Storms to watch: official US weather outlooks
This page lists the official outlooks worth watching right now: tropical areas from the National Hurricane Center, Enhanced or higher severe storm risk, Moderate or High flash flood risk and notable winter storms.
Forecasts change; follow your local National Weather Service office. Find yours at weather.gov by entering your ZIP code.
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Get ready now
A short checklist from Ready.gov. You don't need to buy everything at once.
- Sign up for alerts from your local officials and keep a NOAA Weather Radio or phone alerts on. (Ready.gov: Alerts)
- Make a plan: how you'll get alerts, where you'll shelter, your evacuation route and how your family will reach each other. (Ready.gov: Plan)
- Water: one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation. (Ready.gov: Kit)
- Food: at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food, plus a manual can opener. (Ready.gov: Kit)
- Power and light: flashlight, extra batteries, a battery-powered or hand crank radio, and a cell phone with chargers and a backup battery. (Ready.gov: Kit)
- Health: first aid kit and prescription medications. (Ready.gov: Kit)
By type of storm
- Hurricanes: know your evacuation zone; if local officials tell you to evacuate, do so immediately. (Ready.gov: Hurricanes) Our hurricane prep guide
- Tornadoes: pick your safe place now. A safe room or storm shelter is best; next best is a small, interior, windowless room or basement on the lowest level of a sturdy building. (Ready.gov: Tornadoes) Our tornado guide
- Flooding: do not walk, swim or drive through flood waters. Turn Around, Don't Drown! (Ready.gov: Floods) Our flooding guide
- Winter storms: keep out the cold with insulation, caulking and weather stripping, and learn how to keep pipes from freezing. (Ready.gov: Winter Weather) Our winter storm guide
Prep guides
What we list: NHC areas of interest (Atlantic and Eastern Pacific), SPC Enhanced or higher severe risk, WPC Moderate or High excessive rainfall risk, and notable NWS winter storm warnings. Wording comes from each agency's product; we don't add our own forecasts.
Common questions
What does a 7-day formation chance mean?
It's the National Hurricane Center's estimate of the chance that a tropical depression or storm forms from that area within 7 days. NHC calls under 40 percent low, 40 to 60 percent medium, and over 60 percent high. It is not a forecast of where a storm will go.
What is an Enhanced risk from SPC?
The Storm Prediction Center ranks severe thunderstorm risk on five levels: Marginal, Slight, Enhanced, Moderate and High. Enhanced is level 3 of 5. This page lists only Enhanced or higher.
What is a Moderate risk of excessive rainfall?
The Weather Prediction Center's Excessive Rainfall Outlook has four levels: Marginal, Slight, Moderate and High. Moderate is level 3 of 4 and means numerous flash floods are possible. This page lists only Moderate or High.
How often is this page updated?
The outlooks are pulled from NHC, SPC, WPC and the National Weather Service about every 20 minutes. Each item shows when the agency issued it, with a link to the original.
Should I make decisions from this page?
Use it as a heads-up. Forecasts change; follow your local National Weather Service office and local emergency officials for decisions like evacuating.