This Storm Just Upgraded AGAIN — Things Are Getting Serious!

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]I need to start with something that I think is one of the most striking weather statistics of this entire spring season. And it is not about a tornado that happened. It is about something that didn't happen until now. For the first time since 2004, the state of Alabama has gone through the entire month of April without a single tornado warning. April 2026 also marks the record low number of severe thunderstorm warnings since Iowa State records begin in 2002. Alabama, zero tornado warnings the entire month of April, first time in 22 years. While Oklahoma was getting an EF4 and Kansas was producing golf ball hail and Missouri was absorbing a moderate risk outbreak, Alabama didn't receive a single tornado warning in April 2026. The storm track completely bypassed one of the deadliest tornado states in America for an entire month.

[00:00:47]That quiet is over today. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon and evening across portions of Texas into the lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys and southern Appalachian. Damaging winds, large hail, and a couple of tornadoes will be possible. Texas to Alabama, lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley, Southern Appalachian today. And the atmospheric parameters being flagged for Alabama in the deep south right now are not marginal. They are the kind of values that coming off a month of zero tornado warnings are going to catch communities offg guard in the worst possible way.

[00:01:22]Today is Wednesday, May the 6th, 2026.

[00:01:26]The storm just upgraded again. Here's exactly what that means and who it affects. Let me explain precisely what has been upgraded and why the trajectory of this week's forecast is concerning.

[00:01:36]This week's storm system began as a Tuesday architect threat with a level two slight risk. I covered that in yesterday's video. The setup featured 60 knot bulk shear mlcape of 1500 to 2,000 jewels per kilogram and the specific forecast language that a strong tornado is possible with a sustained discrete supercell. What has now emerged on Wednesday is not just a continuation of that threat into the next day. It is a geographic expansion and a mechanistic shift that brings the severe weather corridor south and east into the deep south targeting communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and the Tennessee Valley that spent all of April completely bypassed by the storm track. A positive tilt large scale upper trough will extend from the upper Great Lakes to the southwest early Wednesday. Strong mid and upper southwesterly flow ahead of the trough will overspread much of the southern and eastern United States. At the surface, a cold front will extend from the upper Ohio Valley to central Texas during the morning. The front is expected to develop south and southeast through the period, becoming oriented from the southern mid-Atlantic to South Texas by Thursday morning. A positive tilt upper trough, strong mid and upper southwesterly flow. Cold front extending from Ohio to Texas in the morning, then pressing southsoutheast through the day and overnight. This is the large scale setup driving Wednesday's threat. And the key detail is that the front is moving, not stalling the way Tuesdays did. That means the severe weather corridor shifts as the day progresses, affecting different communities at different times throughout Wednesday afternoon and night. And here is the detail that the SPC flagged specifically for the deep south corridor on Wednesday. The atmospheric value that made me stop and write this video immediately when I read it. Further south from northeast Texas into Mississippi and Alabama, strong destabilization is forecast where deep boundary layer moisture and stronger daytime heating occurs, deep moisture will be in place across the Gulf Coast and deep south with due points in the mid to upper 60s Fahrenheit. Some tornado risk could also materialize given favorable low-level shear and 01 kilome storm relative hicity increasing to greater than 250 m squared/s squared during the afternoon and evening. mid to upper 60 degree due points zero kilo sr above 250 m s2 in Alabama and Mississippi on the first day with tornado potential after a month of complete quiet the SRH value matters enormously storm relative holicity in the lowest kilometer of the atmosphere above 215 penor indust 2 is the atmospheric signature of conditions that favor significant rotating updrafts supercells that can produce tornadoes it is the specific value the SPC uses to flag elevated tornado potential in an active environment and it is being forecast for Alabama and Mississippi today. I want to spend real time on the Alabama zero warning April because I think it is the single most important safety context for today's event. For the first time since 2004, the state of Alabama has gone through the entire month of April without a single tornado warning. 22 years. The last time Alabama had a tornado warning free April was 2004. In the two decades since, there has not been a single April where Alabama escaped entirely. Not during the active years, not during the quiet years, not during El Nino suppression years. April has always brought at least one tornado warning to Alabama until 2026. Alabama leads the nation in tornado deaths at 14 per year on average. The March 2026 outbreaks hit Illinois and Indiana hardest, confirming the eastward shift. Population density in Dixie Alley is roughly three times higher than traditional tornado alley.

[00:05:07]And these storms often strike at night, making them deadlier. 14 tornado deaths per year on average. More than Oklahoma, more than Kansas, more than Texas.

[00:05:16]Alabama is the deadliest tornado state in America. And it has just come through an entire month without a single tornado warning. A month that lulled communities into a false sense that maybe this year is different. Maybe the storm track shifted permanently northward. Maybe severe weather season for the Deep South is over before it started. It is not over. It is starting today. And the specific danger of a month-long quiet period followed by a sudden high-end severe weather event is something that emergency managers call the quiet before the storm complacency trap. When communities go weeks or months without warnings, the institutional readiness decreases. The families who haven't checked their shelter plans since last year haven't checked them this year either because there was nothing to trigger a review. The schools and offices that run severe weather drills don't run them in April if April brought zero warnings. And when the first significant event of the season arrives in a community that has been weather quiet for weeks, the warning to action time is longer, the hesitation is greater, and the casualties are higher.

