Over the past couple of weeks, tornadoes have begun to spring up across the United States in a series of outbreaks, signifying the beginning of tornado season for many of the states. There were two notable outbreaks that took place last month, with the first taking place on April 26 in Nebraska and Iowa.
19 tornadoes were spawned from this outbreak, with five EF-3 tornadoes being the most intense recorded and two of the 19 being one-mile wide. This first outbreak had a few injuries and a single death, Nicholas Ring, 63, who passed away from his injuries a day after the tornado hit his home. This tornado in particular reached winds of 160 mph and traveled 41 miles.
Through April 27 and 28, the second outbreak took place in Oklahoma with 27 tornadoes recorded in the Norman forecast area and seven in the Tulsa forecast area, totaling 34 at a minimum. One of the tornadoes was an EF-4 and hit Marietta, the first of its magnitude to hit that area in eight years and resulted in the death of Ismael Licea, 53. Two other tornadoes hit Sulphur and Holdenville, being rated EF-3. These resulted in the death of one individual in Sulphur, Sheila Goodman, 63, and two individuals in Holdenville, Jimmy Johnson, 35, and a 4 m.o. baby girl. Speaking about the town of Sulphur and the destruction it was victim to, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt expressed his disbelief at the state of the town, saying “It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.”
Another massive storm capable of producing tornadoes was projected for May 6, and was expected to primarily target Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota. The storm is expected to continue eastward Tuesday. The storm is expected to produce dozens of tornadoes over the two days.
Over 300 tornadoes have been accounted for in April alone, though the final count has yet to be officially released. This would make it the second most active April for tornadoes in United States history, with 2011 having had 757 and 2019 behind it at 272. This year, the month of Jan. has accounted for 45 tornadoes, while Feb. had 47 and March had 163. This would mean that the first four months of this year have already accounted for a minimum of 555 tornadoes, a little more than half of the 1000 that are expected each year.
Tornado season in the United States began with the start of April and will continue through August at the latest, though different states can expect different end times anywhere in between. Wisconsin is typically expected to end anywhere around May through July.