America lost a great civil rights leader with the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson. It was quite a thrill to meet him and have a conversation when he stopped by WeatherData, Incorporated in 1983. His self-help philosophy was an important element of the civil rights discussion. I didn't always agree with him, especially in his later years, but he was a true trailblazer.  May he rest in peace. 

Now providing updates on Twitter/X  @usweatherexpert.  6:27pm Update:  Fire in a neighborhood in Woodward.  KWTV, Oklahoma City.  6:20pm Update:  The fire burning into Woodward, OK where an evacuation order is in effect.  Screen capture from The Hotshot Wake Up (Twitter) video taken in Woodward.  2:50pm Update; screen capture from new video by Jaden.  Englewood, Kansas, being evacuated. The fire has crossed the border (see satellite image below). You may wish to compare that satellite image with the one farther down. Two new fires have broken out since 2pm. One in New Mexico west of Nara Visa and a second in the central Texas Panhandle.  This images was taken just before the fire east of Amarillo. 2:29pm Update There is a report of a large, multi-vehicle accident on U.S. 54 near Tyrone, OK. It is unknown if there are fatalities or injuries.  2:15pm Update From Jordan Hall, one of several semi's flipped over in high winds in the Texa...

Busy weather over the western half of the United States. Scroll down for extreme fire danger map. Orange = blizzard warning Pink = winter storm warning  Bright blue = avalanche warning  Gold = high wind warning  Magenta = "Red Flag" (high fire danger) warning  Green = flood warning  Purple = winter weather advisory  Gray = fog advisory  Sand = wind advisory  Above is the wildfire danger map. Whatever you do, don't toss butts, drag chains or other items that could cause a fire to start. 

The West is going to have an extremely wet week.  That is more than ten inches of precipitation (the liquid content of snow) on some of the peaks of the Sierra. Five inches are forecast for the peaks in Santa Barbara County and north of Los Angeles. In the short term, rainfall rates of more than 1"/hour are possible from Los Angeles to Orange to San Diego Counties from now until 5pm PST. Latest NWS watches and warnings.  Pink = winter storm warning  Gold = high wind warning  Magenta = flash flood warning  Green = flash flood watch  Purple = winter weather advisory Sand = wind advisory  

The new Chevy commercial with the catchy "See the USA..." song is back to the future. It was their theme song when I was a kid in the 1950's. Click to see the great Dinah Shore. 

The tornado watch is in effect until 8pm EST. Tornadoes a wind gusts to 70 mph are forecast to occur. Tornadoes occurred during the night and this morning as forecast.  Note: NASCAR did a smart thing by moving up the Daytona 500 by an hour.