KWTX Weather Xtra - May 10, 2026

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:14]Welcome to weather extra and first serve meteorologist Jillian Johnson. We are right in the middle of the peak of severe weather season here in the United States and once again this past week devastating tornadoes ripped through communities across the south. Reed Benign starts this weekend's weather extra with a look at some of the damage.

[00:00:32]>> 55 Southbound.

[00:00:34]It's crazy. Multiple tornadoes ripped through Mississippi overnight, leaving a trail of destroyed homes and injured victims in their wake.

[00:00:42]>> That came right through there, bro. We can't even get through here, bro.

[00:00:45]>> One massive twister toppling trees and blocking parts of a highway.

[00:00:49]>> It knocked all this down.

[00:00:52]Ain't no power lines or nothing out this way. The storms also knocked down power lines with tens of thousands of homes and businesses across Mississippi without power as of late Wednesday.

[00:01:01]According to power outage US, collapsed trees also blocking a roadway next to a hard-hit mobile home park. There were also reports of residents trapped, but dangerous conditions slowed rescue efforts. Authorities said the extreme weather impacted large portions of the south, including thunderstorms and at one point a flood watch in place for more than 10 million people. Parts of Alabama saw severe flooding in Montgomery Wednesday. The state house had to be evacuated because of flooding during local storms. This as other regions struggle to recover from severe weather in their communities.

[00:01:37]>> Coming back in, we still had 6 in of water around the house.

[00:01:41]>> Residents in parts of Wisconsin picking up the pieces as water levels start returning to normal after last month's flooding.

[00:01:47]>> At one point, there was 3 ft of water in there from just from looking at flood lines. I'm Reed Bigen reporting.

[00:01:54]>> And a late season snowstorm in Colorado left a totals of more than two feet in some locations in the Rocky Mountains last week. Now, of course, this snow comes after a historically warm winter with temperatures reaching 80° in March and a record low snow pack. And now, history is being broken again in May, but this time it's for snow. The spring snowstorm brought nearly half a foot of snow in Denver, which made it one of the largest May snows storms in the city's history. In Rocky Mountain National Park, Long's Peak recorded nearly 44 inches in just two days.

[00:02:27]NASA dropped over 12,000 new images from the Artemis 2 mission this past Monday.

[00:02:32]Patrick Cornell has a look at some of them. Check it out.

[00:02:37]>> During their 10-day trip around the moon, the crew of Artemis 2 snapped images of the Earth, moon, stars, and solar system in dazzling clarity. NASA posted more than 12,000 of the incredible starladen snapshots online for everyone to enjoy. We don't have time to show off all these stunning space pics, but we can show you some of our favorites, starting with our own Earth in all its glory. Zooming way out to show the planet peeking out from over the top of the moon. And we bring the moon into further focus with detailed pics of the lunar surface where the crew of Artemis 4 hopes to land in 2028.

[00:03:12]Plus, a POV picture from inside the O'Brien showing a view the four astronauts surely enjoyed and now we get to see as well.

[00:03:21]>> If you'd like to browse through more images, all 12,000 were posted to the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth website. Now, we've seen a bit of a temperature roller coaster so far in May along with some more rainfall. But April brought many of us some muchneeded beneficial rain. For recap on the month of April here in Central Texas, here's First Alert meteorologist Brendan Jackson.

[00:03:43]>> The month of April was a relatively warm one for us here in Central Texas. The average high temperature that we saw this April was 79.9°, which is a little on the warm side at 2° above normal, but nothing to blow you away. On the other hand, our average low this April was 61.9°, which is more than 7 degrees above normal and is in a four-way tie for the number three spot on the all-time warmest April lows list. And it makes sense why our nights were so warm and our days so average. There was a lot of moisture in the air and cloud cover for a lot of the month, which helped to keep our nighttime temperatures up. Over the 30 days in April, 22 days had at least partly cloudy skies and the average relative humidity percentage was a damp 73%. All that moisture led to some above normal rainfall. Rain was recorded at the Waco Regional Airport on half of the days of the month and the total rainfall over the course of the month was 4.08 in about 3/4 of an inch more than average.

