Let the season begin: It isn't too early for storms

Although the height of severe storm season occurs in the spring and summer, mid-winter thunderstorms can produce their own dangers too.

For the first couple months of the year, strong and severe thunderstorm activity is usually limited to southern and eastern Texas and along the Gulf Coast. The two necessary ingredients for widespread thunderstorms, warm and humid air spreading north from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold and dry air from the north, can collide here. Damaging winds are the biggest threat, but a tornado cannot be ruled out.

Throughout the spring, the Gulf warms up, producing an airmass of increasing humidity and warmer temperatures. This spreads north and collides with the cold and dry air lingering across the southern Plains and the Southeast, resulting in rounds of strong and even severe thunderstorms.

The TemperatureRadar and WeatherRadar are great tools to see where the cold and warm air collides and see the development of severe storms.

In February and March, the tornado threat has grown to an area extending from the lower Mississippi Valley into the Southeast is known as the “Dixie Alley.” These severe storms can be particularly dangerous because they often move quickly and produce overnight tornadoes.

By middle spring, the entire Plains, lower Mississippi Valley and the South can be threatened by severe storms and tornadoes.

This is why it is important to have multiple ways to be alerted of the storm threat.