Drought conditions in Philly region worsen amid recent record-setting warmth
Since Oct. 1, almost all of southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern Jersey and Delaware have gone from no drought conditions to a moderate and severe drought.
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"Weather has been my passion since childhood when my grandfather took me flying, and after seeing my first tornado, I was hooked for life and simply can't imagine doing anything else."
Tammie Souza is one of a handful of women nationwide that holds both the prestigious CBM (AMS) Certified Broadcast Meteorology Seal of Approval awarded by the American Meteorological Society, and the NWA Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. Both seals represent rigorous educational requirements in atmospheric science and the highest level of competency in communicating complex weather, climate change, and science. She was also selected as the first female chairman of the National AMS Board of Broadcast Meteorology, she has served on various national boards for both organizations, and is currently an evaluator for AMS/CBM and NWA Seal applicants.
She holds a Master's degree in Applied Meteorology from Mississippi State University, a Bachelor's degree in Biology/Environmental Science from San Diego State University and a certification in Broadcast Meteorology.
A trained storm chaser and spotter, she loves sharing pictures and stories from her trips. Climate Change and Environmental issues have also been an important part of her work.
Before joining CBS News Philadelphia, Souza was the Chief Meteorologist at WCAU-NBC10 here in Philadelphia and has worked with CBS sister station WBBM in Chicago. Her career path includes weekend meteorologist at WMAQ-NBC Chicago and weekday morning meteorologist at WFLD-FOX Chicago. She was the first female Chief Meteorologist in Tampa/St Petersburg at WTSP, and a weekday meteorologist for WDJT in Milwaukee. Along the way, she has covered tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, earthquakes, and wildfires.
Honored with 9 Emmy awards including Best Weathercast, Best Science Story, and live reporting from the California Wildfires. She has also been recognized with an Associated Press Award for scuba diving on a 125-year-old Shipwreck, a Chicago Headline Club Award for escaping a submerged car, and a national NABJ award nominee for the Mystery of Lake Michigan's Underground Railroad Ships.
Tammie became a warrior for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research after her young son Caleb survived a brain tumor.
She is also involved with Disaster Relief, Pet Adoption, and STEM education including "Weather-With-Class" a series of weather and science presentations for schools.
Interests include her Spanish-Portuguese heritage, organic gardening, snow skiing, scuba diving, flying, and watching football, baseball, and hockey. She loves travel and has spent time as an exchange student to Japan and was a good will ambassador to Portugal.
Weather runs in the family. Her sister was a broadcast meteorologist, her brother is an airline pilot and her father worked on the NASA space program. Born in Pennsylvania she lives in Montgomery County with her husband and son.
Since Oct. 1, almost all of southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern Jersey and Delaware have gone from no drought conditions to a moderate and severe drought.
Periods of rain will continue throughout the early and mid afternoon Sunday with high temperatures only reaching the mid-50s.
Saturday will be a better day to be outside, although some places closer to the shore will be a bit chilly under cloud cover.
High temperatures will climb into the mid-60s Sunday under mostly sunny skies before potentially record-breaking heat moves in this week.
With much of the Philadelphia area seeing the return of the growing season, a freeze warning will remain in effect until 9 a.m. for most of the region.
You can swap the umbrella for a warmer coat later in the day.
Spring is getting longer and warmer in Philadelphia, affecting people and animals, data shows.
The main threats from potentially severe storms Sunday evening are damaging wind gusts, heavy rain and some large hail.
The first full weekend of spring in the Delaware Valley brings sunshine and highs in the 60s before possible storms arrive Sunday evening.
The Philadelphia area can expect a cold and windy St. Patrick's Day with wind chills in the teens and 20s.
Strong storms caused power outages in some parts of the Philadelphia region Tuesday night.
A mild, mostly quiet weekend gives way to the possibility of severe storms Monday in the Philadelphia area.
People in the Philadelphia region will need winter gear on Friday morning because of the temperatures dropping into the 20s.
After an early taste of summer in Philadelphia, temperatures are expected to drop more than 50 degrees.
Patchy dense fog and cloudy skies rule the day Sunday with the chance for spotty showers, but temperatures will be warmer with highs in the mid and upper 60s.