This is the forecast precipitation from now until 6am next Friday. Note the heavy rain is forecast to occur in the Northwest (heavy snow i9n the mountains) with mild snow in California's Sierra. 

It looks like the first significant tornado situations of 2024 will develop the middle of next week.  While these are very  preliminary, the yellow areas are where tornadoes, large hail and/or damaging thunderstorm winds may occur. So, this means it is time to get your tornado safety planning completed. If you do not have a "safe room" or a  storm shelter , the safest place is in a basement under heavy furniture such as a pool table.  Rehearse  taking shelter there with your children. If you do not have a shelter or basement, then get into a bathroom or closet in the middle of the house. The theory is to put as many walls as possible between you and the tornado. Laying down in the bathtub is a good idea. Again, r ehearse  taking shelter there with your children.  Wherever your safe area may be, put in a couple of bottles of water, a pair of old shoes with good soles, and, if appropriate, a couple of diapers.  If you are in public, avoid buildings ...

Above is video of the Java Tornado. On April 29, 2022, we caught a small tornado in Marion County, Kansas.  Yesterday, on the Island of Java, a tornado with nearly identical appearance formed.  In a part of the world where tornadoes are rare, this one turned into a destructive storm .   There's an entire page of videos, including damage, here . 

I've spoken with train crews and they universally dread coming into an intersection seconds after another train clears it.  That dread turned to reality in 2023 when two sheriff's cars illegally went around lowered crossing gates as the first train cleared an intersection. The first car was promptly struck by the second train with the second stopping just short. You can see the gates were down in the image below. The deputy suffered numerous broken bones but has made a full recovery.  Crossing protection systems are pretty sophisticated these days and the gates do not stay down unless there is a second train approaching. Never go around them. 

 Up to 3pm PST, here are the precipitation amounts. Below is the latest radar (3:40pm): Rain, with snow in the mountains, continues. The inland atmospheric river extents along and just north of I-15 to Cedar City. 

The title is from a poem called Weatherman's Lament  and I recalled it when reading the Washington Post  Capital Weather Gang's article about a busted forecast in the Northeast Friday and Saturday. Here is one of the comments about the article. I can vividly remember a much-hyped snowstorm in the DMV around 1977. The forecasters started the noise on a Wednesday, and the storm was supposed to arrive Sunday night. A foot of snow -- at least, most said -- was predicted. Still holding a grudge about a missed snow forecast nearly 50 years ago! As the poem says, "no one forgets"! And, of course, the frequently uttered comment I most dislike.  The Post's  entire article is here . Of course, I wrote a book where I tell the true story (written in the form of a novel so it is easy to read) of how weather forecasting came to be so accurate (Saturday's miss notwithstanding) and how we save thousands of lives each year. The book has a 4.6 out of five rating at Amazon. If ...

Radar at 6am PST.