meteorologist maria molina tracking the storm in the fox extreme weather center. first, we go to meteorologist maria molina. >> right now the center of the storm system is 40 miles southwest of morgan city, louisiana. the center of it is starting to approach the bay. that is something to keep an eye on. this is large. if you look at the satellite, rin over central portion of mississippi and thunderstorms firing up offshore in the yucatan peninsula. this is a large storm system and a slow-mover. plan to see up to 20 inches of rain locally. generally speaking we are looking to 10 to 15-inchs of rain there is report that seven inches have fallen across southeastern louisiana and it will continue through monday because the center of the storm will be a slow-mover. this isn't exactly bad news for the gulf coast states. we are currently under a drought across the state here. but when you get that rain in a short period of time, you are looking at flooding. there are flash flood warning effect in the region where we are seeing the heavy rain falling. as far as the foreca

maria molina, what's going on with all of this? >> we are watching what's left of lee.f louisiana, mississippi and alabama. we're look at the sustained winds with the storm system of up to 35 miles an hour. still relatively significant. some of those gusty winds stretch as far west as texas where we still have that elevated fire danger because of the gusty winds. no rain, and the drought that's been going on and we have currently some ongoing wildfires east of the city of austin, texas. otherwise a lot of rain being sucked up from lee and also combining with a cold front that stretches from texas all the way up into the interior portions of the northeast. we're looking at a very widespread area of showers and thunderstorms, heavier stuff across tennessee and mississippi. but there is lighter stuff that we'll watch throughout the day today and actually throughout next several days. by thursday you'll across the northeast. we were hit hard by irene, so there is ongoing flooding. unfortunately, we're going to continue to see that heavy rainfall here for the next several da

maria molina joins us with all of the news, maria? >> hey, uma, we are finally getting rain in texas and central plains and looking at cooleremperatures and starting to feel like fall out there. we are in midseptember and those temperatures are starting to take a plunge. look at high temperatures for today. mid-60s, in minnesota. and temperatures are below what is norm will for this time of year. raleigh, north carolina. 65 for your high temperature and up to 10 degrees below what is normal. by tomorrow, you will see temperatures in the area slowly increase. and back up in the 90s in texas and upper 80s for memphis. and 80s in norl carolina and out west, temperatures will be on the rise, not just tomorrow but next few days as warmer air moves n the drought over the past several month in texas and oklahoma. major to extreme and exceptional doubt in most of those states. we'll seed much needed rain over the weekend and next several days. next two days, rain over texas and areas further north. unfortunately with the storm comes severe we

jon: maria molina in the fox weather center, more rain they don't need. let's ship it to texas and oklahoma. jenna: exactly. jon: maria, thank you. unbelievable. >>> well, president obama's job approval rating, plunge to go a new low in some polls. just ahead of his big jobs speech to congress coming this thursday. according to a brand new nbc-"wall street journal" poll, 44 percent of adults approve of the job the president is doing, 51 percent disapprove, and take a look at this, just 37 percent approve of the president's handling of the economy, while 59 percent disapprove. here now with more context and analysis on that, fox news digital politics editor and anchor of "power play" on foxnews.com, live, chris stierwalt. the last democratic president won office by famously chant o'clock the mantra it's the economy, stupid. well, if only 37 percent approve of the job this president is doing on the economy, that doesn't bode well for his reelection, does it? >> certainly this week is a pivot point, jon, for the president. he is dragging a terrible, terrible

meteorologist maria molina is tracking the storm. let's check in with her. maria, how is it looking for the folks along the gulf coast? >> you just had to go there with the beads, huh? the center of the storm system right now about 60 miles to the west southwest of morgan city, louisiana. very slow mover. we're looking at right now movement to the north at about 4 miles an hour. again, slow mover. there are reports of just shy of nine inches of rain across southeastern louisiana. you look at the tropical satellite, more of the rain is continuing to fall, although like casey did mention, the heaviest of the precipitation is on the eastern side of the storm system. a lot of it is right now over the gulf. a lot of convection out there. the reason for that is that we actually have the dry air from texas moving eastbound and trying to hinder some development from thunderstorms across the center of the storm system and the western side of the storm really not getting much precipitation and that doesn't mean that we're not looking at gusty winds across the state of