[00:04:43]Another interesting side note about this past April, not a single tornado touched down in central Texas. The closest tornado to our area was the Rio Vista EF1 in Johnson County, which lifted only about a mile north of the Hill County line. North Texas saw nine tornadoes in April, which is more than the North and Central Texas combined average for the month of seven. But those were also the only tornadoes that have touched down in North or Central Texas so far this year, which for the year puts us just shy of the combined average of 11.

[00:05:17]The Pacific Ocean off California keeps breaking heat records. Nearly 40 daily records have been broken so far this year. And experts say it could produce a stormy summer that threatens lives and devastates wildlife. CBX CBS's Maxo has more on the concerns the rising temperatures are bringing.

[00:05:34]>> Sweating out there for sure.

[00:05:36]>> Summertime is still a month away, yet surfer Lucas Harris is ready to trade in his wet suit for trunks. That's unusual even for sunny San Diego, and that has scientists troubled.

[00:05:46]>> This has been going on uh since December. We've had temperatures that are 4 to 8° higher than the normal temperatures for this time of year.

[00:05:57]>> Melissa Carter at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography manages a program that logs daily ocean temperatures along the California coast.

[00:06:04]Their data goes back more than a hundred years. A persistent high-pressure system has kept deep, cool waters from surfacing, leading to record-breaking ocean temperatures.

[00:06:14]>> How long is this going to last? And that's the big question.

[00:06:18]>> The marine heat wave is already making impacts. Dead birds washing ashore, starved by the cascading decline of sea life from microorganisms to the fish they eat. Scientists fear other sea life like kelp and whales could be at risk, and algae blooms could produce toxins and deplete oxygen in the ocean. It can completely wipe out entire ecosystems and that is the concern.

[00:06:41]>> Dan Rutnik takes ocean temperatures further offshore using autonomous robots called gliders.

[00:06:47]>> There are now forecasts that suggest that there will be an El Nino, but right now here it's already warm, which is unusual.

[00:06:56]>> An El Nino year is when warm water from the equator pushes north. That could prolong the heat wave even further.

[00:07:03]Ripc currents along Florida uh portions of Florida's Atlantic coast are being blamed for two deaths in early May, highlighting the risk of danger for beachgoers as summer approaches. Local officials in Florida say a 17-year-old and a 32-year-old woman drowned in different parts of the state during the first weekend of May after getting caught in rough waters. Rescue officials say you can spot a rip current by looking for color differences on the surface of the water or debris being pulled away from the shore. We also urge swimmers to follow these steps if you get caught in one.

[00:07:35]>> First and foremost, stay calm. Call for help. Wave for help. Don't fight it.

[00:07:39]Don't try to swim straight back to shore. Tread water. Let it take you as far as as it needs to take you. And try to then swim parallel to shore to your right or to your left.

[00:07:51]>> Rip currents can move at speeds of up to 8 feet per second. Officials say swimming in front of a lifeguard is always the safest option. in one of our degrees of science conversations, First Alert Chief Meteorologist Brady Taylor had the chance to speak with an expert on rip currents. If you'd like to learn more on rip currents and and to keep your loved ones safe on the beach this summer, scan the QR code on your screen and that will take you to our degrees of science YouTube page where you can listen to their conversation. Weather Extra will be right back.

[00:08:23]Welcome back to Weather Extra. Thanks to rain in the month of April, we're starting to see some very small improvements to the drought across the nation. But we still have a long way to go before our drought problems are solved. As of the latest drought monitor update from this past Thursday, May 7th, 75% of the nation is under some form of drought. While that number is still very high, it is down 2% in the last month.

[00:08:45]But with that 75%, that means over 153 million Americans across 46 states are currently facing drought problems. And one of those states is Arizona. A couple of wildfires started to pop up across the state last week. Here's video of the largest fire that burned over a thousand acres outside of Phoenix. 97% of Arizona is currently dealing with the drought.

