In this live "Shooting the Breeze" episode, James Brereton and Frank Strait break down an action-packed week of weather across the Carolinas and beyond!The team covers recent severe downpours and flash flooding in Columbia, SC—including a submerged car on Whaley Street—and tracks live severe thunderstorm warnings in real time across Upstate South Carolina. Plus, Greg Fishel checks in (fresh from band rehearsal!) with a detailed El Niño status update that could signal historical climate impacts heading into winter.🌩️ In This Episode:Severe Weather & SC Flooding: A look at torrential rain totals, notorious flood spots in Columbia, and live radar tracking.Tropics Update: Breaking down Tropical Storm Cristobal, Saharan dust in the Atlantic, and Potential Tropical Cyclone 1C taking aim at Hawaii.Greg Fischel’s El Niño Briefing: CPC temperature anomalies, oceanic gradients, European model trends, and what a record-setting El Niño means for winter.The Sizzling Carolinas Forecast: Dangerous heat indices approaching 110 and mid-90s to triple-digit highs standard for the week ahead.00:00 - Welcome & "Shooting the Breeze" Intro03:00 - Columbia, SC Flash Flooding & CoCoRaHS Rain Totals10:00 - Midwest Wind Damage & NWS Warning Tech Issues15:15 - Tropical Update: Cristobal, Atlantic Dust & Hawaii Threat33:55 - Greg Fischel's El Niño Forecast & Model Outlook43:30 - Live Radar Tracking: Upstate SC Storms47:30 - Extended Heatwave & Weekend Carolinas Forecast01:04:00 - Greg Joins Live + Union/Chester Severe Warnings & Wrap-Up🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

In this episode of the Carolina Weather Group, the panel breaks down recent extreme weather events across North Carolina and the Southeast.

💧 WFMY Chief Meteorologist Tim Buckley joins to discuss catastrophic flash flooding in Surry County, including historic river rises along the Ararat River, massive road washouts in Mount Airy and Pilot Mountain, and how tropical moisture can trigger sudden localized emergencies.

🌪️ Next, Clay Cheney from the National Weather Service (Greenville-Spartanburg) busts the myth that tornadoes don't happen in the mountains, sharing details from a recent storm survey confirming an EF-0 tornado in Madison County, NC.

⛈️ Finally, meteorologists Greg Fischel and Frank Strait provide a comprehensive update on building El Niño conditions, summer forecast trends, and the latest Atlantic hurricane season outlook.

00:00 - Introduction & Current Radar

05:11 - Surry County Flash Flooding Analysis with Tim Buckley

18:02 - Flash Flood Warnings & Emergency Alerts (NWS Perspective)

22:00 - Triad Supercell & Wall Cloud Tracking

26:24 - Debunking Mountain Tornado Myths: Madison County EF-0 Survey with Clay Cheney

36:34 - Straight-Line Wind vs. Tornadic Damage Indicators

48:56 - Carolinas Weekly Forecast & Coastal Disturbance

01:01:16 - Drought Outlook & Regional Rain Improvements

01:02:45 - El Niño Update & Walker Circulation Deep-Dive with Greg Fischel

01:12:27 - Carolina Weather Group Overtime: WPC Outlook Changes & Historical Tornado Outbreaks

Plus the latest on the drought, the hurricane season and El Niño.

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The Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

This week on the Carolina Weather Group, we're setting the stage for a severe storm and flooding threat just now getting underway.Slow-moving thunderstorms could bring several inches of (badly needed) rain to the Carolinas -- but at a rate and within a time frame that could cause a significant flash flood threat.Plus some of these storms could produce damaging winds and lightning.We're checking the radar live, walking you through the hour-by-hour, and breaking down the impacts of the impending weather.🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

The Carolina Weather Group welcomes Watch Duty back to the show to talk about their expansion into flooding events.🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

