Round 4 is currently under way this week with severe weather possible along the Gulf Coast up into GA this afternoon. The powerful storm over TX yesterday is starting to eject into the Mid MS Valley today, drawing Gulf moisture up and turning it into power storms. A tornado watch was in effect all morning for LA/MS and AL, and the stuff should enter South GA later.

Ahead of the warm stuff, the rain is falling into cold air across the MW. Freezing rain and sleet in OH had some kids delayed to school, and the freezing stuff is moving through PA into the NE. Winter storm warnings are up for parts of VT, NH and ME tonight through Friday for snow and ice. 3-6” of the stuff should pile up by Friday afternoon.

It’ll be all rain into the Mid Atlantic up the NE Coast. So expect delays in NYC, and Philly to ATL will be affected.

The NW is starting to dry out a bit after heavy morning rain from north CA to WA, and even the mountain snow is a little softer. I’ll have the radar for you.

Later!

Follow Bob on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Filed under: Bob Van Dillen • Severe Weather

How’s it going everybody? I'm watching a powerful early season snow maker in the Rockies this morning. Rain is also circulating around this thing from ID/WY/WA/OR/CA to AZ and NM. A few break away showers are spilling into OK and KS, but the severe weather will occur north of there this afternoon. The Front Range will get the storms today that produce large hail and gusty winds as the energy heads East out of the mountains. Winter storm warnings are in effect for UT and CO right now, looking at an additional 6-12” of snow today!

The plains will see the wind howl from the SW, so red flag warnings have been issued for the upper MW to the Central Plains. Cold temps are back in the NE with frost/freeze warnings. The SE will be mostly dry except for the FL Coast. The steady E wind will hammer away today bringing in some pockets of rain from the Keys to J’ville. With that High pressure anchored north of you through the weekend, I’m thinking that wind direction/speed won’t change for a few days.

All right, I’m outta here. Enjoy a stretch of days BVD-Free. See you next week!

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: High winds • Rain • Severe Weather • Snow • Weather • Winter Storm Warning

For the first time this season I came to work with a coat. Found $1.32 in change in the pockets! Nice start to the day, it bought me ¼ cup of a grande moch-fashizzle alpa-chino at Starbucks.

Cold and dry air has been blasting southward all weekend in the East and South, behind the old storm that is anchored over the NE. This is the big wind field that caused all the turbulence for the fliers this weekend. It’ll produce more rain/low clouds and wind today for the NE and Mid Atlantic before it finally gets the boot Wednesday afternoon. Showers are falling in OH and MI right now too, and some of that is mixing with snow in the highest elevations of WV this morning. Once you pull away from there, it’ll be dry and warm to about UT and AZ. A few showers will develop today and that may affect you in Las Vegas too.

A strong storm is moving into British Columbia right now, and the trailing cold front is forcing heavy rain into Northern CA, OR, and WA. This is round one; round two moves in to the coast Tuesday night and will rip over to snow above 6 thousand feet in the Cascades and Sierra. Winter storm watches are up for them Tuesday night through Wednesday night. I’ll have the forecast.

Tropical storm Ophelia is currently flying through Newfoundland, and the winds are cranking. Looking for battering waves and 2-3” of rain to go along with the winds this morning. Tropical storm Philippe is meandering around the mid Atlantic Ocean, still looks to be a fish storm.

Good Monday to ya!

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: High winds • Ophelia • Philippe • Rain • Severe Weather • Snow • tropical storm • Weather • Winter Storm Watch

A weather pattern shift is finally going to take place today for the MW and NE. That stubborn, slow-moving storm that has dumped heavy rain for days on the region will get the bum’s rush out the door to the East by a sharp cold front dropping down from Canada.

Check out the map. The brown solid lines are isobars (lines of equal surface air pressure), the green lines are forecasted rainy spots, and you can see the blue cold fronts and red warm fronts. That cold front over WI to KS is the one that will boot the Low (Red L) from it’s perch over Ontario!

The rain will be heavy today for spots in New England, and the flood warnings are lining up south of there in NJ, PA, and NY right now. The rain should ebb tomorrow, but a weekend storm will bring it right back. In fact, it appears to me that we could see a very early season Nor’easter develop in the NE on Saturday. This would be a big wind and rain maker, too early and warm for snow.

The cold front over the Upper MW this morning will make for a windy day in MN, EI, MI, and IA/IL. Wind advisories are posted for the spots this afternoon, with gusts near 45 mph.

