We've all experienced it - gathering around the TV as the broadcast meteorologist goes through a list of cities and towns in the path of a tornado-warned storm. But how do meteorologists know when to warn a storm? What are meteorologists looking for? If you've ever driven past a National Weather Service office, there's likely one thing that stood out - a NEXRAD (Next-Generation Radar) doppler radar. The NEXRAD Radar at Fort Fix in New Jersey A Brief History of Weather Radar Prior to the...

For this week's Deep Dive series, we are taking a look at the April 16th, 2011 tornado and severe weather outbreak.

As spring returns to the state, we also, less warmly, see the return of wildfires. As of April 1st, 2026, there are 7 wildfires currently burning across the state. The Cane Creek and Jumping Branch fires, both of which started on March 29th, have burned 650 acres and 275 acres, respectively. Jumping Branch (McDowell County) The North Carolina Forest Service stated that the fire was caused by improperly discarded smoking material. Hilary Brooke Inman, a 38-year-old resident of Marion, NC, has...