[00:09:07]And the community that lives in Mount Lemon in southern Arizona has been facing water problems for several years now. But as no rain has been falling as of late, local officials are threatening stricter water restrictions as the summer heat arrives soon. problem is is that everything we drink up here comes from the sky.

[00:09:25]>> John Osborne, owner and manager of the Mount Lemon Lodge, tells me water has always been an issue on the mountain, but it's become more serious in recent years, and the little rain and snow they saw over the winter and early spring are not helping their chances for this year.

[00:09:40]>> The water in the creek is is much slower now. So, that means that the springs are running a lot less. So, um we'll probably run out here pretty soon. And that's when the stage three mandatory restrictions would come in. Greg Carpenter, owner of the Mount Lemon General Store, tells me residents could face having their water turned off if they use too much each month. He says many restaurants and hotels are forced to turn to using paper and plastic dishes. And Osborne tells me that was the first thing they did along with putting flyers in each of their guests rooms to encourage them to conserve water. from short showers to sending laundry to Tucson to not leaving the faucet running when brushing teeth and washing hands.

[00:10:20]>> To leave water running like that simply wastes, you know, during those periods where you don't actively need it.

[00:10:25]>> And Osborne tells me they're all trying to figure out how to get more water up the mountain and ways to pay for it.

[00:10:31]>> Proactively, we're dealing with this problem. Uh, and hopefully we can bridge the drought and find additional sources of water. Last summer, Pima County shut off access to public restrooms, forcing visitors to use portaotties, but Carpenter says they have found ways to make them more water efficient. So, he's staying hopeful that won't happen this time around.

[00:10:50]>> You know, when we go into stage three and we're heading towards stage four, it gets really difficult. And so, we'll see how that all shakes out.

[00:10:57]>> We often talk about the impacts that a drought brings to humans, but the effects of the dry ground go a lot further than that, impacting nearly every aspect of the ecosystem. We now head out to Virginia as they're starting to see the drought impact their bee population. Take a look.

[00:11:13]>> Vasilia McCrady, owner of Heritage Apiary in Bodat County, is checking in on her bees. She's like all beekeepers in the state, just trying to make it through this drought.

[00:11:24]>> This is the first year that I am having to deal with such dryness so early on.

[00:11:28]>> Just about the entire Commonwealth is under severe drought conditions. The land is thirsty and so is the honeybee population. A beehive uses up to a quart of water a day, obviously for survival, but other reasons, too. Honeybees actually use water inside for cooling.

[00:11:45]So, they use a thin layer of water. They fan their wings and they keep it at a temperature that they are comfortable in. They also use it to keep the brood moist. So, to have baby bees hatch, they need to keep the larvae and everything in there just moist enough so that they stay healthy so they're able to hatch as well. What makes the drought situation even more concerning is that we're already dealing with a rapidly declining bee population >> across the country. We lost about 60% of our bees this year. Beekeepers are used to losing bees around wintertime or through the winter due to specific pests and diseases. But with the lack of water and the brood not being able to maintain the strength of the hive and thriving, um, we may lose more bees early on.

[00:12:26]>> Because if the bees aren't happy, they could absone or abandon the hive because they don't have the resources to thrive.

[00:12:34]>> The queen will send out a signal saying this is not a thriving place, and they will all end up leaving to try to find somewhere new. As long as we remain in these drought conditions, you may find a good number of honeybees around a leaky water hose, gardens, or flower pots that are well watered, at restaurants where there's outdoor seating, and by the pool because the water has minerals they love to drink up.

[00:12:56]>> But if you're looking to try and get the bees away safely without harming them, you can purchase something called BB Gone, and it has a smell that the bees don't really appreciate. So, to me, it smells like almond extract. So, it's really not a bad smell, but the bees seem to be deterred by it. If you don't mind the bees coming around, there is something you can do.

[00:13:17]>> I like to recommend putting a basin out or a bowl, maybe a bird bath with things that the bees can land on safely. Um, so that will give them an opportunity to find water nearby them. And, uh, one easy trick to keep the mosquito larvae away is to putting a little bit of salt in the water because that is a mineral that they need. In this drought, even the honeybees need to stay hydrated. in Bodatak County. Ni Payne, WDBJ7.