[00:06:13]This is exactly why Alabama's zero warning April combined with Wednesday's SRH above 250 about S2 and mid to upper 60°ree due points is a scenario that I need to communicate as clearly as I possibly can. The atmosphere is not going to give Alabama credit for its quiet month. It is going to deliver whatever the physics and thermodynamics produce. And today, those physics and thermodynamics are pointing at Alabama with values that historically support significant tornado events. Let me name the specific communities that are in today's threat corridor because general warnings are less protective than specific location aware information.

[00:06:48]Northeast Texas, Tyler, Long View, Nakogdochas, Lufkin.

[00:06:53]The early afternoon hours bring the first storm development potential as the cold front reaches this corridor. The architect's moisture that fueled Tuesday's storms is still in place. Due points in the mid60s. Any discrete supercell that develops in this environment has the capability for large hail and damaging winds and a low probability tornado threat exists. Watch the radar from early afternoon onward.

[00:07:13]Arkansas's in the lower Mississippi Valley, Little Rock, Pineluff, Jonesboro, Memphis. The main threat on Tuesday was centered over Arkansas with the strongest storms capable of large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes. Regional radar imagery shows a cluster of showers and thunderstorms moving across central and northeast Arkansas. The storms from Tuesday's event are still rotating through the region as Wednesday begins. Any storms remaining from Tuesday's activity provide a destabilizing influence on the Wednesday atmosphere, warming the boundary layer, providing outflow boundaries for new storm development, and keeping the atmosphere in an active state. The mid Mississippi Valley remains in the threat zone through Wednesday afternoon. The Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachins, Nashville, Huntsville, Florence, Chattanooga, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa.

[00:07:57]This is the corridor carrying the highest concern for Wednesday. Some showers and thunderstorms may be ongoing Wednesday morning across parts of Arkansas into northern parts of the Tennessee Valley within a warm invection regime on the nose of a gradually weakening low-level jet. This activity will likely play some role in destabilization later in the day across parts of the Tennessee Valley into the southern Appalachian's vicinity.

[00:08:19]Nevertheless, strong deep layer shear and a moist boundary layer will be sufficient for at least some severe risk. Warm invection on the nose of the low-level jet. This phrase describes one of the most important storm development mechanisms in the Midsouth. Warm, moist air being lifted northward into the Tennessee Valley by the low-level jet, destabilizing the atmosphere from below throughout Wednesday morning. That preconditioning of the atmosphere then becomes the fuel for afternoon convective development when heating peaks. Nashville, Huntsville, Florence, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa. These communities went through all of April without a tornado warning. They need to be on alert today starting in the early afternoon and extending through the evening. Mississippi and Alabama, Jackson, Meridian, Tupelo, Birmingham, Gadsden, Aniston. The deep south corridor carries the mid to upper 60°ree due points and the SRH above 250 metron S2 that I described in the opening section. Further south from northeast Texas into Mississippi and Alabama, strong destabilization is forecast where deep boundary layer moisture and stronger daytime heating occurs. The afternoon heating that drives convective development is strongest in the southern corridor. And in an environment with mid to upper 60s due points and favorable low-level shear, any storm that develops here has access to extraordinary amounts of atmospheric fuel. I want to pause the forecast discussion for a moment and acknowledge something that the latest data has confirmed because I think it deserves to be said clearly and soberly.

[00:09:42]The 2026 tornado season has already produced an EF5 and killed 11 people.

[00:09:47]Below average does not mean safe, 11 people. The 2026 season's confirmed death toll now stands at 11. in a season forecast to produce 150 to 1,50 tornadoes near or slightly below the historical average of 1,225 near average and already 11 deaths. The mother and daughter killed on US Highway 60 in Oklahoma. The man killed by the EF3 through Kanki, Illinois. The two people killed in Runaway Bay, Texas. The man in Kent County, Michigan, who died warning others to run. The man swept away on Salido Creek in San Antonio. The 69year-old found in a destroyed mobile home in Parker County, Texas. The forecast of 1 in50 to 1,150 tornadoes is near or slightly below average. But below average does not mean safe. 226 has already produced an EF of 5 and killed 11 people. Below average does not mean safe. That sentence is the most important thing I have said in this entire series. Every single person who died this spring died in what is being called a near to below average tornado season. Every single one of those deaths was preventable in a specific identifiable way. A mobile home, a water- covered road, a warning that didn't reach someone in time. A man caught outside in wakelow winds. And today, the storm that just upgraded again is targeting communities that have had 30 days of meteorological quiet.

