somara, good morning. >> somara: good morning, whit.gearing up for severe weather in oklahoma city. a lot of the gulf coast states are preparing for a scorcher of a weekend. take a look at fort lauderdale, florida, sun shining bright there. they're actually on tap so far for their hottest year on record, and some of these numbers really high. substantial heat moving into places like texas, for example, where we have excessive heat warnings already going into effect. it could feel like up to 118 degrees in brownsville, texas. heat advisory in effect from san antonio out towards fort stockton. the holiday heat continuing in areas like miami we could see temperatures in the 90s, so we are gearing up for a very hot memorial day weekend. it's so important folks stay hydrated. that is a look at th three. two. good. saturday morning. i'm meteorologist francis lawson. temperatures still on the cool side, but we will see some clearing this afternoon. look for a high of 59 in san francisco, 62 in oakland, san >> somara: and guys, summer's right a

let's get to somara theodore with more on that. >> somara: take a look.lyn, new york, botanical gardens, all the flora in its cities. mothers arms, fl glory. happy mother's day, mothers arms florida, 88 today, relaxation, alabama, i hope you're getting relaxation. 80 degrees there. flowers, florida, it is going to be hot. you have clouds around. we are watching that flood threat, and this is for areas that have been hit hard in the last few weeks. we could see 2 to 4 inches of rain. flood watch for much of texas. we'll dive a bit deeper into that and see where it's going next in your full forecast. back to you. >> gio: we'll see you soon. thank you. we're going to go overseas to the israel/hamas war as israel orders tens of thousands of gazans to flee more areas in rafah, the southern city where so many had gone to avoid the bombing farther north months ago. marcus moore is in tel aviv with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. israel's ground operation is under way in rafah, and overnight the idf reiterating that the current operati

good morning, somara. >> somara: good morning, whit.have video of that tornado in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, an ef-1 tornado, maximum winds 105 miles per hour hit the highland park neighborhood, as well as causing damage to the pittsburgh zoo, and this is the 23rd consecutive day we've had at least one tornado reported or confirmed. they have a flood warning in pittsburgh this morning. you know who else has the threat for flooding, down along the gulf coast from new orleans to mobile into tallahassee, we could see flooding, not only flooding, but flash flooding, and these warnings and watches will expire eastward as the day goes on. as we move east, our threat for severe weather starts to grow. damaging wind, flash flooding, and tornadoes possible in the area in the zone in yellow from destin to savannah. that's a look at the forecast, janai, back to you. >> janai: it's been weeks we've started off our weekends tracking those storms or some kind of severe weather event. somara, thank you. >>> now to the new video obtained exclusively by

somara theodore is in texas. hey there, somara. >> somara: hey.ea that has already experienced extreme flooding and here we have the rain beginning to pick up. take a look at the radar right now. we have this line of torrential downpours getting ready to sweep east through texas. as a result, we have flash floods that are possible. flood warnings and watches are in place even through tulsa there. there's also a threat for a few isolated thunderstorms popping, especially south this afternoon in areas like san antonio north of corpus christi, but the big weather threat sweeps in on monday. that is going to impact those evening commuters traveling from nebraska down into oklahoma. level 4 out of 5 from southern >> somara: and so, as i said earlier, one of the big concerns is the fact there's going to be a lag time. we have this heavy rain coming down in areas that had receding occurring. that's going to mean more and we could see more flooding for those along the san jacinto river. >> janai: they cannot let their guard down. somara, thank you so much

. >>> let's turn to somara to break this all down. good morning, somara.is the sun behind you. >> somara: that is. take a look. it is alive. what is our sun? a ball of hot gas, mainly hydrogen and helium. it's active. if you look at this shot, you can see recordings over the past few hours of the solar flares surrounding the coronal mass ejections spewing out of the sun. what is coming out of the sun? highly charged particles riding the solar winds at 1.5 million miles per hour and try and bend around our magnetic field hitting it and sneak into the northern poles. now, i want you to look at the colors. those molecules interact with oxygen and nitrogen giving us different colors. who will see it again? that depends on where you live. if you're in the green band north of the white area you've got the best shot at seeing it tonight. back to my "gio" magnetic storm. >> gio: we're going to turn to the new emergency video that was released of the emergency response moments after the baltimore bridge disaster. >> good morning, gio. this new video is an eye-openi

