The Sandy Fire, discovered at around 10:50 local time (LT) on May 18, 2026, has burned more than 526 ha (1 300 acres) across Simi Valley in Ventura County, California, forcing mandatory evacuations for more than 10 000 homes and triggering warnings for thousands more as firefighters battle rapid fire spread driven by dry and windy conditions.
A record-breaking wildfire burning on California’s Santa Rosa Island has scorched more than 5 900 ha (14 600 acres) and continues to threaten rare Torrey pine trees, endangered plant species, and historic structures.
At least 25 tornadoes were reported across four states in the central United States on May 17, 2026, with widespread damage being reported in parts of Iowa and Nebraska.
A State of Disaster Emergency has been declared for the state of Colorado due to the rapidly growing Sharpe Fire that has scorched 11 400 ha (28 000 acres). Mandatory evacuations were issued for Campo and surrounding rural areas in southeastern Colorado after the Sharpe Fire crossed from Oklahoma under critical fire weather conditions on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Severe thunderstorms produced dust storm conditions along I-70 in northwestern Kansas on May 16–17, 2026, with the NWS Goodland warning of areas of near-zero visibility in blowing dirt and KDOT reporting an I-70 closure between Colby and Oakley due to blowing dust and crashes.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) placed portions of central and northeastern Kansas into far southeastern Nebraska under a Moderate Risk for severe thunderstorms on Monday, May 18, 2026. Supercells are forecast to produce all severe hazards, including 5–10+ cm (2–4+ inches) hail and strong to intense tornadoes, mainly from central Kansas into southeastern Nebraska.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) placed 80 780 km² (31 190 mi²) of the southern High Plains under an Extremely Critical fire-weather outlook for Sunday, May 17, 2026, warning that dangerous wildfire spread conditions are expected across extreme eastern New Mexico, the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, extreme southeastern Colorado, and far southwestern Kansas.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) placed parts of the Central Plains under an Enhanced Risk of severe thunderstorms on Saturday, May 16, 2026, and parts of the Central Plains and Upper Midwest under Enhanced Risk on Sunday, with large to very large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes forecast across the two-day period.
Exceptional drought (D4) has returned to parts of the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma for the first time since July 2023, according to the National Weather Service Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC). Drought conditions continue worsening across large parts of the Southern Plains following one of the driest and warmest starts to spring on record. Extreme Drought (D3) conditions are already affecting 36% of the Arkansas-Red Basin, while forecasters warned that very dry conditions are expected to persist across western portions of the region.
Dry lightning, severe outflow winds, single-digit to teen relative humidity, and receptive fuels created Critical fire weather conditions across parts of the Plains and southern High Plains on May 15, 2026.