maria molina is life in the fox weather center. hi marie. >> a hey, rick. we are looking at much improvement as far as the additional precipitation goes in the northeast. this weekend should be dry. clouds and few scattered showers. not a big deal. the big deal right now is those cooler temperatures across the region. we actually have frost advisories across portions of new england and upstate new york meaning you could be waking up in these areas, walking outside early sunday morning to frost on your windshields. i think that is a scary thought. we also have some freeze warnings issued out because some of these temperatures will be dropping to the low 30's or even upper 20's. you are looking at potentially some crops that could be damaged or killed because of these really cold temperatures and hard freeze across the region. that is going to be the possibility tonight across portions of new england in the northeast. otherwise, other areas tonight also looking at chilly temperatures in the 40s across parts of the northern rockies. even the southeast. only in

checking in with maria molina, she's now in the extreme weather center. >> good to see you. those are incredible images from those water spouts and just like you mentioned, they're a lot weaker and short lasting. but if you are over water, you do want to make sure you stay away from those and they come on to land occasionally and then you're talking about a tornado over land. as far as today, the weather, we do have two extremes, very warm weather out west, talking about temperatures generally above average, upper 80s across parts of montana, down into portions of the four corners, even phoenix now looking at a hot temperature of 103 degrees. if you look at the eastern half of the country, very cool. great lakes area, in the 50s right now. 59 in chicago. near normal across portions of the northeast with temperatures in the 70s. as we head into tomorrow, you'll notice the cool temperatures located over the same area across the midwest and it's actually because of an area of low pressure that's spinning in some cool air from canada. that's the same system responsible for some

meteorologist maria molina knows. she's live in the fox weather center. ortunately, no. we're still looking at a chance for showers and thunderstorms across parts of the northeast. the west, the entire eastern half of the western half of the country is looking at very warm weather, summerlike temperatures out there, upper 80s across parts of western montana, 89 was today's high temperature in my sue la. parts of the four corners, 104 the high in phoenix. we're looking at warm temperatures out there, as well as texas, unfortunately, still looking at those highs in the 90s. if you look at the eastern half of the country, it's a complete opposite. very cool, highs o. j. simpson in the 60s across the great lakes. 75 in new york city for the northeast, near normal. on the cool side across portions of the great lakes. that's because we have a trough that's set up across this region. that's been the reason we've been looking at the showers and thunderstorms across much of the eastern half of the country. you can see some spin here with an area of low pressure rig

maria molina, how is it looking? >> reporter: not good. we think for the fire week it's going to persist across austin. it has been going on for months, actually started last fall through la nina and we think we could see another la nina winter this year, that could mean more drought conditions across the southern plains, that's what we're looking for in texas, oklahoma, louisiana. unfortunately, we do not bring significant rainfall to the state of texas. we're looking at extreme to exceptional drought. right now, no rain, there are light showers and thunderstorms across portions of the central plains but if you look at the satellite picture, over austin, san antonio, here is the forecast and unfortunately, very warm temperatures in the 90s, that means any water will evaporate and we're expecting those temperatures to rise, upper 90s, just shy of 100 degrees for austin, texas on sunday, and also poor air quality because of all the smoke flying around. alisyn: my gosh, look at those temperatures. if only we could switch places with them and

meteorologist maria molina is live with more on that. >> we have an update. storms we were tracking, tropical storm now as of 5 p.m. no longer a tropical storm. the national hurricane center has basically analyzed the system and determined it is no longer a tropical system. it has lost its tropical characteristics. it is expected to remain generally weak. ophelia no longer a tropical storm system. you mentioned hurricane hillary, still major hurricane through the southwest of mexico. this system is forecast to continue on a westward track. then it is going to track further north and make a -- actually turn right and actually head towards in a northward direction towards baja, portions of california. it going to be entering cool water and strong wind as loft. we are going to be looking at the system -- rapidly weaken towards the end of next week if he does anything he could bring in very ben fish hall rain that's what we are looking -- beneficial rain that's what we are looking at with hillary. otherwise tropical storm phillipe sustained winds of 60 miles per

