April 2026 National Storm Summary
James Munley
National Storm Summary
April 26, 2026
The severe weather activity in the U.S. during the first half of April 2026 was exceptionally active, with multiple major outbreaks producing tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds.
April 13–14, 2026 – First Major Outbreak
An overnight outbreak from April 13–14 produced 39 confirmed tornadoes (including an EF3 in La Crosse, WI) and 785
hail reports, with the largest hail measuring 6 inches in diameter .
www.disasteraware.com. The event engaged 21 NWS forecast offices across seven states. Storms generated 15 documented damage paths, with large hail (3"+) reported in 67 cases. The outbreak was part of
a broader severe weather season that began earlier in the month.
12-18: For the third week in a row, locally significant rain extended from central and eastern Texas into the Great Lakes region. In fact, a continuation of extreme wetness in Michigan.
The stormy spell peaked on April 17, with severe thunderstorms spawning nearly 100 tornadoes, based on preliminary reports, mainly across Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
A major episode on April 17 brought at least 10 tornadoes to the NWS Chicago forecast area, including EF1s in Pecatonica, Roscoe, Mendota, and rural Livingston County, IL, and an EF2 in Darrow, IL . The day also saw 60–70 mph gusts and wind damage. Earlier in the day, a supercell produced large hail over 2 inches and torrential rainfall, contributing to river flooding in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
In Michigan, multiple rounds of heavy rain sent the Muskegon River to record-high levels along much of its 216-mile length. The Muskegon River crest passed Evart (4.19 feet above flood stage) on April 17 and reached Bridgeton (6.27 feet above flood stage) on April 18. A record was also established along the Manistee River near Sherman, MI, where the river surged 4.49 feet above flood stage on April 16. In Wisconsin, the Wolf River at Shiocton crested 4.06 feet above flood stage on April 17, surpassing the April 1922 high-water mark by 0.96 foot. The Wisconsin River at Portage, WI, crested 3.47 feet above flood stage on April 17, the third-highest level in that location behind 3.66 feet on September 28, 2010, and 3.50 feet on September 14, 1938. Some of the flooding was sparked by intense rainfall on the 12th, when Michigan locations such as Gaylord (3.56 inches), Houghton Lake (2.97 inches), and Alpena (2.24 inches) set calendar-day records for April. For Gaylord, it was also the wettest day at any time of year, surpassing 2.85 inches on September 24, 2010. Through the 18th, month-to-date rainfall climbed to 8.65 inches in Gaylord and 9.01 inches in Milwaukee, WI, setting April records in both locations. Elsewhere in Wisconsin, selected daily-record totals included 1.87 inches (on April 12) in Rhinelander and 2.13 inches (on April 13) in Wausau. Significant precipitation also fell in parts of the Northwest, where record-setting totals for April 12 included 0.97 inches in Baker City, OR, and 0.85 inches in Lewiston, ID. Another daily record occurred in Lewiston on April 13, when 0.52 inches fell. Downpours returned across the Great Lakes region on April 14, leading to daily-record amounts in Chicago, IL (2.43 inches); Grand Rapids, MI (1.92 inches); and Madison, WI (1.53 inches). For Chicago, it was the wettest April day since April 18, 2013, when 3.54 inches fell. Late in the week, precipitation again erupted from the southeastern Plains into the Midwest, resulting in record-setting rainfall totals for April 17, topping the 2-inch mark in Chanute, KS (2.85 inches); Columbia, MO (2.31 inches); and Joplin, MO (2.02 inches). Meanwhile in Utah, 48-snowfall totals ending April 17 included 6.9 inches in Alta and 2.0 inches at Deer Creek Dam. Much of Alaska experienced near-normal temperatures, although colder air returned across many interior locations as the week progressed. Some areas received snow, with Fairbanks measuring 4.1 inches on April 18-19. (During a very cold and mostly dry March, Fairbanks’ snowfall totaled just 3.3 inches.) Farther south, Hawaiian showers generally ended early in the week, followed by a period of warm, dry weather. However, due to earlier downpours, April 1-18 rainfall at the state’s major airport observation sites ranged from 1.52 inches (177 percent of normal) in Kahului, Maui, to 5.04 inches (371 percent) in Lihue, Kauai.
19-28: showers and thunderstorms continued to ease or eradicate drought in many areas along and east of a line from central Texas into eastern sections of Kansas and Nebraska. Some of the heaviest rain, accompanied by locally severe thunderstorms, fell from eastern parts of Texas and Oklahoma to the Mississippi Delta. Showers and thunderstorms also dotted the Midwest, although some of the region’s wettest areas in the Great Lakes region got a break from the excessive rain that had led to pockets of record flooding earlier in the month. Rain extended into parts of the Northeast.
