More heavy rain (snow in the mountains) forecast. Rains have already begun over the southern two-thirds of the state. See 3:15pm radar below. In addition, there is small risk of a tornado, especially tomorrow morning, in coastal areas of Southern California, shown in dark green.

If you saw this photo in The NY Post   and elsewhere today, you may have noticed the large ball to the left of the derailment. The white fiberglass structure is the cover over the antenna of the Ft. Campbell WSR-88D, one of the primary weather radars used in our nation. Fortunately, there is no staffed weather office at this location. The radar's signals are sent to military and civilian weather offices remotely. 

This is the forecast precipitation (rain and moisture content of snow) for the next seven days. Especially if you are traveling, please keep up on the weather for your intended route. 

After a weekend when hail was reported in several areas, I thought you might be interested in this question. The answer appears to be "no." These are reports of hail 1" in diameter or larger. There appears to be no trend. 

Today is a Lake Effect Snow Day with the exception of ice storm conditions (deep purple in New England) in the Northeast. Blizzard conditions continue in Upper Michigan. Pink = winter storm warnings and purple is winter weather advisories. The browns are various high wind advisories and warnings.  The magenta in North Carolina is due to high wildlife conditions. The blues in Florida and Georgia is the NWS telling us it is late December and it is going to be cold.  There are no precipitation-related conditions in the West. 

After a light coating of snow this afternoon, the skies cleared in the west in time for another spectacular Kansas sunset. 

An out-of-season tornado watch has been issued. Please see below. Note:  A number of damaging tornadoes have occurred this afternoon.

Interstate 35 is closed in Iowa tonight due to the  high number of accidents.  -- forecast is outdated -- Orange is a blizzard warning. Pink is a winter storm warning. Brown is a high wind warning which should extend into northern central and northeast Kansas. Not shown is a snow squall warning for dangerous driving conditions in southwest Iowa. A second snow squall warning was just issued for areas northeast of Des Moines. These are for high winds and whiteout conditions -- extremely dangerous driving.  The sand color is a wind advisory. The dark brown is a high wind watch. Purple is a winter weather advisory.  Radar ar 12:15pm.

LAS = 3-letter code for Las Vegas Airport. Another example is Chicago Midwest with MDW. Many airports around the nation and world have webcams fixed on their runways. One recently began in Las Vegas (click here ).  What I don't  want to see is -- as the planes approach -- odds of a safe landing displayed!

Here are the forecast temperatures (not wind chills) for 11am CST Sunday.

 Central Park after the snow.

The darker blue is where heavier snow is falling. The salmon is where freezing rain is but it has shrunk rapidly the last couple of hours.  Here are the latest NWS forecasts pertaining to the storm. Deep purple is an ice storm warning. Pink is a winter storm warning for heavy snow. Medium purple is a winter weather advisory. Five to 9 inches are forecast to fall in NYC's Central Park. 

This was sunset just moments ago. I wonder if the Chiefs moved, from Missouri to Kansas, i n part,  because of the higher quality of the sunsets😉?! Hope this Christmas has been the best-ever for you and your loved ones! Note, that is not a funnel cloud right of center. It is a little rain or snow falling that is evaporating before it reaches the ground. Meteorologists call that "virga." No filters were used in this image. 

California Here is the color code: Northeast Winter Storm Radar at 1:42pm. Blue is snow. Salmon is freezing rain. The freezing rain is moving southeast.  At noon Friday the dark orange is accumulating freezing rain -- an ice storm. Pale orange is lesser freezing rain. Dark blue s heavy snow.  At this time (2:50pm EST), the following warnings/watches are out: Deep purple = ice storm warning.  Pink = winter storm warning (snow) Purple = winter weather advisory. An ice storm warning is a serious situation with power failures likely. Please prepare now!

Here is the latest radar. White is snow.  The green polygons are flash flood warnings.  Here are the latest watches and warnings. The color legend is below.

As of 8:10am, heavy snow is falling in the Sierra (blue) heavy rain and some sleet in the foothills (yellow and red) and heavy rain in the east-west mountains in Southern California. The green polygons are flash flood warnings and the yellow polygon is a severe thunderstorm warning.

A bit of wistful thinking in the Ozarks....

The high risk of flash flooding (purple) continues across a large area of Southern California. The time of highest risk is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. An explanation of the risk is below. Father north, the risk is snow over the Sierra, including I-80. I will continue to provide updates. 

This is an extremely dangerous situation made even more so because it is occurring on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In the purple area, there is an extreme  risk of flash flooding and in the red area there is a high  risk of flash flooding.  Rainfall amounts may exceed a foot in a few locations. Some preliminary  model indicators indicate that some streams may reach levels expected just once every 50 years. So, even though Christmas is a joyous holiday, it will be essential to monitor the weather and be prepared to evacuate on short notice. This will be especially important downstream of burn scars.  I will continue to update on this major threat. 

With those words, Governor Laura Kelly announced the Kansas City Chiefs are moving to Kansas from Missouri.  The Chiefs played in Municipal Stadium from 1962 to 71, in Arrowhead Stadium from 1972 to present and will play in Kansas when the new stadium is built. It will open in 2031.  The new stadium will be built in Wyandotte County. The new team headquarters and practice facility will be in Olathe, a southwest suburb of Kansas City. 

Monday 4am to Tuesday 4am The yellow area has a moderate risk of flash flooding while the red area has a higher risk. This includes Interstate 80 between Sacramento and Reno.  Tuesday 4am to Wednesday 4am Yellow indicates a moderate risk of flash flooding as the rain threat shifts south.  Wednesday 4am to Thursdays (Christmas) 4am We have a high risk of flash flooding over much of Southern California as heavy to near record rains are forecast to fall. It is unfortunate that "go kits" will be necessary for the Christmas holiday if you live in the red area.  Of course, I'll have additional updates tomorrow. 

We rarely do crime news but here's one I thought you should see. Click here . 

Green = flood watch. Pink = winter storm warning. Blue = winter storm watch.  An extraordinary amount of rain, with snow at highest elevations, is forecast to fall in California Christmas week.  Along Interstate 80 between Reno and Sacramento during the next 5 days,  With the heaviest rains falling throughout Northern California falling Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Christmas Eve), which includes I-5. Later in the week, heavy - likely flood producing - rains will fall in the Southland.  Here is the 5-day forecast of rainfall/liquid content of snow. That is 21" of snow in the mountains where you see the pink. Much of the precipitation will be in the form of rain which is unexpected in late December. Only at the highest elevations will it be snow. The issue, of course, will be flooding, possibly major.  Later in the week, the flooding threat will shift to Southern California. This is the forecast rainfall to 7am Sunday. At this point almost all of this precipitat...

There is only one area where heavy rain is forecast to occur the next five days and that is in the West. These maps represent cumulative rain and snow for the five days beginning at 4pm PST this evening.  In the higher mountains, heavy snow is predicted to fall. Here is the U.S. forecast map for 6pm CST Sunday.