Tonight on the Carolina Weather Group, we talk with Kelly Wells from the North Carolina Department of Transportation about the relaunched drivenc.gov website. Wells provides a walkthrough of the new site, which features over 1,000 live streaming traffic cameras across the state. The site includes map layers for traffic congestion, road closures, incidents, road work, and weather events. Users can view real-time conditions for ferries and rest areas, and see the warnings currently displayed on highway message signs. The site also integrates weather radar, National Weather Service alerts, and weather forecasts directly onto the map. Through the "My Drive NC" feature, travelers can select favorite cameras, save routes, and draw custom regions on the map to receive targeted email or text alerts for road conditions. The platform also feeds this traffic data to navigation apps like Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps, and TomTom. NCDOT monitors the roads using five traffic management centers across the state, which now receive proactive push alerts for traffic incidents. A Drive NC mobile app is also now available for download.Also in this episode, Sam Walker details traffic management on the Outer Banks, including the Barco diversion at the intersection of US 158 and NC 168, which is used during hurricane evacuations to divert traffic away from bridge-tunnels in Virginia. Frank Strait provides the Carolina weather forecast, tracking ongoing flash flood warnings and severe thunderstorms. He outlines an incoming heatwave that will bring high temperatures near 100 degrees and heat index values between 105 and 110 degrees, before a cold front brings cooling showers by Sunday and Monday.The panel also discusses the CoCoRaHS rain gauge network, a destructive 4th of July thunderstorm in New York, and Colorado State University's updated forecast lowering the season's prediction to nine named storms. 🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

The future of Carolina's first commercial radio station, WBT 1110 AM, seems questionable - at best. Big broadcast companies are moving away from news radio formats, with their regular weathercast formats. Some big stations are shutting down or moving off the dial. Even Canada's national weather arm is shutting down their verison of NOAA weather radio, with the United States agency examining its next steps for the over-the-air weather service.Where does radio go from here? We're talking with Johnny Caudle, a broadcaster, weathercaster and digital reporter based in North Carolina. 🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible.

Tonight on a very special edition of the Carolina Weather Group, we are pull off a broadcasting first and tracking breaking news from every corner of the globe! 🚢 LIVE FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEANHost Greg Fischel makes history as the first CWG panelist to broadcast live via satellite from a moving cruise ship deck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! Greg checks in between a private island and Nassau, Bahamas, to share his tropical observations and preview his upcoming excursion to Atlantis. 💥 BREAKING GLOBAL EARTHQUAKE NEWSWe shift to major breaking seismic activity reported across the globe. We break down the initial data from the USGS: Venezuela: A massive dual earthquake event (7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes occurring just 40 seconds apart) causes building collapses and power grid failures. We look at how seismographs as far away as Jenkinsville, SC, felt the planet shake. Japan: A strong 6.9 magnitude earthquake triggers close attention in the Pacific Rim. California: Northern California gets rattled by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake north of San Francisco. 📱 EXPLORING WEATHERFRONTJohn Banghoff, operational meteorologist from State College, PA, joins the show to give us a tour of the innovative weather visualization tool, Weatherfront. John breaks down their highly requested new desktop web app, advanced customizable street-level mapping, and a powerful time-of-arrival tracking tool. Plus, he shares an exclusive sneak peek and pro-tip for Android users awaiting the upcoming mobile launch! 🔥 THE CAROLINAS FORECAST: DANGEROUS HEAT & SEVERE DROUGHTFrank Strait details a temporary dry and beautiful reprieve before a massive upper-level ridge sets up shop, triggering a dangerous summer heat spell with triple-digit temperatures. We also check out the staggering statistics on our ongoing exceptional drought —exploring exactly how many inches of rain cities like Raleigh and Charlotte need to fully recover. Finally, we review a National Weather Service storm survey confirming 50–70 mph straight-line wind damage in Currituck, NC. Follow Weatherfront:💻 Try the web app: http://app.weatherfront.com 🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible. #HurricaneSeason #NOAA #NationalHurricaneCenter #CarolinaWeather #WeatherForecasting #TropicalStorms #Meteorology

The Carolina Weather Group is tracking Tropical Storm Arthur and the rainfall and flooding threat it poses to parts of the Carolinas.🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible. #HurricaneSeason #NOAA #NationalHurricaneCenter #CarolinaWeather #WeatherForecasting #TropicalStorms #Meteorology

