Lots going on across the northern half of the contiguous United States. Here are the color codes: Orange = blizzard warning Pink = winter storm warning  Gold = high wind warning  Magenta = "Red Flag Warning" (high wildfire potential)  Green = flash flood watch  Bright blue = avalanche warning  Purple = winter weather advisory  Brown = high wind watch  9am Sunday, the forecast radar should look something like this: Magenta is sleet and orange is freezing rain. East of the L  there are thunderstorms depicted.  Tremendous amounts of snow -- driven by gusts to 50 mph -- will close roads and cause power outages.  Please factor this forecast into your plans.  I will update the forecast tomorrow. 

Blizzard conditions will likely develop from the northern Great Plains to the Great Lakes region this weekend and into the first of the week. Below are preliminary snowfall amounts. I will have updates this evening.

If a tornado and a solar farm combine in space and time, who wins? Yes, your guess is correct.  This was a solar farm in Indiana. AccuWeather has the video. It was truck Tuesday night and its location was (ironically) Wheatfield, Indiana. All nuclear plants are tornado-proof and many/most natural gas and coal plants are tornado-resistant. The tragedy here isn't just the damage to "green" energy -- it is the pollution from this damage leaching into the soil -- making it unsuitable for agriculture.  It is worth pointing out again that until 2023, the United States was self-sufficient in food starting in 1776. We no longer are. Which would you rather have: food or solar energy?? 

The brown areas have a significant risk of a tornado and, according to the NWS Storm Prediction Center, if a tornado occurs it could be strong.  Please pay attention to the weather in these areas today.

NBC Chicago Undoubtedly Wednesday morning, you will be hearing about the tornado which struck the Kankakee, Illinois, area (south of Chicago) around 6:25pm. The damage is considerable. Chicago's WGN-TV says, "Kankakee County was severely damaged." There is report of two people killed by this tornado across the border in Lake Village, Indiana.  After the poorly warned tornadoes in southwest Michigan Friday, one would think the NWS would have made it a point to have its radars operating on optimum settings and then jump on any supercell thunderstorm with tornado characteristics. It appears this did not happen in Kankakee.  Below is what I posted on Twitter/X at 6:04pm. I do not use the term "tornado warning" as I believe it should be reserved for the National Weather Service (NWS) which is the official warning source.  Unfortunately, we did not hear from the NWS regarding the tornado threat for quite a while. While a severe thunderstorm warning for "softball ...

I am providing real-time coverage on Twitter/X  @usweatherexpert.  The SPC has updated its forecast. Using the combination of probability and forecast tornado intensity the red area is a high risk  on my 4-point scale. It is forecast to be a major tornado day in the Midwest. The time to make preliminary preparations is now.  The red area with the cross hatching means there is (on my scale) a high  risk of tornadoes of EF-3 or stronger. The threat will begin ramping up 2p or after. The yellow area has an enhanced  risk of EF-2 or stronger tornadoes.  The brown area has a significant risk of tornadoes. The single hatching means there is a chance of EF-2 or stronger intensity tornadoes.  The green is a non-zero but very small probability of a tornado. If one occurs, it could strong (EF-2 or stronger).  In addition, the greatly enlarged brown area farther southwest means there is a significant risk of tornadoes, some of which could be strong....