somara, good morning. >> somara: good morning, whit.has been quite an active few weeks for heartland for parts of the south. in fact, over the last week we've seen at least 500 severe thunderstorm reports. we've seen 80 tornado reports, possibly more in the last five days. take a look at this video from thursday in jackson county, oklahoma. you can see with this thunderstorm so prolific and hail coming down and springfield, mississippi. they actually measured hail at about baseball sized. so we're gearing up for more of that today, but we have an elevated risk today. first, i want to start with the timing. if you live in kansas, oklahoma city, texas, dallas, wichita falls we're looking at timing picking up 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 this evening. this area in red where i am now in oklahoma city we're at a level 4 out of 5. we can actually see the storm prediction center raise that to its highest level 5 out of 5 this afternoon. and it's there we could see potentially a tornado outbreak. not just any tornados but violent tornados. have those alert

somara, good morning. >> somara: that's right, whit.e are seeing lightning and heavy rain batter parts of new orleans and the florida coastline. this is pensacola earth cam. you can see with the radar looping we have showers making their way through some of our gulf coast states including mississippi into parts of mobile. green denotes the flood watch but where we're seeing red, flash flood warnings in place. that includes pensacola. as this line continues eastward we get daytime heating, the sun coming up. we have a threat for severe weather. these storms could be strong, bringing with them maybe a few spinup tornadoes all the way to savannah and brunswick. that's a look at the forecast. janai, back to you. >> janai: somara, thank you. >>> now to the disturbing hotel surveillance video exclusively obtained by cnn that appears to show sean "diddy" combs attacking his then girlfriend, cassie ventura in 2016. she's seen thrown to the ground near an elevator in a los angeles hotel and then being kicked twice while being dragged away by did

somara, the severe weather continues unabated. >> that's right, linsey.fact, about 20 minutes south of where i stand right now a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect, and that spans from denton and dallas, texas, as far south as san antonio. we are monitoring the threat for severe thunderstorms throughout the southeast. the i-95 corridor from washington, d.c. to north carolina, a tornado watch has been issued until 10:00 p.m. tonight with severe thunderstorms possible as far north as upstate new york. the other threat we're watching for is rain. memorial day flood threat along the i-95 corridor, and heavy rain could lead to flash flooding especially in that area including scranton, pennsylvania, and tomorrow we are anticipating the threat for an elevated rick of storms that could bring more tornados and damaging wind and large hail to this region here in central texas and they're still reeling from the tornadoes we saw this last weekend. >> we know you'll be monitoring it for us, somara. thank you. >>> now to the horrific scene unfolding overseas. more

somara theodore, bring us the severe storms. >> somara: i know, right.his morning, i want to talk specifically to our friends and family in central kansas, you are all in the bull's-eye. that means we have an elevated risk for tornadoes. we can see very strong tornadoes. we can see them as far north as pierre and as far south as northern oklahoma. now my heart is going out to houston. 350,000 people are still without power and now we're layering on the fact that we're going to be in the 90-degree temperature zone for the next few days with the humidity it's only going to feel hotter. finally, i want to talk about the severe weather threat that's posed in southern florida. that's today. this afternoon for port st. lucie, down to miami. that's a >> somara: and that's a look at your local forecast. here in the northeast, we're going to get that forecast but this weekend it's looking nice. >> whit: it's about time. >> janai: oh, wait. we're all hanging out later. >> somara: we are. >> janai: you, too. >> gio: now, we're going to talk about what i think may b

let's go to somara theodore. have all the science, all the geek stuff. >> somara: let's walk on over and tell you how this goes down. so, we actually have this beautiful image of the sun right here behind me. >> janai: you turned down the lights. >> somara: i turned it down so we could luminous maximus, there we go. the sun in all its glory, this gas ball filled with hydrogen and helium. what is happening? it's spewing out all these particles, they're at 1.5 million miles per hour, hitting our magnetic field. when it does that it comes into contact with all these other particles like oxygen and nitrogen giving us beautiful colors like this one out of trumbull, connecticut, that my weather producer took and finally, one last chance to see it, the northern lights are possible in that green zone there. that's a look at the forecast, janai. back to you. >> janai: thank you. >>> now we are turning to the newly released video of the emergency response moments after the baltimore bridge disaster. abc's ike ejiochi is ba

