Below average tornado season could come to an end

It’s been a fairly quiet severe weather season across the Midwest and into the Plains. In the state of Missouri, only 10 tornadoes have been reported, with nine of them occurring in the southern portion of the state and none being reported in Mid-Missouri.

This isn’t the first time Mid-Missouri has gone so long without a spring tornado; the last time that occurred was in 2015.

There’s also been an unusually low tornado count in Oklahoma and Kansas. The area that normally sees a huge increase in tornadoes in April has yet to record a single tornado this year. It’s a record which Oklahoma will break at the end of the day on April 26.

Why the quiet weather pattern?

For a large portion of the year, a series of cold fronts tracked through the region. This cold gripped the eastern half of the nation and extended well into the south, and keeping moisture from streaming into the Midwest and Plains. With a lack of moisture and numerous dry frontal passages, this led to the driest April ever recorded in Mid-Missouri.

While temperatures well into April were still on a roller coaster ride, a pattern change is shaping up to bring more springlike weather. A ridge building in from the west will bring a return to highs in the 70s and 80s, moisture returning from the Gulf of Mexico, and strong south to southeasterly flow. It’s the perfect ingredients for strong storms to fire up when a cold front tracks through the region.

Although April has been quiet, May is historically the most active time for tornadoes in Mid-Missouri. So although we have been seeing fairly calm weather, one does need to make sure they remain weather aware as we head into a new month.

Stay with ABC 17 News as we continue to track the chance for storms next week and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.