James Brierton and Greg Fishel sat down for a fascinating chat with Evan Bentley, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC). If you’ve looked at the SPC severe weather maps recently, you might have noticed some big visual updates.The SPC has officially rolled out its new Conditional Intensity Groups (CIGs)—often referred to as "Intensity Levels"—to Day 1, 2, and 3 convective outlooks.Here is a quick look behind the scenes at what this change means and what James, Greg, and Evan discussed to keep you ahead of the storm:📊 What are Conditional Intensity Groups (CIGs)?In the past, the SPC used a binary "hatched" area on their maps to indicate a 10% or higher chance of "significant severe" weather (like an EF2+ tornado, 2"+ hail, or 75+ mph winds). However, this didn't give forecasters a way to separate a common severe day from a truly catastrophic, historic outbreak without forcing you to dig deep into the written text forecast.The new CIG system replaces that single hatching with a multi-tiered intensity framework. It is conditional, meaning: “If a severe hazard occurs at your location, how intense is it expected to be?”Instead of just forecasting the chance of severe weather, the SPC can now map out the Reasonable Maximum Intensity based on the atmospheric environment and storm mode:Tornadoes (Levels 1 to 3): Level 1 points to a reasonable max intensity of an EF2 tornado. Level 2 targets EF3 potential. Level 3 is strictly reserved for those rare, violent EF4+ outbreak days (the kind of wording reserved for only one or two days a year).Damaging Winds (Levels 1 to 3): Gauges peak wind threats ranging from standard severe gusts (Level 1: 75+ mph), to organized bow echoes or derechos (Level 2: 85+ mph), up to high-end, destructive derecho events (Level 3: 95+ mph).Hail (Levels 1 to 2): Level 1 highlights 2 to 3.5-inch hail (tennis ball to baseball size). Level 2 steps up to the monster, destructive stuff—3.5 inches or greater (softball size).🗺️ The Maps Look Different, But the Risks Haven't Changed!Evan emphasized a major takeaway for our groupies: The baseline 1-to-5 risk categories (Marginal, Slight, Enhanced, Moderate, High) are NOT changing. A Slight or Moderate risk day in the future will represent the exact same historical frequency and general threat level as it did in years past.The difference is that the SPC now has a much more nuanced toolkit. For example, they can now map out a day that has a lower coverage/probability of storms but carries an extremely high-end conditional intensity if a supercell manages to breach the cap.📺 How We'll Be Communicating This to YouAs Greg and Evan talked about in the interview, looking at a map overlaid with multiple types of hatching, probabilities, and risk levels can get incredibly complicated for the public.As broadcasters and weather communicators, our goal at the Carolina Weather Group isn't to bog you down in mathematical weeds or scare you with low-context probability percentages. Instead, we'll be breaking these graphics down into bite-sized pieces: first focusing on your overall chance of being impacted, and then explicitly highlighting the areas where the worst-case scenario or higher-intensity storms are possible.#weather #northcarolina #southcarolina #ncwx #scwx #podcast📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com

Another home has collapsed into the ocean on the Outer Banks, severe drought conditions persist despite recent torrential downpours, and the weather world is buzzing about a potential record-breaking swing toward a "Super El Niño."In Episode 586 of the Carolina Weather Group, James Brierton (Charlotte), Greg Fischel (Raleigh), and Frank Strait (Columbia) are joined by Outer Banks expert Sam Walker to break down a wild week of weather across North and South Carolina.What’s Inside This Episode:Outer Banks House Collapse: Sam Walker shares the sad story behind the latest home to fall into the ocean in Buxton, the upcoming beach nourishment projects, and how new live NCDOT traffic cameras are changing the game for real-time storm tracking.The Carolinas Drought Reality Check: Yes, it rained—heavily in some spots (with parts of western NC seeing nearly 8 inches)—but the region remains dangerously deep in a rainfall deficit. We look at the latest drought maps and the statistical probability of ending the drought this year.Is a Super El Niño Coming?: Greg Fishel breaks down his fascinating research into the Relative El Niño Index (RONI). We explore the unprecedented data swing from a cold La Niña to a potentially historic "Super El Niño" and what it actually means for the Atlantic hurricane season.Podcast Housekeeping: Get a sneak peek at our upcoming interview with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) about their new intensity categories, plus an update on our 24/7 Carolina Weather Net streaming platform featuring next-gen AI voice alerts.🤝 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL & GET PERKS📹 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg/join🧢 MERCH: https://carolinaweathergroup.qbstores.com/💸 LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip🎙️ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather🔔 SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup💻 VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com 🌤️ ABOUT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUPThe Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, the environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible. #HurricaneSeason #NOAA #NationalHurricaneCenter #CarolinaWeather #WeatherForecasting #TropicalStorms #Meteorology