Tracking Weather Extremes: May 2025 Tornadoes and Flooding Across the Continental United States

May 2025 experienced an exceptionally active severe weather season across the continental United States, with multiple outbreaks causing widespread devastation from both tornadoes and flooding. After a relatively quiet start to the month, severe weather erupted on May 15-16, producing at least 79 confirmed tornadoes that struck regions including Marion, Illinois, and Somerset/London, Kentucky. The May 16 outbreak resulted in significant casualties across multiple states, with St. Louis experiencing catastrophic damage from a nearly mile-wide wedge tornado. Heavy rainfall accompanied these storm systems, with 24-hour precipitation accumulations exceeding dangerous thresholds in many areas, leading to significant flash flooding and river flooding across several states. A second major outbreak from May 18-20 generated at least 118 additional tornadoes and brought torrential downpours that exacerbated flooding in already saturated regions. The combination of tornadic activity and extreme precipitation created compound disasters in many communities, highlighting the extreme nature of the atmospheric conditions that fueled these devastating weather patterns across the central and eastern United States.