[00:13:44]>> Coming up next on Weather Extra, new technology has been integrated into planes to help detect wildfires early to prevent them from spreading. We have more on how this works right after this.

[00:13:57]Welcome back to Weather Extra. New technology is helping the state of Colorado fight wildfires this year.

[00:14:02]Brian Moss has more on how a a pair of new planes are helping to spot wildfires before they get out of control.

[00:14:11]>> For decades, the 2002 Haymon fire was the largest in state history.

[00:14:17]138,000 acres burned southwest of Denver. 133 homes gone. Fire experts say 2026 has a lot of the same conditions as 2002. Obviously, we've had a warmer winter than we've had in a really long time. Um, that's going to lead to more fuel drying and um availability of fuels later on in the summer. So, >> Jeff Rasmusen is the state's chief of fire planning and says the subpar snow pack, warm winter, and drought conditions line up with what led to statewide fires of 2002.

[00:14:51]But 24 years later, the state now has two of these Pilates aircraft to help manage fires after they've started and detect fires before they become infernos.

[00:15:02]>> People rely on this information to make decisions more so than ever before. And this is one of the best tools we have to provide that real-time information to the people on the ground.

[00:15:11]>> The planes will fly every day during peak fire season with two operators in the back mapping fires and relaying information to ground crews.

[00:15:21]One of the critical tools on this plane is this infrared camera that I'm talking to right now, which can help firefighters on the plane spot a fire right as it's starting.

[00:15:33]>> This area of heat on the south side where >> state fire personnel say the camera can pick up heat signals from 15,000 ft up.

[00:15:41]>> And then these fingers off to the east side that have stayed pretty much on the mesa top >> detecting small fires that cannot be seen by the naked eye. but can be picked up by the camera. Getting crews to douse fires before they really get going.

[00:15:55]>> It's really shown over time the power of of intelligence and information. Fire detection is a key.

[00:16:00]>> Peter Vidmar, the intelligence unit chief with the state division of fire says this summer's fire season could be longer than normal due to the short snow pack.

[00:16:10]>> We try to lean into the science as much as we can.

[00:16:14]>> As we just learned, some planes are now being used to detect wildfires from the sky. thanks to new technology. But did you know that planes have actually been used to fight fires since the 1930s? But this year, an increase in the price for jet fuel is raising the cost of fighting wildfires from the air. CBS's Carter Evans has more.

[00:16:33]>> When a wildfire breaks out, aircraft are often first to the scene with a critical water drop.

[00:16:40]Large air tankers like this DC10 can carry nearly 10,000 gallons. But it's not cheap.

[00:16:46]>> It's not cheap. They can be anywhere from three to $4,000 an hour up to 25 to $30,000 an hour for some of the larger aircraft that's out there.

[00:16:56]>> And Paul Peterson, executive director of the United Aerial Firefighters Association, says the rising cost of jet fuel is making it even more expensive.

[00:17:04]It's up more than 65% in the last 2 months.

[00:17:08]>> Larger aircraft, they're going to burn hundreds of gallons of jet fuel an hour.

[00:17:12]Ultimately, taxpayers are going to pay those costs. Last year, the US Forest Service spent more than $52 million to fuel firefighting aircraft. This year, the budget is 45 million, but the agency told us aviation fuel prices will not impact our ability to respond to fires.

[00:17:29]In California, jet fuel prices have surpassed $10 a gallon at some airports.

[00:17:35]To save flight hours, Calire is training on flight simulators. And they told us aircraft are strategically placed across the state, so flight time to a fire is minimal. Keeping our aircraft in the air is a non-negotiable necessity for public safety. Even when jet fuel prices are skyhigh, >> the potential cost of not sending aircraft, the impacts to communities easily are in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.

[00:18:03]>> And this is not just a West Coast problem. Today, wildfires are burning across the country from Nebraska to Florida. Carter Evans, CBS News, Los Angeles.