gregg: maria molina, thanks very much.ther: a "fox news alert," now, an intense search underway in phoenix, for a potentially dangerous container. holding explosives that disappeared during a training exercise at an airport. officials saying the two missing tubes contain a type of explosive that is used in mines. aelectilek we are joined from phoenix sky harbor international airport. alexis, what is the latest? >> reporter: heather, phoenix police believe the cooler is no longer at the airport and they think whoever took it left. they have combed through the airport, now, for two days, looking for it. and, still, no luck. let me show you a picture of what it looks like. an igloo, blue igloo soft-sided container and piece were using it in a training exercise with their canines and all of a sudden it was gone and the reason of course they are so worried is because of what is inside. two half-pound tubes of explosives, as you said, a common explosive used here in arizona for mining. good news here is they are pretty stable ex

. >> heather: meteorologist maria molina is tracking the storm in the weather center. >>> we did just get the new advisory. tropical storm lee still a tropical storm, still has the sustained winds of 45 miles per hour moving north at five miles per her. still a slow mover center still centered over louisiana at 30 miles for the northeast of the city of lafayette, louisiana. mortar recent shall rains. reports shy of -- more torrential rains. we think some local areas are going to be looking at totals of 20 inches. the other big concern, those tornado watches still in effect across coastal areas. outer rain bands crash on top of land there's friction and we start to see rotation. of course already some rotation with the storm system. a lot of those thunderstorms rotate and produce tornados. both of these watches in effect until 11 p.m. eastern. we have several warnings, please stay alert if you live in these areas. just because this isn't a major hurricane you are still looking at big concerns with flash flooding and tornadoes. tropical storm lee's track is forecast to continue in that

meteorologist maria molina is following all the developments from our fox extreme weather center, mariater: the heat and the drought will continue here. we also have something called la nina, that is expected to continue for another six months, throughout the winter we are also thinking we will be looking at the state of texas continuing to be in drought, a lack of precipitation for weeks and months are expected. we have over 99% of the state in a drought. you can see all of the drought advisories across the region. today there is a red flag in vehicle across the city of dallas extending eastbound into portions of northwest louisiana, because there are gusty winds in place gusting up to 25 miles per hour in addition to warm temperatures again into the triple digits. we are going to be looking at a front that will begin to approach the area, northern texas you are looking at a relief coming up towards the end of this work week, thursday through friday temperatures will be dropping a little bit because the cold front will continue to move southward. showers and storms firing up today incr

meteorologist maria molina with more. >> it has been nice across parts of the northeast, upper midwest and carolinas. fall weather. by the way, it is not fall yet, it is still summer. next friday, it will be officially fall. you are looking at more normal temperatures. right now temperatures for this time of year are normal. 65 will be today's high in new york city, 74 raleigh, north carolina. 60s across chicago and minneapolis. another story over the past months is severe drought across southern portions of the country including texas, oconomowoc, portions of louisiana. -- texas, oklahoma portions of louisiana. some of that rain will come in the courtroom of strong to severe storms, including dallas and eastern portions of oklahoma into southwestern parts of missouri. something we will keep an eye on throughout the day. a few showers and storms, nothing severe. large hail and damaging winds the main concern. rain across portions of louisiana, eastern texas and slow moving front continue heading east and towards the northeast. showers across s of the mid atlantic and northeast as we he

maria molina live in the fox weather center with more on that. >> that's right. advisory and no change in strength for tropical storm lee. it's still a tropical storm with sustained winds of 60 miles per hour and in the center moving ever so slowly to the north at 4 miles per hour. this is a slow moving storm system, one of the biggest concerns with it is the amount of rainfall we'll see. not just because we have a lot of rain and thunderstorm activity with this system, but because it's a slow mover. it's going to continue to dump that rain over these areas. some of these areas have been looking at rain for over 24 hours now and are expected to continue to see rain over the next 24 hours. some of the totals coming out of southeastern louisiana, shy of nine inches. that number will continue to rise. that was as of 2:00 p.m. local time. it's been raining since. the center of it now, 60 miles to the west southwest of morgan city, louisiana, 55 miles south of lafayette, louisiana. moving to the north at 4 miles per hour. there has been reports of sustained winds of 5

