It is time to batten down the hatches. Quite literally.

April marks peak tornado season. With an already active storm season in place, meteorologists are reminding everyone to stay weather aware.

As the cold of winter and the warmth of summer literally smash into each other in the atmosphere, the interaction of those air masses creates weather dynamics that have the potential to produce severe weather.

"There's nothing atmospherically special that is happening that time of year that causes so many storms," said Don Shepherd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile. "It's just the timing of the systems as they move across and the transition between winter and spring."

This year, however, the weeks preceding peak tornado season have been anything but quiet.

In 11 out of the last 13 weeks, severe weather has occurred somewhere across the U.S. mainland, and more severe storms may return this weekend.

In January and February, there were 178 confirmed tornadoes in the U.S., the fourth most in recorded history, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. March has remained active and is likely to remain above normal in terms of tornadoes. Preliminary data show 296 tornado reports through March 26, which is the highest since 2017.

In Alabama, there were 29 tornadoes in January and five in March.

Eleven of those were rated as EF0, and 14 were rated EF1. An EF1 tornado is capable of peeling roofs off of buildings and reaching speeds of 112 miles per hour.

Eight tornadoes that struck Alabama this year were rated EF2, and one was EF3. An EF2 tornado can reach speeds of up to 157 mph, and an EF3 is considered a severe storm with speeds of up to 206 mph.

For comparison, Hurricane Sally's peak intensity was 110 mph when it made landfall in Gulf Shores in 2020. Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast at 174 mph.

The bulk of the storms this year have stomped across the northern part of the state, near Birmingham and above. Three were recorded in the region that includes Baldwin and Mobile counties. On Jan. 12, a string of severe weather moved across the southeast, spinning tornadoes across Alabama. An EF2 tornado caused widespread damage in Selma.

There have been more than 20 injuries across the state and eight deaths attributed to tornadoes this year.

Shepherd said as the season peak approaches, meteorologists are reminding people to take weather warnings seriously, even if the skies look clear where they are standing.

"You most likely are not going to see them coming," Shepherd said of tornadoes. "The storm is rotating in the atmosphere, and at any time they can drop a tornado to the ground. Here we have lots of hills and trees, and you're not going to see it at a distance like you would in many of the plains states."

Severe weather is especially dangerous at night, he said.

A powerful tornado tore through Rolling Fork, Mississippi, overnight last week and killed 26 people. Dozens more were killed and injured in neighboring communities as the storm system moved across the southeast.

There is nothing that causes more storms to form overnight, Shepherd said. Rather it is just the unlucky timing of when the system moves into an area. Nighttime severe weather is especially deadly because many people are already asleep and unaware of what is happening.

Shepherd said they encourage people to know the weather forecast and be aware of threats. And stay awake until it is over.

"Any time a warning or watch is given," he said, "it really should be taken more seriously than most people take it."