[00:18:14]>> School is almost out and you may have a a trip down to the beach planned for the summer, but coming up next on Weather Extra, we'll tell you more on how the warmer ocean temperatures are changing the migration patterns of some sharks.

[00:18:26]We'll be right back.

[00:18:31]Welcome back to Weather Extra. Here's a heads up if you're heading to a beach this summer. Warmer waters have sharks changing up their migration routes, increasing the potential risks for humans. CNN's Randy Kay went to the shark bite capital of the world and spoke to a team that's tracking these shifting patterns.

[00:18:49]>> Okay, go for it. Toss it out.

[00:18:55]>> Spend an afternoon with Professor Steven Kajira.

[00:18:58]>> Our goal today is to catch a blacktip shark. And you may get closer to sharks than you'd ever dreamed.

[00:19:04]>> All right, we're good. Go for it.

[00:19:05]>> You have your tag ready.

[00:19:07]>> Not long after we got on the boat, he and his crew of students hooked the first of four blacktip sharks. All of them were released.

[00:19:14]>> Hang on, kids. Hang on. We're rocking it. Let him go. Oh, look at that.

[00:19:20]>> That's beautiful. Well done.

[00:19:21]>> Kajira is the resident shark expert at Florida Atlantic University. So release time is uh 3:19 >> and has been studying sharks for more than 30 years. He's been paying close attention to the migration of blacktips.

[00:19:36]>> Gi tag >> which he tracks by attaching GPS and a camera to their fins.

[00:19:41]>> As they're migrating, they are very close to the beach and it's right in the same water where the the beachgoers are.

[00:19:48]Knowing more about their migration, it allows us to inform beachgoers and say, "Hey, listen. The sharks are here now.

[00:19:54]Keep an eye out for them.

[00:19:56]>> Kajira says data shows sharks don't migrate as far south as they once did.

[00:20:01]>> The average winter water temperature has risen 1° C in just 10 years. That's a full degree difference in only a decade.

[00:20:09]And these sharks are highly tuned to their environment. They have a preferred temperature that's comfortable for them.

[00:20:15]So they're truncating the southward leg of their migration, >> which leaves more sharks farther north.

[00:20:22]In places like New Smyrna Beach, Florida, right along the migratory corridor for these sharks, this town's already considered the shark bite capital of the world.

[00:20:32]>> Have you ever met a shark?

[00:20:33]>> Uh, not by name.

[00:20:37]Just about stepped on them before walking offshore going surfing. All kinds of bait fish swim here and surfers come to enjoy the surf break at the jetty. That sort of activity can be really attractive to sharks.

[00:20:49]>> May be difficult for the shark to distinguish whether it's a shiny fish or just the shiny palm of your hand or sole of your foot that's flashing.

[00:20:55]>> Kajira says the warmer waters are driving sharks farther north up the east coast, too.

[00:21:01]>> Now you're getting more interactions with people in Long Island being bitten by sharks than they ever have historically. weeks after our boat ride back at his lab at FAU. So, >> the shark is heading north. You can see it's swimming north.

[00:21:14]>> Kajira showed us video recovered from the shark's camera.

[00:21:17]>> And this is the shark doing its thing, you know, swimming along and exploring its world. They're going for a little shiny fish. And if the fish just sorts of, you know, disappears into the gloom like that, but there happens to be a big juicy hand, you know, that's going to stand out and that's going to be attractive.

[00:21:33]>> And what might the jaws of a blacktip shark feel like? What I have here is a set of jaws from a blacktip shark. I guarantee.

[00:21:39]>> Oh wow.

[00:21:40]>> Oh wow. Right.

[00:21:41]>> Yeah.

[00:21:41]>> They're sharp as all out.

[00:21:42]>> Pin prick.

[00:21:43]>> Exactly.

[00:21:44]>> All the more reason to steer clear.

[00:21:49]>> Thanks for joining us for this weekend's weather extra. Back again next weekend with more weather and science stories.

[00:21:54]Have a great week.