SEATTLE — If you thought this past winter was warm and dry, wait until El Niño comes to town.

Should the famed warm weather generator’s trajectory hold, next winter could see even warmer and drier conditions in the Pacific Northwest, experts say.

There is about a 61% chance that El Niño will emerge in the region between May and July and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tornadoes aren't completely out of the question in California's Central Valley. Over the last century, the region has had scores of them.

But this week, as several thunderstorms moved through, the region experienced something rare: four tornadoes on the same day, all in less than five hours.

The first touched down Tuesday ...Read more

DETROIT — The water level must drop more than 9 inches before emergency operations at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex are halted, state officials said Thursday.

"As of 8:30 a.m., 9.12 inches of water must recede before the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex Emergency Action Plan is deactivated," the Michigan State Police Emergency Management ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — California is known for having earthquakes, wildfires and the rare tsunami, but after Tuesday you may want to add tornadoes to the conversation.

According to the National Weather Service, three separate tornadoes were confirmed in the state on Tuesday afternoon, one ripping the metal roof off a barn and snapping tree trunks in ...Read more

DETROIT — People who own property damaged by the "historic" flooding and tornado activity in Michigan last week should report damage to the state, officials from the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division said.

Damage reports will help Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seek federal disaster funding, said Capt. Kevin ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A storm is hitting California late in the wet season, bringing rain to the north and snow to the Sierra Nevada, with Los Angeles expected to receive light rain in time for the Tuesday afternoon commute.

Strong winds could make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles such as big rigs. Fierce gusts of up to 65 mph ...Read more

Beginning a week ago, what the local National Weather Service office called “an incredibly active stretch of weather” — including record-breaking rainfall and large hail — culminated Friday with more than a dozen tornadoes across northern and central Illinois. As water levels in area rivers kept rising over the weekend, the ripple ...Read more

DETROIT — Before widespread flooding threatened homes and businesses across northern Michigan this spring, lawmakers failed to act for five years on recommendations by a government task force that concluded the state's aging inventory of dams required "immediate attention."

Members of the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force, which released a final...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. ― The Cheboygan River level rose 0.24 inches Saturday, returning to where it was Friday night.

At 1:30 p.m. Saturday the river was 7.08 inches below the top of the dam, the same number as 10 p.m. Friday. It had been 7.32 inches below the top of the dam at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service had forecast a slight...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. ― Levels of the Cheboygan River began to rise again Friday night, and after lowering much of the day as workers were able to reactiviate a turbine inside the hydroelectric dam at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex that had been offline for years.

As the hydroelectric plant restarted earlier Friday, the river fell to 6.48 ...Read more

DETROIT — Entire neighborhoods along the Black Lake in northern Michigan have been submerged amid ongoing flooding that may worsen in the coming days.

Drone footage taken along the river shoreline Thursday shows dozens of homes swamped by water on all sides.

Residents were working to remove belongings from their waterlogged homes, using four...Read more

After the tornado sirens cut out, Andrew Donaldson stepped out of his Clinton, Missouri, home and looked to the sky. Without their warning wail, he assumed he was safe.

But in the sky, he saw the unmistakable mark of a tornado: rotation.

He bolted back inside. The winds clawed the door from his grasp as he made it in the house, where he, his ...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. — Water is creeping closer to the crest of the Cheboygan dam and now is less than 5 inches from the top, state officials reported Thursday afternoon.

The water level at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex was 4.92 inches below the top of the dam as of 5:30 p.m., said the Michigan State Police Department of Emergency Management...Read more

DETROIT — Widespread flooding across Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula has washed out numerous roads, wreaking havoc on county road commissions and local motorists trying to navigate around floodwaters.

South of Traverse City, floodwaters washed away the Beitner Road bridge over the swollen Boardman River. Grand Traverse Road Commission ...Read more

DETROIT — Heavy spring rainfall and lingering melt-off of winter snow and inland lake ice have left much of Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula awash in water this week, wreaking havoc on up north roadways.

Multiple roadways and small bridges were washed away by floodwaters from Grand Traverse County on Lake Michigan to Presque Isle County on...Read more

Monday night’s EF-2 tornado had just plowed through four blocks of Ottawa, Kansas, ripping off roofs and demolishing buildings as the storm muscled its way east.

Twenty-five miles later, at the Shady Acres R.V. Park in Hillsdale, a twister descended, lifting and tossing and spinning mobile homes like Lego pieces.

“Then we could see the ...Read more

DETROIT — Heavy spring rainfall and lingering melt-off of winter snow and inland lake ice have left much of Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula awash in water this week, wreaking havoc on roadways.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has placed the entire state under an energy emergency as some residents in northern Michigan have been urged to ...Read more

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. — Water levels at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex rose again overnight to what appears to be their highest level yet, coming within 6.6 inches of the crest of the dam, according to state officials.

The increase, measured at 9 a.m. Wednesday, represents a change of about 1.4 inches from 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The National ...Read more

CHICAGO — A flood watch is in effect for several Illinois counties as well as northwest Indiana as storms are expected to continue through late Wednesday night, officials said.

The watch covers portions of Illinois including Boone, central Cook, DeKalb, eastern Will, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, northern Cook, northern Will, Ogle, southern ...Read more