{"690316":{"#nid":"690316","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Why Georgia\u2019s Severe Weather Season Has Been Unusually Quiet","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe peak of the severe weather season is nearing its end, but in Georgia, it\u0027s been a quieter period than residents have become accustomed to in years past, devoid of the flurry of tornado warnings, heavy rain bands, and thunderstorms. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/handlos.eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences degree program, explains that the region lacked a major component of the severe weather formula. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor an active season, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/pcZn3dGWQ-U?si=dz8s_PXnW44Eq8_l\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efour key ingredients typically exist\u003C\/a\u003E:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E1. Moisture\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E2. A mechanism to lift air upward\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E3. Instability\u003Cbr\u003E4. Wind Shear\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/droughtmonitor.unl.edu\/CurrentMap\/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?GA\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Edrought conditions\u003C\/a\u003E persisting throughout the state, there is sufficient moisture in the air, carried by warm air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, to create favorable conditions for severe weather. Instability is created as the air warms, and wind shear is created by the changing direction and speed of the wind. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Handlos, what was missing this season was a consistent lifting mechanism.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve been stuck with high-pressure systems for most of the season. The air in these systems spirals clockwise instead of counterclockwise and spins away from the center, causing the air above it to sink, which in turn suppresses or shuts off any cloud or precipitation formation. So, even if all the other factors aligned, there would\u0027ve been nothing to lift that air into creating those storms,\u0022 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp lang=\u0022EN-US\u0022\u003EThe lingering high-pressure systems over Georgia are the result of the state\u2019s location relative to the jet stream, which Handlos describes as an interstate highway for storms. The jet stream is a fast current of air above the Earth\u0027s surface that brings storm activity with its movement. This season, the stream moved through the Midwest, resulting in record precipitation in the region, while a drought rages on in the Southeast. As of May 4, Illinois had confirmed \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/severe-weather\/this-state-leads-the-nation-for-tornado-reports-in-2026\/1887912\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E119 tornadoes\u003C\/a\u003E in 2026, which began with a historically busy early season.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If you didn\u0027t pay attention to any other part of the country (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/jan\/2026tornadoinfo\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eoutside of Mississippi recently\u003C\/a\u003E), you\u0027d think it was the most boring severe weather season because there was very little activity in Georgia.But if you live along that jet stream line between Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, and southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and southern Michigan, that has been the active area of severe weather.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile it has been a uniquely quiet season in Georgia, Handlos says that as it ends, the region can expect a typical summer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022No matter if it\u0027s an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.climate.gov\/media\/14483\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEl Ni\u00f1o or La Ni\u00f1a\u003C\/a\u003E or neither, the quintessential Atlanta summer is one where, most days, you wake up, and it\u0027s warm and humid out in the morning with clear skies. Then, it\u0027s hot and just awful in the afternoon before you start to see the puffy cumulonimbus clouds pop up, and sometimes you get hit with a thunderstorm. For what feels like about three straight months, if you live here, you don\u0027t even need to look at the weather forecast to know what the weather will be like outside here until we get to the fall,\u201d he said. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA quiet spring season could be a precursor to a brewing \u201csuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d at summer\u0027s end, experts predict. The potential pattern could cause a drastic rise in sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, and the disruption of weather systems could increase the likelihood of precipitation and severe weather in the Southeast. The increased precipitation could be a welcome sight for the region, lessening drought concerns and reducing the likelihood of wildfires. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"full_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A missing component of the severe weather formula led to quiet season in the Southeast. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA missing component of the severe weather formula led to quiet season in the Southeast.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A missing component of the severe weather formula led to quiet season in the Southeast. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2026-05-15 16:32:19","changed_gmt":"2026-05-15 19:10:27","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680292":{"id":"680292","type":"image","title":"Radar Image Over Georgia","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA 2010 storm system moving eastward, which brought severe weather to the Atlanta region. Image credit: NOAA NESDIS Environmental Visualization Laboratory; NOAA GOES-13 Satellite\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1778871863","gmt_created":"2026-05-15 19:04:23","changed":"1778871863","gmt_changed":"2026-05-15 19:04:23","alt":"Weather Radar","file":{"fid":"264539","name":"pl23_spac0590.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/15\/pl23_spac0590.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/15\/pl23_spac0590.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1014121,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/15\/pl23_spac0590.jpg?itok=ZPLGa4DP"}}},"media_ids":["680292"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"169297","name":"severe weather"},{"id":"2621","name":"radar"},{"id":"61541","name":"Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}