GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

MAY 2026

UNITED STATES

Powerful storms that included at least three confirmed tornadoes tore through parts of Mississippi, damaging nearly 500 homes, tearing up trees, and downing power lines, authorities said on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of deaths from the storms that struck several counties on Wednesday night. At least 17 people were injured, according to Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. He said 12 of those hurt were transported from the Wash Trailer Park in the small community of Bogue Chitto in Lincoln County. “I was just watching TikTok on my bed and thought it was thunder. I went to my living room. I went back to my room, and the room’s gone,” resident Max Mahaffey told WAPT-TV. He said he wasn’t injured, but his grandmother hurt her ankle, and some of his neighbors suffered cuts and bruises. “We know there were at least three tornadoes,” said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Jackson.

More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.  The wind-driven Sandy fire was reported on Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48km) north-west of Los Angeles.  By Tuesday evening, the fire had consumed about 1,698 acres (683 hectares) and destroyed at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30mph (48km/h), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said a department spokesperson, Andrew Dowd. “We’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,” Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.

METERRAINEAN

Greece and Turkey have found themselves in the grip of a late-season cold spell this weekend. Conditions will persist over the next few days as an area of low pressure situated over Turkey is pulling in colder, moisture-laden air from the north-east via the Black Sea; this meteorological setup has suppressed temperatures well below where they should be for the time of year. Away from the Mediterranean coast, much of Turkey struggled to reach double figures, which is around 10 °C below the average, while Greece saw a similar chill. In Athens, temperatures only crept into the low teens Celsius, a far cry from the mid-20s typically expected in early May. But they haven’t just faced colder temperatures. Greece had gale-force winds whipping through the islands in the South Aegean – gusting at around 60mph on Sunday evening, and the unsettled weather has brought a surge of heavy rain to Turkey. The Central Anatolia region of Turkey would normally see about 50mm of rainfall across the entire month of May, but on Sunday had already seen many areas pick up half that total in just 24 hours. With colder air in place, higher elevations have even seen a return to winter, with up to 30cm of fresh snow forecast across the Anti-Taurus Mountains on Monday and Tuesday. In Ankara, temperatures on Monday were expected to peak at just 7C – nearly 14C below average – before slowly edging back towards normal by the weekend.

EUROPE

The number of water-related deaths during the UK’s recent heatwave has risen to 11 after the bodies of two teenage boys were recovered in Kent and Oxford.  Emergency workers recovered the body of a 14-year-old boy from the River Thames near Donnington Bridge, Oxford, at about 5.30 pm on Wednesday. Thames Valley police said the boy’s family had been informed and that his death was being treated as “unexplained but not suspicious”. The body of the other boy was recovered from a pond in Swanscombe, Kent. His death was also not being treated as suspicious. There have been several similar deaths thought to be linked to outdoor swimming in the record-breaking heatwave, during which temperatures climbed to 35.1 °C, in west London, on Tuesday. The Royal Life Saving Society UK has issued a plea for members of the public to “stop and think” before getting into the water. “Warmer weather, unfortunately, sees an increase in accidental drownings,” it said.  The hot weather is expected to continue in the coming days, before easing over the weekend, according to the Met Office. A yellow heat health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for eastern and south-east England and London, running from 4 pm on Thursday until 8 pm on Saturday. The UKHSA said it meant water-related incidents could increase, and warned of the risks from cold-water shock and drowning.

Seven people have died in France in an extreme early summer heat event affecting a swathe of western Europe, with record high temperatures for May recorded for a second day in several countries. In France, which logged its hottest ever May day on Monday and again on Tuesday, the weather agency Météo France said the heatwave could last through the week and predicted temperatures could reach 39C in some areas. “What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat,” the French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told TF1 television, adding that five of the deaths had been by drowning. The UK also reported its hottest ever day for May, at 35C near London, breaking a record of 33.5C set on Monday, as a high-pressure system trapped warm air over western Europe.

ASIA

Heavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides, and waterlogging. The slow-moving band of rainfall spanned 620 miles (1,000km) and travelled eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was formed from the convergence of multiple bands of rain originating from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.  Given the accompanying low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui in 24 hours, and 95mm on the island of Hainan. Twelve people have died because of the flooding, and hundreds of residents have been evacuated by emergency services. There were major travel disruptions, electricity outages, and school and business closures. Social media posts showed submerged cars and people fishing along flooded streets.