TL;DR

13 tornadoes were reported across four states on May 22, 2026. An EF-1 tornado struck eastern Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, with winds up to 95 mph. Texas saw at least nine landspouts, mostly in the Panhandle. Brief tornadoes also touched down in Iowa and Nebraska. The event also produced 29 hail reports and 56 wind reports across the South and Plains.

What happened on Friday

The National Weather Service received 13 tornado reports spanning Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas on May 22, according to preliminary storm reports compiled by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

The most significant tornado was an EF-1 that touched down in eastern Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, at 1713 UTC (12:13 PM CDT). The NWS Birmingham office confirmed the tornado tracked for 2.65 miles with a maximum width of 150 yards and peak winds of 95 mph.

Texas accounted for the majority of tornado reports, with at least nine documented touchdowns. Most were landspouts—short-lived tornadoes that form along boundaries without the classic supercell structure. The NWS Lubbock office received multiple reports from storm spotters and chasers documenting these brief tornadoes across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains between 2125 and 2326 UTC (4:25 PM to 6:26 PM CDT).

Iowa and Nebraska each recorded one brief tornado. A very brief touchdown near Oto, Iowa, was documented via two independent photographs at 2216 UTC. In Nebraska, a trained spotter photographed a brief tornado touching down near Murray at 2244 UTC.

Where the tornadoes touched down

Alabama

The confirmed EF-1 tornado struck 3 miles north of Vance in eastern Tuscaloosa County. The Birmingham NWS office noted the tornado produced winds up to 95 mph along its 2.65-mile path. A second tornado was indicated by a tornado debris signature on KBMX radar at 1716 UTC, 4 miles south-southwest of Abernant, though ground confirmation details were not available in preliminary reports.

Texas

The Texas tornadoes were concentrated in two regions: the Panhandle and the South Plains. Locations included:

  • 5 WSW Grassland (2125 UTC)
  • 3 SE Plainview (2202 UTC)
  • 6 S Lazbuddie (2227 UTC)
  • 3 W Spade (2234 UTC)
  • 3 N Earth (2242 UTC)
  • Edmonson (2309 UTC)
  • 3 NE Hart (2309 UTC)
  • 1 SW Fluvanna (2311 UTC)
  • 6 NNW Abernathy (2326 UTC)

The NWS Lubbock office noted multiple reports from chasers documenting landspouts, with one near Fluvanna lasting approximately seven minutes. The final report of the day described "multiple reports of a dusty tornado" northwest of Abernathy.

Iowa and Nebraska

Both states saw single, brief tornadoes. The Iowa tornado touched down 3 miles north-northeast of Oto at 2216 UTC, documented by two independent photographers. Nebraska's tornado occurred 1 mile east of Murray at 2244 UTC, supported by a trained spotter's photograph.

Hail and wind damage

The same storm systems produced significant hail and wind damage, particularly across Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia.

Hail

29 hail reports were filed, with the largest hailstone measuring 2.50 inches (tennis ball size) reported 10 miles southwest of Aiken, Texas, at 2310 UTC. The Lubbock area saw multiple reports of hail between 1.00 and 2.50 inches during the evening hours. Other notable hail reports included:

  • 2.18 inches measured 6 miles north-northwest of Petersburg, Texas
  • 2.25 inches (hen egg size) 10 miles southwest of Aiken, Texas
  • 1.75 inches in multiple locations across the South Plains

Wind damage

56 wind reports were documented, concentrated in Alabama and Georgia. The strongest measured wind gust was 68 mph at Greenwood County Airport (KGRD) in South Carolina at 1927 UTC.

Alabama saw widespread tree damage, particularly in Cullman and Morgan counties. The NWS Huntsville office documented multiple trees down blocking roadways, damage to mobile homes, and a barn destroyed near Baileyton. One report noted "100 year old trees down on house" along County Road 1684.

Georgia's wind damage was focused in the southwestern part of the state, with Lee, Worth, and Tift counties reporting numerous downed trees. The NWS Tallahassee office received reports of trees down on power lines and blocking roadways.

Context: late May severe weather

This event continues an active severe weather pattern across the central and southern United States. VORTEX blog records show this is the fourth consecutive day with multiple tornado reports, following 10 tornadoes on May 21, a brief tornado in West Texas on May 19, and 13 tornadoes across the Midwest on May 18.

Late May typically sees the peak of tornado season shifting northward from the traditional Tornado Alley states into the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains. Friday's event showed a more scattered pattern, with activity spanning from the Southeast to the High Plains—a setup more typical of transitional periods when multiple smaller-scale boundaries can trigger isolated severe storms rather than a single organized outbreak.

The prevalence of landspouts in the Texas reports is notable. These tornadoes form along surface boundaries like outflow boundaries or drylines when strong heating creates steep low-level temperature gradients. Unlike mesocyclone tornadoes that form in rotating supercells, landspouts typically form quickly, remain weak, and dissipate within minutes. The NWS Lubbock office's repeated use of the "[Landspout]" tag in storm reports reflects this distinction.

What's next

The Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 outlook for May 23 maintains a Marginal Risk across portions of the Southern Plains, Gulf Coast, Southeast, and Ohio. Isolated severe thunderstorms remain possible, though no organized severe weather outbreak is forecast.

Residents in areas with ongoing severe weather potential should monitor local NWS forecasts and have multiple ways to receive warnings. Tornado warnings can be issued with little lead time, particularly for brief tornadoes like those seen Friday in Iowa and Nebraska.

For those in areas prone to nighttime severe weather, consider that third-party weather apps are silenced by Do Not Disturb, though Wireless Emergency Alerts for tornado warnings still break through on most phones by default. Having a backup alerting method ensures you won't sleep through a warning.

VORTEX is a free web app at vortexintel.app that monitors severe weather nationwide. Pro ($4.99/month) places phone calls to your phone when a tornado or flash flood warning is issued for a location you care about — calls can ring through Do Not Disturb once you enable Emergency Bypass for the number, unlike most third-party app notifications.