ready for hurricane season? As a reminder, w

Drought Conditions Could Improve with Deep South Rain

WHAT TO EXPECT:With an active pattern in stor

CO May Snowstorm Could Lead to Icy Thursday Roads

Parts of Colorado and Wyoming received up to

Northeast in for Some Heavy Rain

WHAT TO EXPECTThe Northeast is forecast to ge