Old Man Winter made a visit to the northern and central Rockies on the last day of September.  Yes, it’s that time of year already! A cold blast of air rushing in behind a strong storm has been turning rain to snow, especially at elevations above 5500 ft. in the Wasatch and Uintah Mountains of Utah where the first Winter Storm Warning of the season has been issued.

Solitude Mountain Resort Live Camera

This was a camera view of the Village at Solitude in Utah.  Winter wonderland!  Check out the batch of winter related advisories issued by the National Weather Service out west.

From snow to wind…to even severe weather, this storm currently in the Northwest will pack it all.  Tonight and tomorrow, severe weather could impact the central high plains with the main threat being damaging winds and hail.

Santa Ana winds will return to southern California tomorrow.

Gusty, dry winds out of the northeast will elevate the fire danger in the southwest over the next few days.  Areas that are the most prone to wildfires are shaded in red and yellow in the map above.

We’ll keep you posted,

Kristin Clark

WeatherNation Meteorologist

The weather across the country is once again taking a holding pattern.  Last week, there was a Rex Block which was characterized by a cut-off low over the high plains and high pressure in the northwest U.S.  This week, an Omega Block is setting up.  An Omega Block is characterized by a trough of low pressure in the eastern and western U.S with a high pressure center in the central U.S.  The steering winds (jet stream position) take on the appearance of the Greek letter Omega (Ω).  Under areas of low pressure as in the northwest and northeast cloudy, rainy weather will be in the forecast for today and tomorrow.

Those in the Upper Midwest may need to turn on the heat for the first time this season as temperatures will be getting down into the 30′s overnight.  Frost Advisories and Freeze Warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service and those with agricultural interests need to take steps to protect sensitive vegetation. Check out the low temperatures tonight for the Midwest.  Cool!

Kristin Clark

Meteorologist, WeatherNation LLC

Hello and happy Monday everyone I hope your are staying warm in the Midwest. take a look at the image below:

The temperature change over the last 24 hours tells the tale. A significant cool down has knocked temperatures down nearly 20 degrees in spots from yesterday’s high temperatures. It feels like the 40′s in many locations, which is a far cry from where we were just a few short days ago. The strong cool front will continue eastward today and supply the Northeast with a fall-like day tomorrow. Showers and isolated thunderstorms can be found along the leading edge of this cool push of air. Gusty winds can be expected with some of the passing showers as they head into the eastern Great Lakes region.

Heat Continues in the Southwest

Record to near record high temps will be found in the Southwest with a number of the typical warm spots, reaching the century mark or better. A cool front moving in from the northwest will bring windy and cooler conditions by the later half of the week.

More Cool Weather

Frost and freeze warnings are beginning to show up more and more lately with the cool weather sagging south of the international border. The counties shaded in blue are the areas currently under the gun, so take note if you have tender vegetation at home

Well, that’s it for now – take care and stay cool or warm, where ever you are out there. Come back again real soon!

This is the first week of Fall and you can definitely sense the changes accross the nation.  The Northeast continues to get a lot of rain more than 2 inches fell since Friday and the sunshine will only get to shine for a day before another cold front moves through the region by Tuesday.  If we really want to talk about fall like weather, let’s head to the Midwest.  After a beautiful 80 degree start to September, they are expecting to end the month with temperatures barely getting out of the mid 60s.  A deep trough with a cold front dropping in from Ontario, Canada will be bringing strong winds ans gusts of up to 50 mph in may areas especially for those cities close to the Great Lakes so when we take into consideration the winds, the feel-like temperatures will be quite chilly for this time of the year. On the other hand, the west, especially the southwest, will continue to experience extreme heat with some record breaking temperatures across the desert.

When we talk fall, many of us think about the foliage near our region.  The leaves are starting to change anywhere from the Northeast into the Midwest and even some portions of the Southeast are starting to see the gorgeous orange/red colors on the leaves.  Here is a map of the fall foliage of the state of Minnesota…

Enjoy your Sunday and don’t forget that autumn has arrived whether we like it or not!

The capital city of Manila has seen the worst flooding in decades.

The news coming out of the Phillippines is mind boggling–the typhoon that slammed into the area is one of the worst disasters on record for the Southeast Asia country. Tropical Storm Ketsana–locally known as Ondoy is was triggered the intense rainfall impacting the main island of Luzon. A “state of calamity” has been declared by the Philippine government in Manila and over 20 other provinces. The rain produced by this storm has caused the worst flooding in decades in the capital city of Manila. The high water has claimed the lives of over 60 people. Flights were halted into Manila. The city was blacked out. Images of stranded people on rooftops and submerged houses are not difficult to find.

As much as 13.5 inches of rain in just 6 hours and wind speeds of up to 60 mph were reported. The typhoon brought the heaviest rain in the country since 1967.

On average, about 20 typhoons strike the Southeast Asian national annually.