00:00What is happening across the United States right now is not a normal weather season.
00:04It may be the most dangerous confluence of weather threats America has seen in a single month in years.
00:10In March, an EF-5 tornado, the second most powerful ever recorded in the U.S. this century,
00:17tore through Wells County, Indiana, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour.
00:22By mid-April, more than 300 tornadoes had already been confirmed nationally.
00:28By April 19th, the NWS-Chicago office had issued a record 128 severe weather warnings.
00:35Last weekend, tornadoes struck Minnesota and Wisconsin again.
00:39Oregon just declared a wildfire emergency with nine counties already under threat.
00:44Drought is parching more than 40% of the continental United States.
00:49And the calendar has barely moved past the peak of tornado season.
00:53AccuWeather warns that between 5.5 and 8 million acres could burn this summer.
00:59Forecasters say May is historically the single most active month for tornadoes in America,
01:04averaging more than 275 twisters in a typical year.
01:09This year is not typical.
01:11For tens of millions of Americans from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf Coast,
01:15the question is no longer whether a severe weather emergency is coming.
01:20The question is which one arrives first.
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