From April 18-22, San Antonio, TX, netted rainfall totaling 6.04 inches, with the highest daily sum (4.42 inches) occurring on the 20th. Farther west, precipitation overspread northern and central California on April 21, with daily-record totals topping an inch in Madera (1.42 inches) and Stockton (1.19 inches). In the Northwest, record-setting precipitation totals for April 22 included 1.18 inches in Walla Walla, WA; 0.92 inches in Missoula, MT; 0.87 inches in Boise, ID; and 0.63 inches in Pendleton, OR. The 23rd was the second-wettest April day in Glasgow, MT, trailing only 3.21 inches on April 2, 1940. Both events resulted in snow in Glasgow: 14.1 inches on April 2, 1940, and 2.7 inches on April 23, 2026. By the 24th, showers and thunderstorms resulted in daily-record rainfall totals in locations such as Hot Springs, AR (1.71 inches), and Flint, MI (1.18 inches). On April 25, the nation’s first tornado-related fatality since March 10 occurred in Wise County, TX, where an EF-2 tornado struck the Runaway Bay community near Lake Bridgeport
However, a mid- to late-week moderation of temperatures across the Alaskan mainland was preceded and accompanied by widespread precipitation. Fairbanks received 6.3 inches of snow from April 18-21, followed by maximum temperatures rising to 50°F or higher each day starting April 23. In the Aleutians, stormy weather at Cold Bay on April 21 included a daily record rainfall of 0.92 inches and a peak wind gust of 65 mph.
Hawaii experienced another week of warm, mostly dry weather, following excessive storminess in March and early April. Despite recently quiet conditions, April 1-25 rainfall at the state’s major airport observation sites ranged from 1.52 inches (133 percent of normal) in Kahului, Maui, to 5.21 inches (299 percent) in Lihue, Kauai.
Apr. 26-May 2: Late-April precipitation in the West provided beneficial moisture but failed to reverse mostly bleak runoff prospects. Daily record rainfall amounts for April 26 reached 1.39 inches in Redding, CA, and 0.42 inches in Eureka, NV. Western precipitation lingered into April 27, when Tonopah, NV, netted a daily-record sum of 0.50 inches. Wet snow blanketed some areas, with April 26-27 snowfall totaling 11.7 inches in Alta, UT, and 4.4 inches in Lander, WY. Meanwhile, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms erupted across portions of the central and southern Plains, lower Midwest, and mid-South, mainly during the first half of the week. A tornado-related fatality occurred in Wise County, TX, on April 25. Additionally, a parade of daily rainfall records began with 2.03 inches in Joplin, MO, on April 26. By the 27th, daily records ranged from 2 to 4 inches in locations such as Springfield, IL (3.62 inches); Kansas City, MO (3.21 inches); Topeka, KS (2.78 inches); and Lincoln, IL (2.70 inches). Lincoln’s precipitation included some hail. On April 28, downpours spread into the South, where daily-record totals reached 3.49 inches in Memphis, TN; 3.32 inches in Tupelo, MS; and 2.66 inches in Muscle Shoals, AL. Subsequently, additional rounds of rain mainly affected the South and East. On April 29, daily-record totals included 1.43 inches in Charleston, WV, and 0.95 inches in Massena, NY. Two days later, on May 1, rain in the western and central Gulf Coast States resulted in daily records in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX (2.74 inches), and New Orleans, LA (2.34 inches). At week’s end, heavy showers across the lower Southeast led to daily-record totals for May 2 in Alma, GA (2.32 inches), and Tallahassee, FL (1.83 inches). However, Tallahassee’s rain followed its driest September-April period on record, with only 11.95 inches of precipitation (previously, 17.47 inches from September 1933 – April 1934).
Daily record precipitation totals were observed in several Alaskan locations, including Anchorage (0.56 inch on April 28) and Sitka (1.31 inches on April 29). Fairbanks reported a high temperature of 50°F or greater on 7 of the last 8 days of April (all but the 29th), helping to reduce the daybreak snow depth from 17 to 4 inches between April 23 and 30. Additional warmth in early May lowered Fairbanks’ snow depth to a trace by the morning of May 3. Farther south, showery weather returned across many of Hawaii’s windward locations. On the Big Island, Hilo received 2.79 inches of rain during the last 4 days of April, followed by 3.67 inches during the first 3 days of May.
Jim Munley
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Twitter: @Munleyj
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