Winter '11-'12: "I'm not dead yet!"

A major storm is churning out the heavy snow and rain across the Four Corners this morning, and it is about to eject it's energy into the Plains and Upper MW. The storm itself is over Utah now and should end up centered over Nebraska by this afternoon. A strong jet stream south of the surface storm will help to add energy and tighten up the circulation allowing it to strengthen into a blizzard maker. Winds late this afternoon will get over 40 mph, the snow/sleet will pick up in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Eastern Minnesota.

The snow will total 6-12 inches by tomorrow morning and with a little extra juice off of Lake Superior, the Minnesota arrowhead may get close to a foot and a half of the stuff. It’s on to the Northeast by tomorrow afternoon, with winter storm watches posted in parts of New England.

Below the winter part of the storm is some warm air. Severe storms will fire up late this afternoon in the Mid Mississippi valley. Some of these could produce tornadoes in Arkansas and Missouri late today as the warm and humid air meets up with the jet stream and a dry line.

See you out there starting at 6am ET on HLN.

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Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Blizzard • Weather

A storm jumping off the Rocky Mountains and into the Plains today will be a pretty big deal. Spring-like temperatures on the East and South side, Winter weather on the North. This storm has more confusion than the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ in a Calculus class. It already has the snow going in the Dakotas and Iowa with winter storm warnings posted, looking for 4-8” of snow there today. Next up is the Chicago metro area for this afternoon. It will begin as rain later and then switch over to snow in the evening hours, and pick up in intensity. 6-10” is what I am thinking by tomorrow am, along with some thunder in the mix there. Lower Michigan and into Detroit will see the same thing happen, just a few hours later.

Under this storm the air will heat up for February. I’m looking at temps 15-20 degrees above the average from the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic Ocean. With this warmth and humidity boosting north from the Gulf, severe storms will develop in the Ohio valley to Georgia this evening and overnight tonight. Isolated tornadoes are a possibility here.

Windy conditions are back for the almost everybody East of the Rockies, disrupting air travel.

Dynamic weather over the next 36 hours!

*Follow HLN Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen.

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

Severe storms have stayed away from the South over the last few weeks, but like a crazy rant from Charlie Sheen reemerging, it's always just a matter of time. A juicy air mass is edging northward from the Gulf Of Mexico early today will set the groundwork for severe storms to develop later this afternoon in northern Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina today. Some energy from a large scale trough will get the instability going this afternoon and a warm front lifting in the vicinity will be the trigger for the storms. I think the main threat today will be damaging wind gusts, but with some speed shear in the mix we could see an isolated tornado late today too.

The other story is the constant barrage of wind, rain and snow from the Northwest into the Rockies. The jet stream is positioned right over the area allowing for Pacific moisture to slide into the area. Heavy snow in the Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado mountains will pile up to around 10-20 inches, and the winds will scream to 80 mph at times. It'll be a bumpy ride in a plane over the Rockies today, no doubt.

Just a heads up for you!

Follow HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen. Sample tweet:

Anybody giving stuff up for Lent? At first I thought 'coffee'. impossible. So, the cream in my coffee instead. And throwing beads.

— Bob Van Dillen (@BobVanDillen) February 21, 2012

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

This weekend is going to be a wash-out for the South and Southeast.

A disturbance from the lower Four Corners is edging into Texas now, and rain is picking up all around. Heavy downpours all over the Lone Star state will amount to 2-4 inches today. Flash flood and flood watches are up for San Antonio, Austin, Houston, New Orleans and parts of South Mississippi. The whole thing slides east overnight, and by tomorrow we will see some severe storms rocket through the Gulf Coast.

The storm’s track takes it right across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Georgia by late Saturday..

To me it looks like a tornado threat will be around for the South half of Mississippi and Alabama tomorrow afternoon.

Just a heads up, this weekend will be active for the South!

*Follow HLN Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen. Here's a sample tweet:

TX Gulf Coast to LA gets the heavy rain 2day-tonight. 2-4" possible is some spots. #300by50Cubits

— Bob Van Dillen (@BobVanDillen) February 17, 2012

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

Three storms are affecting the Lower 48 this morning, but so far none of them has proven to be tough. But like a wife at 5pm on Valentine's Day that still hasn't received flowers, the atmosphere will soon change for the worse.

The first is a low pressure center moving away from the northeast Coast. The clouds are slow to erode behind this, so I think we'll catch a few problems at the New York City metro airports due to visibility issues. Light rain and snow is falling up in north New England out of this as well.

The second is a potent shot of energy riding into Oklahoma and Texas. Light rain is spreading into the Mid Mississippi Valley this morning, and as the moisture returns off the gulf and a cold front nears Central Texas the storms will start to pop this afternoon. The bulls eye for strong to severe storms should be the Gulf Coast from Houston to Mobile this afternoon. Isolated tornadoes are possible here as well as damaging wind gusts.

The 3rd is a storm over Central Nevada that is cranking out the snow. Some warnings are up for another 6" of the stuff, and that is nosing into Utah too. I'll have all that on the big show. Later!