The tropical air mass across the SE will soon be replaced by the cool air as well, but today will feature more warm temps from the Carolinas southward.

A few showers are popping near Houston early this morning, and some real rain will develop later today over Central TX! I know, it seems too good to be true but keep your fingers crossed San Antonio/Austin to Waco.

The west is exceptionally dry today once again.

Ophelia is back to strong tropical storm strength and may be a hurricane by late today. Bermuda may get put in a tropical storm watch this afternoon as the storm gets close by Saturday. We’ll see. Our good friends in Newfoundland may take a hit from Ophelia on Monday as a tropical storm as well, I’ll keep you guys updated.

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Flood • High winds • Hurricane • Ophelia • Rain • Severe Weather • Storms • tropical storm • Weather

Record highs from the 1800s were broken yesterday in LA and TX, and like Kate Gosselin’s personal assistant, you’ll get no break today. The high pressure region is growing a little bigger and stretching West and North to include more regions under heat advisories. Temperatures will be over 100F in the same spots, and the humidity will jack that heat index to around 110F. I’ll show you the areas, but it now includes spots in KS too. Heck even Denver hits 98 today.

Storms are producing heavy rain in the Philly area this morning, and that will blossom into NYC today as well. Round one will end for them later this morning, but round two will develop later this afternoon. The end result will be heavy rain over already drenched spots in the NE and air travel delays in the NYC/Philly area. I’ll have the updates on the show.

Storms are drifting through the MW this morning too, and some severe action will emerge over MN, NE, IA, SD and MO this afternoon. Watch for some big hailers and a few tornadoes as a possibility.

The west will feature a good Pacific maritime air mass to start, so the coast is socked in with low clouds early. Monsoon rain is back for AZ, NM, and CO too.

That disturbed region of weather over the Caribbean (south of Jamaica) looks a litter better organized on the satellite the morning, with some banding in the storm structure. NHC gives it a 70% chance it turns into a tropical depression, it looks like a Central America/ Mexico storm.

See ya out there!

Follow Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Hail • Heat • Hot • Rain • Severe Weather • Tornado • Tropical Depression

Tropical storm Don is edging closer to the South Texas coast this morning - and should hit land sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning between Brownsville and Matagorda. The storm itself looks healthier on this morning's satellite, but it's still facing some wind shear on the northern side that is helping to keep it from developing further. Add in the dry air near the Texas coastline in the upper levels (tropical systems feed on moist air, too), and Don should only get to about 65 mph before it hits the beach. The steering winds for the storm are from the huge high pressure ridge over the S/MW/SW blowing it WNW. That ridge is actually gaining strength this morning, causing Don to turn westward... meaning the chance of good rain is almost out the door for Northern/Central Texas. My fingers are crossed, but the rain field just doesn’t look too big. Three to five inches are likely for southern Texas.

The upper half of the nation is active this morning, too. There are plenty of impulses running through the atmosphere from the MW to the NE, and tough storms with heavy rain and frequent lightning have been hitting from Chicago to Buffalo and beyond. Ill have the forecast for you on the show.

Heat is back for the Mid Atlantic with a high around 102 in DC today, and advisories stretch all the way down to Georgia. I”ll have that, too.

The monsoon looks a little better today, so expect more widespread showers and storms around AZ/NM/UT/CO and NV. The rest of the West looks dry.

Hoping for rain, or crossing your fingers for clear skies? Keep your eye on expected precipitation with this map:

*Follow "Morning Express with Robin Meade" meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Heat • High winds • Rain • Severe Weather • Storms • tropical storm • Weather

Quick look at the Wednesday forecast for you, right here.

The stubborn ridge of high pressure over the middle of the Lower 48 hasn’t moved much in the last three weeks, and today is no different. That means the ridge will still crank out the heat over the Mid Mississippi Valley and parts of the Midwest. I’ll show you the temperatures, but it's safe to say Dallas will reach 102 today (at DFW) making it the 26th consecutive day of 100 or better. There may be some relief for the Lone Star State, though, with a developing tropical system near Cuba. There is a good chance this will turn into at least a tropical depression, and maybe a tropical storm. All the tracking models take this thing into Northern Mexico or Texas by late Friday or over the weekend. I expect it to bring good rain and cooler temperatures to Eastern/Central Texas... I just hope it doesn’t blow up into a full-blown hurricane. I’ll keep you posted.

