It Happens Every Spring, In America, and We Can’t Make It Go Away

The country must endure tornado season

Photo by Greg Johnson on Unsplash

It was a clear spring morning. The birds were singing, and squirrels played in the trees. People were out with their dogs while cafes set up tables on patios as the weather warmed.

There was no reason to be concerned unless you had been watching the news or tapped into your favorite weather app.

While it was an ideal morning, it was also the calm before the storm.

In just a few hours, buildings would be destroyed, and lives would be uprooted, all while death loomed over the chaos.

I’ve heard it many times, “The weather is perfect, the predictions must be wrong.”

Years ago, that may have been true. But with technological advancements, better condition analysis, improved radar, and advanced satellite imagery, weather forecasting has improved, especially for severe outbreaks.

Ten days earlier, the Storm Prediction Center began issuing statements about the potential for a severe outbreak in the central states. Seven days prior, confidence in the forecast solidified with a risk assessment indicating atmospheric volatility, with a high chance of tornadoes. The National Weather Service local offices took this into account and issued a series of potential severe weather statements in their daily forecasts.

Local broadcasters and independent meteorologists took notice and supplemented the official forecasts with their own predictions, analysis, and comments.

On the day the storms hit, the weather service predicted and issued warnings pinpointing specific areas of the county and town that could be affected by a tornado.

With visual confirmation of changing weather conditions from storm chasers, skywarn volunteers, and law enforcement, the town was well notified of impending danger.

The weather that day was unseasonably warm because of the inflow of Gulf moisture from southeasterly winds. But a cool front was on the move. Driven by a dip in the jetstream, the atmosphere was more turbulent than it appeared.

Around lunch time, the weather began subtly shifting. What was more noticeable was that storm chasers began showing up and were spotted heading west in convoy fashion.

Severe storms were breaking out along the frontal boundary thirty miles west of the town.

Within a short time, the western sky turned purple and green. People took notice. The National Weather Service was quick to issue a series of severe storm warnings, with pinpoint tornado warnings. There was no question that the town was in the storm's path.

Skywarn observers and storm chasers, along with law enforcement, had eyes on multiple funnel clouds, one of which quickly turned into a ravaging tornado.

Most of the townspeople sought shelter, while others watched in amazement as the sky shifted into a boiling mass of atmospheric chaos.

Within minutes, the community alarms sounded, alerting people to take cover immediately.

Storekeepers screamed at people to get inside and take cover in their walk-in freezers. Hotels moved guests to the basements, while the local hospital quickly got patients moved away from windows. Those at home with storm shelters secured their kids and pets, safely underground.

The only people on the streets were storm chasers, broadcasters, law enforcement, and first responders. But they all knew to stay out of the direct path, protecting themselves with various escape routes.

A low rumble could be heard. A sound that resonated with wind power and destruction.

Hail began falling, while lightning intensified. The wind swirled from all directions, and then the tornado attacked its first building, ripping a storage shed to shreds in a matter of seconds. Cars were tossed, trees ripped from their roots. Anything in the tornado’s direct path would be damaged.

Photo by Greg Johnson on Unsplash

The National Weather Service upgraded its warning to Tornado Emergency. A rarely used statement, indicating that at least an F3 tornado was on the ground and damage was imminent.

Within fifteen minutes, it was over for the town. The storm still had a lot of fury left as it moved southeasterly through the plains.

A third of the town was in ruins.

Fortunately, the hospital and high school were spared. The school would become a Red Cross shelter. The hospital began taking in victims immediately.

First responders and various crews were already working to search for those trapped, injured, or dead.

Photo by Greg Johnson on Unsplash

The story is fictionalized, but it represents a scenario played out time after time across America’s central plains and Southeast quadrant.

As the weather shifts from winter to spring, cold air collides with warm moisture. The results are severe, mesocyclonic thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes.

In 2025, there were over 350 confirmed tornadoes, with over 60 fatalities.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, in the first quarter of 2026, there have already been 241 confirmed tornadoes, resulting in 11 fatalities.

It’s important to be weather aware. There’s adequate information available through the web, broadcast news, and observation to know when your area will be affected by severe weather.

The following image is a consolidation of tornadoes over 69 years. The probabilities are evident.

Public Information available from NOAA Storm Prediction Center

And it’s not just tornadoes that pose a hazard. Flash flooding, storms with straight-line winds, wildfires, and extreme heat and cold all have deadly potential.

Combined with tropical storms and hurricanes, it’s better to be prepared than caught off guard.

Please stay Weather Aware!

Sources: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center

© 2026 All rights reserved, LJ Bentch

Author's Note: Here are links to two other severe weather stories I’ve written:

[embed]A Night of Weather Terror Nighttime tornadoes are very dangerousljbent.medium.com

[embed]The Day I Ran Into a Derecho It was the worst storm I've driven throughmedium.com