maria molina is live in the fox extreme weather center.n a storm hundreds of miles away can do that. >> reporter: we had katia that didn't make landfall in bermuda or the east coast, passed right in between the two, that's where all the rip current problem started and the large surf and large swells. now we have tropical storm marie a relatively weak storm. the center of it is to the west, it's very disorganized, a lot of wind shear pushing the thunderstorms to the east of the center of the storm and it's forecast to remain over open water and the center of it will move to the rest of bermuda. another very similar track to hurricane katia. this one is expected to remain relatively weaker than katia. i don't think rip currents will be as big as a problem asthma rea. nonetheless it is a huge concern. anyone going out to the beaches needs to keep it in mind. across parts of the upper midwest we have a storm that will bring in chilly temperatures. a slight concern for showers to turn severe. i want to take a look at the temperature drop. 91 de

meteorologist maria molina with the latest from the fox extreme weather center. >> hey, eric, it is technically summer, still but it sure doesn't feel like it in the northeast, and portion of the carolinas are looking at temperatures that are below what is normal for this time of the year, today's high, 74 in raleigh, north carolina, ten degrees below where they should be. for this time of the year and the same is the case for portions of the upper midwest with highs only in the low 60s, across the state of minnesota and new york city, we're only going to get up to a high of 66 degrees and the reason is we have some cooler air from canada, that shifted southbound and basically brought a cool down across the areas and texas enjoying cooler weather with highs in the upper 80s, doesn't sound cool and you compare that to triple digit temperatures they've dealt with for weeks, on over the summer, definitely much better as you look at the highs in the 80s and there's a risk for precipitation across portions of texas, also, oklahoma, and southwest missouri and, rain would be good news for the southern

meteorologist maria molina live in the fox extreme weather center. >> some of those wind gusts qui couldlike good thing to get some rain over an area that really needs to see it because we have a drought currently ongoing for months. the bad part these storms is the wind gusts that could aggravate and help spread some of those fires as well as dangerous lightning which would respark new fires. that's what we're looking at today. strong storms moving through portions of the u.s. one tornado watch and one severe thunderstorm watch stretching from southern parts of kansas down to northern parts of texas. most of these watches mean that conscious are favorable to see severe storms fire up in these areas. that is something we are looking at. both in effect until 11:00 p.m. central time. there are thunderstorm warnings across portions of oklahoma and kansas as well. damaging wind gusts. main concerns are large hail and damaging wind gusts. we can't rule out isolated tornadoes as well. there is currently a drought ongoing state of texas, oklahoma, entire state of texas is under some form of dro

maria molina hard at work in the fox weather center. >> reporter: even though it has weakened significantlyt because of the heavy rain falling. there were reports on sunday morning of as much as 14 inches of rain across southeastern louisiana. this morning we had reports of ten inches on the ground in mississippi with flash flood warnings in place. you can see it on the satellite, just because it's not a tropical storm any more, not even a depression that doesn't mean that we are not looking at flooding concerns or even severe weather. there is a tornado watch in place until 4:00pm central times including parts of the florida panhandle as well as alabama, there is a potential to see tornadic activity out of some of the cells that do move onshore. a lot of heavy rain is building over portions of tennessee. over the next several days both lee and a cold front going across the area will be a slow mover. we are looking from 6 to 10 inches of rain from tennessee to the central mid-atlantic. the ground is saturated from all the rain and flooding we saw from irene last weekend, and now we are talk

meteorologist maria molina is live in the fox weather center with the latest on that. good morning. >> good morning, martha. now we are looking at severe weather and had reports of tornadoes throughout the entire weekend, saturday, sunday, even monday, as it did make landfall in some of the outer rain bands, starting to move on shore, across parts of the southeast, what we saw across louisiana through florida and today, there are two watches in effect across north carolina and parts of virginia and south carolina, but i quickly want to point out, that lee in combination with a cold front is also bringing in heavy rain across parts of pennsylvania, west virginia and tennessee and reports of up to 14 inches of rain, across southeast louisiana as it made landfall, ten inches across alabama and mississippi and just excessive rainfall from the storm tsystem and now, two tornado watches and two tornado warnings and you know the drill, when you have a tornado warning, seek shelter immediately, until 15 past the hour, seek shelter immediately and there is another one along the