[00:11:05]Communities that may not be thinking about tornadoes. Communities whose preparedness, muscle memory, has not been exercised since last fall. 11 deaths in a near season with June and July still ahead. With ACE weather forecasting June and July as the most active severe weather months of 2026, the human cost this season is not determined by whether the tornado count is above or below average. It is determined by whether the right warnings reach the right people at the right time and whether those people have a shelter to go to when the warning arrives. I want to make sure nobody walks away from this video thinking that after Wednesday the active pattern finally breaks down because the SPC's day 48 discussion is already flagging what happens this weekend. Mean upper troughing will persist east of the Rockies for the day 48 period. This will largely suppress northward transport of Gulf moisture except periodically across the southern plains and southeast and Gulf Coast states. By day 6 to 7, Sunday through Monday, another cold front is forecast to move eastsoutheast across much of the United States. Another cold front Sunday through Monday. Day 67 in the current outlook period. The mean upper troughing that has been the engine of this entire spring's active weather pattern is not breaking down. It persists through the full day 48 forecast period. And another cold front, the next car on the storm train is already appearing in the models for the weekend. On day five, Saturday, Lee troughing will allow for increasing south and southeasterly low-level flow across the southern plains and lower Mississippi Valley, aiding in moisture return across these areas. This could result in thunderstorm potential across the south central United States, but severe potential is limited given a lack of stronger forcing for ascent. Saturday brings moisture return to the southern plains and lower Mississippi Valley.

[00:12:46]Thunderstorm potential develops, though with limited severe weather threat given the lack of strong forcing. Sunday into Monday, the cold front arrives, and at this range, the SPC is treating the severe weather potential as real but uncertain. By Friday, the guidance will sharpen and I will have specific updates on the weekend threat. This is the new normal for May 2026. Not a single breakthrough severe weather event followed by a clean break, a continuous procession of frontal systems. Each one bringing its own round of severe weather, flooding, and temperature contrast. Each one targeting a slightly different portion of the country. Each one arriving before the previous communities have fully recovered. I want to take a moment to explain something about how to interpret today's SPC outlook maps because the new conditional intensity group system that launched in March 2026 gives you specific information about the potential severity of any storms that develop and it is directly relevant to today's threat.

[00:13:39]Conditional intensity addition to SPC convective outlooks allows SPC forecasters to highlight areas at risk for more intense violent storms.

[00:13:47]High-end severe weather like intense and violent tornadoes cause by far the greatest loss of life and property. And this improvement allows us to highlight days when these specific threats are more likely, said Evan Bentley. Warning coordination meteorologist for NOA's Storm Prediction Center. A moderate severe weather risk with CIG2 tornado indicator will mean a low risk of severe storms forming, but if a tornado does form, it will likely be an EF2 or stronger. An EF2 is a tornado with winds of at least 111 mph. Damaging winds of 60 meltwood hers would be considered lower and severe while winds of 90 dandel stronger are considered higher end. Hail of 1 in is considered lower end severe while hail of two 5 in or larger is moderate severe potential.

[00:14:33]When you look at today's SPC outlook and you see a CIG2 tornado indicator over Alabama or the Tennessee Valley, that is the SPC telling you not just that a tornado is possible, but that if a tornado develops in that environment, it is likely to be EF2 or stronger. That is the environment with mid to upper 60° due points and SRH above 250 misk 2. EF2 or stronger means 111 mean or faster winds means roofs removed from well- constructed homes means vehicles lifted and thrown means catastrophic damage to anything not in a solid underground or interior shelter. Know how to read the CIG system. Know that Cig 2 on a tornado indicator is not a mild upgrade from CIG1. It is the SPC telling you the ceiling on this storm's potential is violent. Here is where we stand.

[00:15:21]Wednesday, May 6th, 2026. Alabama went through all of April without a single tornado warning, the first time in 22 years. Iowa set its record low. April's severe thunderstorm warning count since records began in 2002. The Deep South had its quietest April in recent memory, while Oklahoma and Kansas and Missouri absorbed the brunt of the spring season's fury. That quiet ended today.

[00:15:44]Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon and evening across portions of Texas into the lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys and southern Appalachian.

[00:15:54]Damaging winds, large hail, and a couple of tornadoes will be possible. Mid to upper 60°ree due points across the Gulf Coast and Deep South. SRH increasing above 250 m 2 in Alabama and Mississippi. Strong deep layer shear and a moist boundary layer across the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachian. CIG2 tornado potential for communities that have not heard a tornado siren in 30 days. 11 deaths in the 2026 season so far and what is being called a near average year. And with June and July historically the most active months still ahead with the pattern reloading again Sunday through Monday with another cold front with the mean upper troughing east of the Rockies persisting through the full day 48 forecast period. The storm just upgraded again. Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee Valley. Your action list is specific and time-sensitive. Today, before the early afternoon, identify your shelter. The lowest interior room on the ground floor away from windows. If you live in a mobile home anywhere in the deep south, find a solid structure shelter and know how to get there before storms develop.

[00:16:55]Test your weather alerts, charge your devices, tell your family. Now is the time to review your severe weather plan.

[00:17:01]Double check where you will shelter.

[00:17:02]Make sure you can receive warnings day or night. Day or night. Because the Deep South's most dangerous tornado history is written in the overnight hours, the storms today are forecast for afternoon and evening. But if they grow up scale into a squall line, that line could be pushing through Alabama and Mississippi well into the overnight hours. The season's death toll stands at 11. Let's keep it there. Stay safe. I will have updates as today's event unfolds.