Storms could bring high temperatures to Texas and tornadoes to Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend, forecasters warn

Forecasters are warning of another day of increased risk for dangerous tornadoes in the Midwest on Saturday and telling people in South Texas they could experience triple-digit temperatures — and that’s four weeks before the start of summer.

The weather service in Oklahoma compared the day to “a pile of gasoline-soaked brush.” Forecasters aren’t sure which storms will form, but any that do could explode with large hail, dangerous winds and tornadoes. The millions of people traveling over Memorial Day weekend have been warned that wild weather could put a damper on travel plans.

“There is a small chance that most games will be a bust, and we only see a few storms today. Still, this is not a game I would want to play. All it takes is one storm to have an impact,” said the National Weather Service in Norman , Oklahoma, wrote on Facebook.

Excessive heat, especially in May, is the danger in South Texas, where the heat index is forecast to approach nearly 120 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend. Parts of the state, including Houston, have already faced severe storms and power outages that left residents vulnerable to high temperatures in early May. The region is at the northern end of a heat dome that stretches from Mexico to South America, said National Weather Service meteorologist Zack Taylor.

Sunday looks like the hottest day, with record highs expected in late May for Austin, Brownsville, Dallas and San Antonio, Taylor said.

The temperature was approaching 90 degrees and the heat index was 104 in Brownsville, on the U.S.-Mexico border, mid-morning Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Red flag fire warnings are also in effect in West Texas, throughout New Mexico and in parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado, where very low humidity, below 10%, wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour combine with high temperatures.

“We have very dry air, warm temperatures and strong winds, creating a high fire risk over a wide area… which could lead to rapidly spreading or uncontrollable fires,” Taylor said.

Meanwhile, several inches of snow fell from Friday into early Saturday morning in Rolla, North Dakota, about 10 miles from the Canadian border.

O millions of people traveling for Memorial Day weekend were warned that wild weather could disrupt travel plans.

April and May were busy months for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Climate Change is increasing the severity of storms around the world.

April had the country second highest number of tornadoes recorded, according to the National Weather Service. And by 2024, the U.S. is already 25% ahead of the average number of tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Iowa has been hit the hardest so far this week. A deadly tornado Devastated Greenfield, a city about 90 kilometers south of the capital Des Moines, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others. Other storms caused flooding and wind damage in other parts of the state.

The storm system causing the severe weather is expected to move east as the Memorial Day weekend continues, bringing rain that could delay Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 auto race in Indiana and more thunderstorms. severe in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.

The risk of severe weather hits North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.