Storms are aligning themselves now in the Upper Midwest, and this trend will continue throughout the day. Severe storms are possible over the Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska area today as the frontal boundary slides eastward. but it'll be drier in the Northeast after the tough round of storms yesterday. Look for more rain along the Gulf Coast, too.

The West looks similar to yesterday, with monsoonal Four Corners showers and some clouds hugging the coast this morning. More on the program.

*Follow "Morning Express with Robin Meade" meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Heat • Rain • Severe Weather • Storms • Tropical Depression • tropical storm • Weather

Today’s forecast looks a lot like yesterday's: heat in the Midwest, heavy rain in the Southeast, and severe storms in the Upper Midwest and Northern Rockies.

A cold front is draped over the Mid Atlantic and Southeast right now, which should continue to churn out rain and storms from the Carolinas through to the Gulf Coast. It’s coming down pretty nicely now over the Low Country. I’ll show you that the radar, and you can see it here on the map:

Look for a nice cool down to continue for the Northeast, with a high of 80 in New York City. That’s way down from the 100s of last week. The Statue of Liberty was down to a thing, for cryin' out loud!

The cooler air hasn’t reached into the Midwest or Southern Plains. Heat warnings or advisories are in place for Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. When Dallas hits 102 today (at DFW), it’ll mark the 25th consecutive day that temperatures have been 100 or more in that area - and it's going to continue on until the weekend, too. I mean, c’mon already.

A good shot of energy is driving into the Rockies now, and this will eject into the northern Plains this afternoon. Severe storms will fire in the Dakotas, some producing large hail and tornadoes. The timing looks to be about early to mid afternoon. Details on the show.

Monsoon rain will dot the landscape around the Four Corners. The West Coast will have the low clouds first, and then the breeze next. It will remain dry out there, though.

*Follow "Morning Express with Robin Meade" meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Heat • Rain • Severe Weather • Storms • Weather

Like I said yesterday, it feels like my butt was strapped to the nose of Atlantis during re-entry. Smokin’ hot.

As the heat dome slides east today, it will bring the hottest day this season to the Northeast. There are heat warnings from Maine all the way down to the Carolinas today, where it will feel like anywhere from 100 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. I will show you the entire warning map as the heat extends west into Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas (plus everywhere between! 29 states in all). At one point yesterday, 49% of the US population was under a heat advisory, warning, or watch. Man, I love San Francisco this time of year. You can see why on the map:

The massive hot-air dome responsible for the record-breaking heat is getting chewed down a bit on its northern flank by impulses in the upper atmosphere as well as big surface storms, so the warnings have left Wisconsin, Minnesota, and northern Michigan.

I’ll also show you the storms that are currently shooting up on the radar. Severe storms will develop in the afternoon heat in the Midwest, including Chicago, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis. I’ll show you the action.

It’s a getaway Friday, so the air travel will be hit with volume delays in the Northeast, but weather will come into play, too, with those Midwest storms.

The west coast looks a little cloudy to start, but temperatures will range from the 70s near the coast to the upper 80s inland from California to Washington. Enjoy that!

*Follow "Morning Express with Robin Meade" meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Heat • Severe Weather • Storms • Weather

The heat will be at it’s peak for the week today. The ridge of high pressure over most of the middle and eastern states will provide another day of temperatures in the 100s from OK/TX to the Mid MS Valley. Temperatures in the upper 90s will reach as far north as southern New England this afternoon, too. By tomorrow, that ridge will begin to lose some of its mass as a cold front and some energy rounds south out of Canada and into the NE. The highs in NYC will be around 98 today, 90 tomorrow, and 83 on Thursday. That’s a nice little cool down.

The ridge will hold on in the Central Plains, though, with a Tulsa high of 105 today, and only cooling down to 102 by Friday. Sorry about that, you guys - no relief there.

That hot energy slammed Chicago yesterday, knocking out power for about 850K people around the city. Good news for that area: temperatures only in the mid 80s today. Another interesting thing happened as the squall line ran over Lake MI: it created a seiche. That’s a phenomenon where wind pushes a wall of water that hits the opposite shore. The water then bounces back once the wind abates and races across the lake to the other shore, sloshing back and forth like a huge bathtub for a few hours. It sounds cool, but it can damage boats and drag people off the shore. I didn’t see any reports of major damage yesterday, though.

There will be more storms today around VA and the Carolinas, stretching all the way back to the Central Plains, and hitting CO, WY, and MT too. I’ll have the forecast - but in the meantime, you can check out the map.

See ya out there!

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Heat • Rain • Severe Weather • Weather