*Follow HLN Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen – Sample tweet:

Val. Day tmrw, I'm unprepared. Lks like gas station choc.+flowers from a cemetary on way home again. Kidding, I like my bed. #NoCouch4Me

— Bob Van Dillen (@BobVanDillen) February 13, 2012

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

Nothing gets you through the doldrums between the Super Bowl and Spring Training like - Valentine's Day. Sarcasm aside, you still have a few hours to get your sweetie something. I usually forget, head to the gas station for some chocolate, and hit the cemetery on the way home for some flowers. Kidding, of course.

The morning weather looks typical for mid-February too. A band of light rain and snow is moving out of the Mid South into the Ohio Valley, eventually winding down over the northeast as some drizzle. The rain is a little heavier in the southeast as it slides over Georgia and into North Florida and the Carolinas. There was a little freezing rain and sleet mixed into the mountains there, but those advisories are just about over with.

The West Coast storm from yesterday is cranking up the snow in the Four Corners and Nevada this morning. Eventually this storm gets ejected into the Plains tomorrow, and that will spark severe storms for the Lower Mississippi Valley for Mid-week. I'll show you the spots.

Dense fog and freezing fog is up in Texas and Oklahoma this morning, some travel delays will be found there as well. I'll have all of that on the big show.

Happy V-Day everybody,
Love Bob

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

It's the day before Valentine's and Winter is back with anger this morning.

There are a couple of winter storms nosing eastward this morning, one in the West and one in the Central Plains.

Winter weather advisories are up from North Texas to Nebraska and Missouri as the snow and freezing rain/sleet is heading into the Mid Mississippi valley. The storm itself is coming off the Rockies this morning, but the energy isn't that powerful but it's enough to get the roads slippery all around. 2-4" of snow and ice is possible in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. I'll have the maps.

An advisory has been posted for 1" of snow and sleet in the Georgia mountains and North Carolina too.

Northeast winds of around 30 mph are possible in New York City today, so the air travel delays are going to get to be over an hour. I’ll have those too.

The West Coast storm has a lot of wind and snow wrapping around it. The Sierra is seeing the snow now, and the whole thing is heading to the Four Corners. I'll have that look for you this morning on "Morning Express with Robin Meade."

*Talk to Bob on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

The I-75 stretch from the GA border to Ocala had the dense smoke set up again in the pre-dawn hours this morning, and it dropped visibilities to less than a quarter mile at times. The temperatures from the surface up to about 5-600 feet cooled down fast last night under clear skies with light winds, but the temps above that layer stayed about 10-20 degrees warmer. Warm air on top of cold air sets up an inversion, and the smoke can’t break through it to rise. That essentially squeezes all the local brush fire smoke in the atmosphere down to the surface, making the visibility go way down. Once the sun comes up, the ground starts to warm and the smoke disperses, allowing the vis. to improve. Early morning travel may be tough again tomorrow morning.

Lake-effect snow is hammering on the shores of Lake Ontario this morning, but with an advancing warm front from the MW this will end shortly. An exiting storm has the wind cranking in the NE today, so I’m watching for some air travel delays from Boston to NYC.

The snow ahead of the front will give a 1-2” blanket on WI and MI today as well.

The Santa Ana winds are done for S CA but it will remain dry today, with the bulk of the valley rain and mountain snow edging through the Pacific NW into the Northern Rockies.

Follow Bob on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Bob Van Dillen

The weather this week has been shakier than Vanna White trying to spin letters on Wheel of Fortune in the 80's (we ran that story today on Morning Express, classic broadcasting from back in the day!). The slow moving storm from Texas to the Gulf over the past few days is finally making a move to the NE and dragging the severe weather threat out to sea with it. It's about time.

The morning will feature the heavy rain spinning through the East Coast from FL to ME, but the cold air trapped in NE will get the snow and sleet rocking. There are winter storm warnings in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont for the wintry mix, and delays will be long at the NYC metro airports because of the heavy rain and wind. Philly, D.C. and Boston will get the problems too.

A quick moving clipper is firing some snow into the Upper Midwest this morning, and as it closes in on Chicago they will see about 1-2” of snow overnight.

All the storms over the Pacific Northwest has been replaced by a massive high pressure region today. That will make the Santa Ana winds increase in Southern California. It's a high fire danger day around the Los Angeles county mountains because of the 70 mph winds and dry conditions, so heads up.

Have a great weekend!

Follow HLN Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather

Texas is getting the hammer today. A tightly wound storm is bowling through the Lone Star State this morning with a warm front extending out to the Gulf Coast. Heavy rain with frequent lightning has been falling since last night, and there was a tornado watch for San Antonio to Houston up to Waco earlier this morning. The rain has caused some flash flooding in those areas, and the whole rain shield is moving to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri today. Travel delays will start to mount in Dallas and Houston today with all the rough weather, so heads up.

The rest of the country seems quiet until you get to the Pacific Northwest. More morning snow is falling over the Washington/Oregon Cascades, and rain is pelting the coast from northern California to Washington. It’ll be a breezy day once again up there too.

Those are the two hot spots in the Lower 48 to look out for, see ya out there!

Follow HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen on Twitter: @BobVanDillen

Posted by: Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen
Filed under: Weather