Millions to Face Severe Weather: Tornadoes and Thunderstorms to Sweep Across U.S.

Severe weather season is ready to get underway as a volatile weather pattern feeds catastrophic rounds of thunderstorms and tornadoes across more than a dozen states through May.

Over 315 preliminary tornado reports have been filed in the United States through April 18. These include a recent flurry of more than a dozen tornadoes in the middle Plains and the devastating twisters that ripped across Ohio in mid-March.

When it released its first tornado season forecast in March, AccuWeather predicted more tornadoes in May than the historical average—a prediction that is now becoming more specific in terms of location and timing.

The very active weather that AccuWeather Long-range Expert Joe Lundberg predicted might begin this weekend and last for two or three weeks. About April 26 to 29, a large storm system approaching from the Pacific will appear over the Plains, perhaps igniting the next major severe weather outburst. AccuWeather contributes Long-range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said, “This strong storm will meet up with a warm, moist connection from the western Gulf and Caribbean and lead to a couple of rounds of severe weather, including several tornadoes.”

When the calendar turns to May, the hazardous weather pattern that will feed the late-April severe weather is predicted to persist. “It’s going to be a volatile time of year right into May,” Lundberg added. At Akron, Colorado, two twisters are spinning side by side. Tony Laubach-AccuWeather

The midsection of the country, including Tornado Alley, is probably going to see most of the strong thunderstorms and tornadoes during the first part of May. Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, and St. Louis are the places most at danger.

A pattern change in the second part of May will result in more powerful storms and tornadoes in the Plains and farther east.

Lundberg said there will be a greater chance of severe weather across the Tennessee Valley, southern Appalachians, and portions of the Southeast during this period. Not to mention the Ohio Valley and Northeast should be on the lookout for possibly destructive storms.

Because it is when the components of twisters combine most often, the three months from April through June usually account for half of the tornadoes in the United States each year. Based on an AccuWeather study of Storm Prediction Center data, May 25 has the most tornado reports. More tornadoes than any other day on the calendar landed on this day between 1950 and 2020—649 total.

Though it often peaks in late spring and early summer, tornado activity can happen any day of the year when the circumstances are ideal.