As we close in on the end of meteorological spring, here’s a look at the 737 tornado reports sent to the Storm Prediction Center between March 1 and May 29 (today). It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, all things considered. The actual number of tornadoes is lower than 737—multiple reports exist for many tornadoes, and some damage reported as being caused by a tornado turns out to be straight-line wind damage, instead.

Welcome to May! We are now two-thirds of the way through spring, and right on schedule, the atmosphere has a mini heat wave in the forecast for most of us east of the Rockies. On top of that, models are trying to spin up some sort of a tropical cyclone-ish thing off the East Coast next week.

It looks like nature is finally catching up with the calendar, as the southern and central portions of the United States are facing a risk for severe thunderstorms every day through Friday. Unfortunately for residents and vehicles alike, April promises to be more active than this underwhelming March.

We've been lucky enough to see a lull in severe thunderstorms over the past couple of months, sparing countless towns from damage or destruction. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. Here's a primer on how to use severe weather forecasts to keep you and your loved ones safe this spring.

It was downright gorgeous across the United States and Canada earlier this week. Dozens of towns from Texas to Saskatchewan set record highs during the brief warm-up. Unfortunately, March's gotta act like March, and we've slumped back into that weird winter pattern of a warm west and cool east.

The thing about March is that it lures you in with springlike temperatures, chirping birds, bumbling bees, and just when you start to let down your guard—WHAM!—you get smacked with a winter storm. It happens almost every year, but I am so sorry to say that it's probably going to snow this weekend.

Today is the first day of spring, an occasion when the sun's rays shine almost evenly between the northern and southern hemispheres (just before 1:00 PM Eastern, if you were wondering) before shining more directly on the Northern Hemisphere for the next six months. Did you think that would mean warmer weather? You poor soul.