El Niño could dictate this year’s hurricane seasons, but it’s not a sure thing
NOAA recently released its outlooks for the 2026 hurricane seasons across the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and central Pacific basins. The outlooks are in line with forecasts of a strengthening El Niño pattern heading into the upcoming summer and…
Read More
Plenty of heavy rain on the way through the holiday weekend, thank goodness
The atmosphere sometimes has a twisted sense of humor. We go months without beneficial rain across the southern and eastern United States, and then we get a long slog of daily rainfall chances just in time for the unofficial kickoff of the summer season.…
Read More
Beneficial rain on the way this week for drought-stricken parts of the south
A slow-moving boundary expected to slump from the Midwest to the Southeast through the end of this week will bring some beneficial rain to areas that desperate need any precipitation they can get. We started May with an upper-level trough parked over the…
Read More
440+ tornadoes reported so far in 2026
The twister that struck near Enid, Oklahoma, this past Thursday received a (preliminary) EF-4 rating from the National Weather Service. This was the strongest tornado confirmed so far in 2026. Tornado activity across the United States is running slightly…
Read More
Eastern drought continues getting worse as rains drench the Great Lakes
A dramatic split-screen has developed in recent weeks as relentless rains over the Great Lakes and Midwest stand in stark contrast to the worsening drought over the southeastern states. Persistent ridges of high pressure over the southeast have kept…
Read More
Eastern U.S. to endure record-breaking heat wave this week
The spring of intense heat rolls on this week as a significant ridge of high pressure building over the eastern United States cranks up summer-like temperatures across the region. Long spells of bright sunshine will help boost readings from the upper 80s…
Read More
Nobody should ‘apologize’ for Monday’s severe weather forecast
Who will apologize for D.C. not getting swept away by a tornado? Tens of millions of people went through the day Monday under a severe weather risk that warranted the second-highest category on the Storm Prediction Center’s colorful scale.…
Read More
Hundreds of records set to fall as historic heat wave roasts western U.S.
An exceptionally powerful ridge of high pressure building over the western United States this week will send temperatures soaring into historic territory through the end of the week and into this weekend. We’re almost certainly going to break the…
Read More
Widespread severe weather expected Sunday and Monday
An active period of severe weather continues across the eastern half of the United States as another strong low-pressure system winds up to end the weekend. While the storm produces a full-blown blizzard across parts of the Upper Midwest and the Great…
Read More
SPC launches new ‘conditional intensity outlooks’ for severe thunderstorms
Forecasters with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) have a new tool in their belt to communicate the potential intensity of severe thunderstorms in the forecast. Beginning this month, the agency began issuing conditional intensity outlooks in their…
Read More
