Part 1: Lightning Strike Safety

While hail, wind, and tornadoes are often the first thoughts when it comes to thunderstorms, lightning can prove to be dangerous as well. Meteorologist Aidan Cera breaks down the dangers of lightning, and how you can be safe during storms.

Part 2: Tornado Safety and a Look Back at the Rudd Tornadoes of 2021

Tornadoes are one of the most notorious forms of severe weather, and while they are more often associated with states to our south, they are plenty capable of happening here as they are anywhere else cross the central U.S. Meteorologist Randy Brock gives some tornado safety tips while also looking back on the tornadoes that occurred nearly five years ago in Rudd, Iowa.

Part 3: Flood Safety and the Devastating Flooding of 2024

While tornadoes cause a fair share of damage, there is another form of severe weather associated with thunderstorms that can cause more widespread damage. Meteorologist Randy Brock discusses the dangers of flooding while looking back at some of the devastating flooding we saw just last year in 2024.

Part 4: Extreme Heat Safety

Not all warm season severe weather comes from thunderstorms. Heat also poses a risk that ends up being more deadly than even flooding and tornadoes. Extreme heat is estimated to be responsible for taking the lives of over 1000 people every year in the U.S., making it the most dangerous form of severe weather in the country.

Part 5: NWS Watches and Warnings

How do we know when severe weather will take place, and more importantly, who issues the watches and warnings we receive when severe weather comes knocking? Meteorologist Aidan Cera breaks it all down.

Part 6: How the NWS Crafts Its Radar Images

Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings are something we are all familiar with, but how does the National Weather Service craft its radar images for those warnings? Meteorologist Aidan Cera sat down with a NWS meteorologist to learn more.

Part 7: NWS Weather Spotters

The National Weather Service needs your help with reporting any severe weather you see. It holds local storm spotter classes both in person and online throughout the month of April to teach people things like how to spot a funnel cloud, how to report a tornado on the ground, and how to call in wind, tornado and hail damage.

Part 8: How Local Officials Make Sure You Stay Safe During Severe Weather

We are all familiar with the storm sirens letting us know when severe weather has made its way into our are, but who is in charge of when and where those sirens sound? Meteorologist Brandon Marshall finds out by talking to Olmsted County Emergency Management.

Severe weather can happen at any time, but across southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, the severe weather season typically is March through October. Knowing the correct terminology the ABC 6 Weather First Meteorologists use during times of severe weather can help keep you and your family safe and it all starts with a safety plan. Click below for more.

The Ultimate Severe Weather Guide

Weather Myths and Facts

Weather is an art and science surrounded by mathematical equations of the atmosphere. Like any other science, it is encompassed by hundreds, if not thousands of myths. There a few myths and facts below you may or may not have heard of.

Weather First »

Cool, cloudy Friday with spotty showers possible

Cool weekend ahead with Easter Sunday showers possible

Mild weather with precipitation chances into next week