let's bring in somara theodore in the storm zone in texas. give us a sense of the weather threat tonight. >> reporter: well, i'll tell you, it hasn't diminished. it's only expanded eastward. in fact, we have a level four out of five when it comes to severe weather tonight. that's specifically for places like tennessee, parts of kentucky, missouri, southern indiana, and that northeasternt, a pds tornado watch, i'm sorry, a meaning the tornadoes that form could be violent and long tracking. we also have severe thunderstorm watch in effect stretching from ohio all the way down to north carolina. then tomorrow, the severe threat shifts to the i-95 corridor. keep in mind that folks traveling home from memorial day weekend won't just be facin severe storms but also the threat for flash flooding. >> linsey: we know the pds is very serious. >>> next tonight, a terrifying holiday attack. four girls stabbed in a theater. police describe the attack as random and unprovoked. a suspect is in custody tonight. he may be responsible for a similar incident in

somara theodore with the forecast in just a moment.irst jacqueline lee leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, the death toll rising in the houston area, where the national weather service now says a derecho struck late thursday. straight line winds gusting as high as 90 to 100 miles per hour. this building under construction, collapsing during the storm. at least seven people losing their lives across the area, including 31-y martinez, a mother of four who was moving her suv. her brother, jonathon, telling our station, ktrk. >> when she ran out, the tree, it snapped, and she thought she was safer in the truck, from what i know, and that's when the tree fell. >> reporter: dozens of houston i-s-d campuses, the state's largest school district, damaged. officials say their goal to have every student safely back in school on monday, providing they have power. as of this afternoon, more than 400,000 customers, across harris county alone, are still in the dark. severe weather striking much of the country for days. this tornado, touching down i

let's bring in somara theodore in the storm zone in texas.ive us a sense of the weather threat tonight. >> reporter: they have issued a tornado warning for st. louis, missouri. this is a highly populated city. it's so important folks have on their alerts and know where they're going to go. in case they need to head to shelter. i want you to take a look at the tornado watch that we have issued. this is a pds tornado watch, particularly dangerous situation. the tornadoes we're talking about, folks, are tornadoes that could be long tracking and have the potential to be very violent. there's also a severe thunderstorm watch in effect. that spans from ohio and pennsylvania all the way down to the carolinas as we head through this evening. tomorrow, this threat shifts east, hitting the i-95 corridor. there, the biggest threat is damaging winds and hail, but i want everyone to know who is going to be traveling along the roads there is a threat for flash flooding. linsey. >> linsey: got to pay attention to that pds warning in familiar. thank you. >>>

let's get to somara theodore from oklahoma city tracking it all.his cube dangerous night in some places. >> reporter: that is correct, whit. in fact, the heartland has been dealing with an onslaught of tornados, the sky growing ominous over me in oklahoma city. a tornado watch has been issued. we're also monitoring the severe thunderstorm in the southeast. this has been issued as a pds, particularly dangerous situation. that means any tornados we see on the ground could be violent and long tracking. this threat shifts east overnight, by sunday impacting st. louis, louisville, and nashville. we're monitoring for flash flooding risk. that's important for those traveling memorial day day evening along i-95. >>> millions of americans are keeping an eye on that forecast as they hit the roads and the skies in what has already been a record weekend for holiday travel. jacqueline lee is at lax. >> reporter: tonight, this memorial day weekend, already a blockbuster. >> here it's a zoo right now. >> reporter: tsa says it screened more than 2.95 million peopl

miles per hour as 200 homes and businesses destroyed, including this roadside gas station which our somarasited shortly after the tornado struck. >> it was here at this gas station where 60 to 80 people ran for their lives seeking shelter, with one survivor describing this as like a scene out of a movie. >> officials confirming this weather system is to blame for at least 18 deaths in four different states. oklahoma, kentucky, arkansas, and texas, where a 2-year-old and 5-year-old were killed. >> in the moments you are on the floorboard, what's running through your head? >> it was scary. the most horrific thing i have ever gone through. >> the texas governor has declared this area a disaster, and that bump this up to 106 texas counties in the disaster declaration for this season alone, which he says is very concerning, and it is not normal. they are worried, knowing that hurricane season is right around the corner. michael? >> yeah, this is far from normal, mireya. thank you so much for that. the dangerous weather is on the move this morning. brittany bell from our new york station, w wbc,