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Busy weather is back in the West, and several waves of storms will bring heavy rainfall, autumn temperatures, and even mountain snowfall.

Low pressure swirling south of the Gulf of Alaska today is sending in heavy rainfall across the Pacific Northwest through northern California. As seen on the WeatherRadar, even mountain snow is falling along the highest peaks of the Cascades too, northeast of Ashford, Wash.

The heaviest rainfall from this system is expected in southwest Oregon and northwest California, where flood watches have been issued. Up to three inches of rain won’t be out of the question, which could quickly cause flooding, mudslides, or landslides.

The winds from this storm are also something to pay close attention to. Since Sunday afternoon, gusts up to 55 mph have been whipping the West Coast from Ukiah, Calif., to Chemult, Ore.

On the dry, eastern side of the Oregon Cascades, red flag warnings have been posted noting the chance for gusty winds and low humidity levels that could easily spread any flames if sparked or are currently burning.

The wet and snowy weather continues through the midweek point. The low pressure still churning in the southern portion of the Gulf of Alaska will continue to send the waves of disturbances in toward the Pacific Northwest. Umbrellas will be the main accessory for the week.

We’ll see a brief break between Wednesday night for Oregon and northern California, while Washington stays wet and snowy, but Thursday morning they'll be added back to the mix.

Not to be outdone, residents of the Pacific Northwest will notice cooler highs in the upper 40s and 50s west of the Cascades today, with the cooler weather creeping eastward starting Tuesday. There are hints of a warm-up in the longer-range forecast, but we’re too far from that to give more finite details.

For now, gather your sweaters, coats, and pumpkin spice lattes, and enjoy the autumn weather.

Severe storms embedded with large hail brought significant damage to parts of central Texas on Sunday night.

Williamson County in Texas was hard-hit by large hail Sunday night. Up to baseball-sized hail destroyed windshields, dented cars, damaged homes, and even caused power outages. The city of Round Rock, Texas, was particularly hard hit by hail.

Large hail also led to significant issues on I-35. Drivers took shelter from the large hailstones underneath overpasses. The Kia Dealership in Round Rock also experienced significant damage to the vehicles on its lot. The weather also delayed the Austin FC soccer game at Q2 Stadium for several hours.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, there were 27 filtered reports of hail, and 10 reports of large hail.

Now that Ophelia is just a soggy memory, this week’s tropical focus shifts back to the far eastern and central Atlantic.

The only named storm in the Atlantic at this time is Philippe. This tropical storm formed Saturday afternoon over the central tropical Atlantic. It remains weak as mid-level wind shear, or changes in speed and direction of upper-level winds, make it hard for the system to organize the thunderstorms into a larger system.

Current forecasts call for this system to remain weak as it moves to the northwest. Although it is moving over very warm water, this system will still encounter wind shear for the next several days. Either way, Philippe will remain far from land.

Meanwhile, another low-pressure system is located over the eastern Atlantic just west of the Cabo Verde Islands. This system could develop into the year’s next system later this week as it too takes a northwest track far from land.

Another weak low-pressure system is located over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico just north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Additional development isn’t expected with this system as upper-level winds make it hard for additional development.

Weather & Radar will be providing updates of the tropics all season long. Check back often for the latest details and track all about the storms’ developments using our WeatherRadar.

It is starting to feel and look like autumn across many parts of the U.S. The autumn foliage season is in full swing across the Upper Midwest and New England with the colors starting to change across the more populated Eastern Seaboard and lower Midwest.

As you go out for a walk or hike to explore the changing seasons, you’ll notice a wide array of colors as part of autumn palette. You will note a splotch of crimson and yellow mixed in with some orange, yellows, browns, and greens. It is an earth-tone spectacle.

The variety of colors seen this time of year is due to the variety of trees in the forest. Different tree types are known to produce different colors.

Bright yellows and bronze leaves are produced by hickories, aspen, poplar, and black maples. Beautiful reds and crimsons are common among oak, dogwood, tupelo and red maples. Most of the oranges, mixed in with red, are from sugar maples. Trees stressed by drought or disease along with some types of elms will produce drag browns and shrivel off their tree.

Deciduous trees — ones that do not have needles — change colors and lose their leaves in autumn to prepare for the cold winter ahead. The color change from green to the common autumn colors occur when trees, sensing the shorter days and longer nights, stop producing chlorophyll in their leaves. The loss of chlorophyll —the catalyst used to convert sunlight and water into sugar in plants— causes other pigments in the leaves to show. This is when the reds, yellows and oranges really show up.

Eventually, the trees cut off water and nutrients to the leaves, and the leaves die and fall off the tree and forests turn a muted brown as trees become bare until spring.

As you head out this autumn, take a few pictures and share them with us here.

Both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice is dropping at an alarming rate, significantly lower than normal for the time of year.

During this time of the year, towards the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the end of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, sea ice usually reaches its lowest extent.

However, what is unsettling, is that this current extent is unprecedented when comparing to previous averages or record lows, across both sides of the globe.

In the Arctic, sea ice is 6th lowest on record, behind 2012, 2020, 2007, 2016 and 2019. It is still declining despite the start of the northern hemisphere autumn.

Antarctica is experiencing an alarming decline in sea ice levels during its winter months, with measurements now reaching historic lows.

The once-stable sea ice surrounding Antarctica, which plays a crucial role in cooling the Earth, has dwindled to less than 17 million square km.

This figure represents a staggering 579 million square miles less than the average sea ice extent for September, and it falls well below the previous record lows ever observed during winter.

Such a dramatic reduction in sea ice has significant implications for global climate dynamics, as Antarctica transitions from being Earth's refrigerator to becoming a radiator of heat.

Experts are not optimistic about the possibility of a substantial recovery in sea ice levels. This trend is exacerbated by a recent extreme heatwave that struck East Antarctica in March 2022.

During this anomalous event, temperatures in East Antarctica reached around -10°C, a stark contrast to the typical -50°C temperatures expected there during that time of year.