Multi-Day Storm Observation Sequence | June 9-11

I haven't chased a storm since my birthday tornado chase on April 27th here in my home state, 42 days, or 6 weeks ago. There have been supercells and tornadoes during that time, but the 2026 storm observation season has largely been on hold since a blazing fast start in February, March, and April.

Compare these two maps of tornadoes from February to April and May into early June. The late-winter into early-spring transition provided a long-duration trough in the west with fast southwesterly flow and an active storm track running from Texas to the Great Lakes. We saw high-end severe weather setups and high-volume tornado days weekly, sometimes stringing multiple big days together consecutively.

Since the calendar flipped to May and climatological peak season for tornadoes in the Central U.S. the jet stream has flipped back to an unfavorable pattern for organized storms across Tornado Alley with a persistent ridge of high pressure keeping flow weak and nebulous overhead. The result has been a lack of focus or support for big storms, during the time of year when big storms are most likely.

There have been several early days of supercell and tornado potential across the Northern Plains and Canadian Prairie preceding what is expected to be a potent, multi-day stretch of severe weather from the Northern Plains into the Midwest. I'll address each days potential more in-depth as we prep for them individually, but I'm finally charging cameras and clearing memory cards to get back on the road documenting severe storms during the upcoming sequence.

I'm home this morning with heavy rain and thunder rumbling outside as a tropical low lifts into the region from the Gulf. I'll hit the road to meet up with Colin Davis this evening, and then we'll begin drifting northwest toward the Tuesday target area in the Dakotas toward southern Manitoba. A tornado in the Dakotas would be nice and a shorter drive (relatively speaking anyway) but our passports are packed should we need to take this storm observation international. I have chased a storm on the Canadian Prairie before, but never documented a tornado or a real high-end supercell.

Wednesday and Thursday look to bring us back closer to home with two days of supercell and tornado potential across portions of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Lots of updates to come from the road as we get PART TWO of the 2026 storm observation underway. Part One was full of fast-moving tornado outbreaks in the Midwest... what will the summer season bring?