11:27AM: The Great Lakes are at it again, resulting in some half foot accumulations just this morning. The unusual bit of news, though, is that there is a weak fetch off of Lake Superior, and that snow is in northeastern Minnesota. It’s definitely not captured by the models, and it is barely showing up on radar, but it IS identified in this local storm report. This is ski country, so I don’t think anyone is mad about it.

3:05PM: I mentioned in an update yesterday that the US was enjoying a bit of a reprieve from early season severe weather. That reprieve is nearing its end. Unfortunately, with the active pattern on either coast, it was just a matter of time, and the first hints of a bit of severe weather coming on the horizon are now showing up in Louisville’s extended outlook. This is Day 5 (January 9th) so things are absolutely still in flux.

12:12AM: There was a bit of rain in the Southeast today. Fortunately, it wasn’t followed by horribly cold air, but it was enough to bring the threat for some fog throughout the region. The hilly terrain north of Atlanta appears to be particularly susceptible into the early hours.

3:07PM: The first part of January can often feature some early season thunderstorms in the Southeast. That off-season outbreak that we can see a couple months before the real thing hasn’t really loomed as a threat this year. Instead, the focus is out west which is getting hammered by a relentless series of rain and snow. It’s not great for Californian’s right now, but the hope is going to be for an abundant spring and summer.

9:40PM: I was never worried about the northern batch of wet weather reaching Atlantic City, but there was a slim chance that the low moving out of the Carolinas would wobble towards the coast and threaten the forecast of dry weather. Well, the nearest the rain is on shore is in Kill Devil Hills, NC. We should be OK.

9:14AM: Happy New Year, everyone! It’s day two of 2026, and it is a quieter start to the year than 2025 ended. There is a little bit of precipitation around Arkansas, as well as mountain snow in the northern Rockies, and ongoing snow in the Great Lakes, but no major headline grabbing features. My most important note for most of you is probably this: It’s Friday, today. I know it is a murky situation for everyone this time of year, the calendar.

11:28PM: A rule of thumb: When the Jacksonville WFO is issuing frost and freeze advisories, try to post something on the website.

9:14PM: Take a look at the HRRR’s latest run. The snow is going to build very quickly from Montana to South Dakota. Head’s up, Pierre, things are going to go downhill pretty rapidly tonight.

9:04PM: Perhaps you have seen the headlines, but south Asia is recovering from a significant flooding event that afflicted parts of at least 5 countries. It started with a slow moving typhoon in the Molucca Strait, and after it moved out of the region, there was a succession of other rain storms that stretched from Sri Lanka to the Philippines. The rain led to flash flooding, and the deaths of over 2000 people across the region. The constant drum beat of news in the US has kept this disaster out of the headlines, but so too has the slow burn of this catastrophe. I encourage you to spend some time reading up on this storm, and sparing a thought for the souls that couldn’t escape.

11:43PM: I don’t know if you caught much NFL action today, but there were some wet and marshy fields out there, and plenty of snowy turf as well. The snow and rain is really tapering off in the New England area, but rain looks like a good bet for Georgia tomorrow.

9:45PM: Lake effect snow is possible on either side of the Great Lakes, we just here about it more frequently to the east of the lakes, because that is the the prevailing direction of air flow in the Northern Hemisphere. Every once in a while, you get a northeasterly wind off of Lake Superior, and you suddenly have heavy lake effect in the Minnesota Arrowhead. The area is bound by a little bit of terrain, so the snow isn’t even showing on radar, and it is seeing some orographic forcing as well. This could be a pretty good dumping.

11:21PM The next system to batter the East Coast is, well, starting to batter! Look at the coverage on this rain!

12:03AM I know this is absolutely at the top of everyone’s mind, but the precipitation has not reached Raleigh before midnight, and I am just now realizing that it hasn’t reached there by 1AM, either. Raleigh is in the eastern time zone. Maybe I should go to bed?

10:10PM The troublemaking system at the end of the holiday weekend is still causing problems. There are winter storm warnings across New England, right up to the coast in New Hampshire and Maine. No waiting around for winter this year.