Tornado season has arrived in the Midwest! But you might be thinking to yourself, what does that even mean? According to NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. Tornados have been recorded in every continent, excluding Antarctica, they have also been recorded in all 50 U.S states! The most common time for tornadoes to occur is spring and summer, specifically April-July. However, tornadoes are very unpredictable and can occur during any time, day, month, season, or place. On December 10^th, 2021, a large tornado outbreak occurred, even affecting us here in Edwardsville Illinois. 8^th grader Daisy Stamper was directly affected by this outbreak. The large storm caused a tree to fall on top of her family home in Holiday Shores, Illinois. Stamper says, “We had to spend the whole summer rebuilding.” What was unusual about this outbreak is that it occurred in the late-season and is even regarded as the deadliest recorded tornado outbreak in the month of December! Tornados really can happen whenever and wherever, remember to stay safe, even when you are playing in the snow next winter!