As the month of May began, so did the ramp-up of severe storms across the southern US.
Beginning on Monday, a weather pattern had setup across the US that would mean days of ongoing rain and severe weather.
Monday evening saw the worst of the threat, with tornadoes touching down from Texas to Illinois. By Tuesday morning, 44 tornadoes had been reported as well as widespread hail damage, with some hailstones as large as golf balls.
The severe storms continued across much of the Southern Plains and southeast into the weekend as plenty of moisture was tapped from the Gulf of Mexico to fuel the storm, along with daytime heating helping to make the atmosphere unstable.
Days of storms also meant that the flood risk continued to rise into the weekend, particularly near low-lying river basins. As far north as Iowa, communities raced to put in place sand bag barriers to help stop the rising waters from entering their homes and business.
Already this week, 71 tornadoes have been reported due to the stuck weather pattern.
This weekend and into next week is set to bring more of the same, along with rain over already saturated soil. A slight break is expected for Monday, but strong spring storms are expected to erupt by Tuesday night.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
