MARSHALL (KMHL) – Outside of a few scattered severe storms it has been a largely quiet severe weather season in southwest Minnesota.
But things can change quickly. National Weather Service Sioux Falls Meteorologist Peter Rodgers said there have been just 9 severe thunderstorm warnings in the whole region so far this spring. He notes that May and June are the peak months for tornadoes in Minnesota.
“People really shouldn’t let their guard down because we are getting towards that peak,” said Rodgers. “Just know generally there aren’t usually as many in the latter half of summer.”
Rodgers says tornadoes can form in Minnesota as late as October or November.
But just because the number of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are down doesn’t mean the region doesn’t have risks from severe weather.
“Even though we haven’t had much on the tornado front we have had a lot of water, a lot of places have seen record rainfall for 2018 and that has continued right into the spring of 2019,” said Rodgers. “We really talk a lot about flooding because people look at it differently than tornadoes and so we talk a lot about how we want people to avoid water over roads and find a different way to get home.”
He urges drivers especially to be alert for flash flooding and not to drive through water when they can’t see the road under it.
