Morning Express with Robin Meade

Hurricane Rina is in the western Caribbean Sea slowly gaining strength. The storm is now a Cat 2 with winds around 100 mph, and may become a major hurricane with winds around 115 mph by tomorrow. The patch takes it close to Cancun around Thursday and then bends it eastward towards Cuba for the weekend. We’ll see where it goes from there, but if you live in South FL keep an eye on this thing. Usually this time of year the cold fronts and steering flow is a lot stronger, so the hurricanes get batted around like a ping pong ball and don’t get a chance to gain super strength. This is a little different in the short term, since it’s going over warmer water with light winds. We’ll keep our eyes on it. I’ll tweet about Rina this afternoon too (only b/c if I tweeted personal stuff, your eyes would glaze over. “Gotta pick up kids at school, later cleaning up after my dog” real compelling, right?).

Stateside I’m watching a cold front slide off the New England coast taking rain out to sea with it. The wind will pick up behind this thing and gust to around 30 mph for the NE.

How’s it going everybody? I'm watching a powerful early season snow maker in the Rockies this morning. Rain is also circulating around this thing from ID/WY/WA/OR/CA to AZ and NM. A few break away showers are spilling into OK and KS, but the severe weather will occur north of there this afternoon. The Front Range will get the storms today that produce large hail and gusty winds as the energy heads East out of the mountains. Winter storm warnings are in effect for UT and CO right now, looking at an additional 6-12” of snow today!

The plains will see the wind howl from the SW, so red flag warnings have been issued for the upper MW to the Central Plains. Cold temps are back in the NE with frost/freeze warnings. The SE will be mostly dry except for the FL Coast. The steady E wind will hammer away today bringing in some pockets of rain from the Keys to J’ville. With that High pressure anchored north of you through the weekend, I’m thinking that wind direction/speed won’t change for a few days.

How’s it going everybody? I'm watching a powerful early season snow maker in the Rockies this morning. Rain is also circulating around this thing from ID/WY/WA/OR/CA to AZ and NM. A few break away showers are spilling into OK and KS, but the severe weather will occur north of there this afternoon. The Front Range will get the storms today that produce large hail and gusty winds as the energy heads East out of the mountains. Winter storm warnings are in effect for UT and CO right now, looking at an additional 6-12” of snow today!

The plains will see the wind howl from the SW, so red flag warnings have been issued for the upper MW to the Central Plains. Cold temps are back in the NE with frost/freeze warnings. The SE will be mostly dry except for the FL Coast. The steady E wind will hammer away today bringing in some pockets of rain from the Keys to J’ville. With that High pressure anchored north of you through the weekend, I’m thinking that wind direction/speed won’t change for a few days.

ary Busey made more sense on Celebrity Apprentice than the weather headlines do today. Heat advisories/warning sin the MW, storms in the Great Lakes/northern Rockies, wind advisories in the SW, red flag warnings in the SW, winter storm warnings in the Sierra and the possibility of the first tropical depression forming in the Caribbean.

I’ll break it down piece by piece. A strong ridge of high pressure is sitting over the middle of the country again, and that brings lots of sun and sinking air. Air that sinks compresses, and that heats up even more. I’m looking at highs near 100 for Houston, and a heat index of 100 for Minneapolis this afternoon. I’ll have those warnings. As the warm air lifts through the Great Lakes this afternoon, the stage will be set for isolated severe storms over the region. The main threat is large hail and damaging wind gusts. Check the map.

I want you to see yesterday's severe weather reports, and this is crazy (note the cluster over northern CA):

Storm Prediction Center report for 5/25

So far Spring has treated us like a Chris Brown dressing room window. The storm from yesterday that produced 16 tornado reports is on the move to IL this morning, with heavy snow and rain circulating around it. The winter storm warnings and advisories extend from CT to MT, and it will cause huge travel delays around the North today. Buffalo will get about 4-8” of snow, NYC is starting with snow and should transition to sleet and rain, and then severe storms will rock through the OH valley this afternoon. I’ll have the warnings for you, but watch out if you live anywhere from Louisville and Cincinnati to DC this afternoon. Big hail is the main concern.

The conga line is coming to the West coast again as well. Right now the rain and snow is extremely heavy in CA. This will rotate into the Rockies, and then another storm moves in behind it on Thursday, with a third on Saturday. I’ll show you the maps, and it’s ugly. Keeping this brief, since I have to get back at it.

I’d rather be at Citizens Bank Park dressed as a Braves fan during a Phillies game than be outside in MN today. I could take the batteries being tossed, the insults, and even the vomit instead of the late March blizzard that is shaping up for Duluth.

There’s also a major storm taking shape over CO this morning that will transfer its energy to the MW this afternoon, throwing rain and snow at the region the whole day. Winter storm warnings are posted from MT to MI, with a watch for PA and spots in NJ. As the storm centers in IA this evening, severe storms are possible with a small threat of tornadoes around there and MO. I’ll have the map. The snow will pick up later today, with 10-16” possible in northern MN and WI. I’ll have that map too. Storms are already rocking around Chicago and Columbus OH, count on travel delays all around the MW today.