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May 2024 was one of the most active severe weather months on record

Ryan May Severe 6/4

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — May wrapped up a few days ago, but meteorologists continue to get information on just how active the month was.

Severe weather was the main story across the United States.

The Storm Prediction Center issues daily severe weather outlooks on a scale from 1 to a high of 5. In May, somewhere in the U.S. had at least an enhanced (Level 3 of 5) risk 22 times. Oklahoma was even included in a rare high (5/5) risk of severe weather on May 6.

The tornado report count stands at 556. Of course, some of these may be duplicates of the same tornado. However, this number is staggering when you consider the month of averages 275 tornadoes for the U.S.

Below is every tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service for May, which was in the hundreds. It was a hot spot of activity in the middle parts of the country that stemmed from multiple tornado outbreaks. Locally here in Indiana, 13 total tornadoes occurred in May.

For the entire month, the U.S. tallied 6,267 preliminary storm reports. This number would be the largest number of storm reports in May since 2011. Since 2006, this is one of the more active months on record when it comes to total storm reports.