CHAOS. Were you aware that it is a fact that the U.S. has the world’s most wild weather extremes? Most catastrophic events like heat waves, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts or torrential rainfall seem to happen as the seasons change — making spring the year’s wildest season.

And crazy weather patterns are not just an inconvenience, they often cause a number of fatalities. According to these statistics from the National Weather Service, heat waves top the charts as the most deadly extreme weather, claiming an average of 130 lives per year; flood casualties are nothing to scoff at either claiming an average of 81 people a year; closely linked in danger are tornados claiming an average of 70 lives per year; annual hurricanes and lightning victims average around 46 to 48 people; and the other extreme weather events, not listed, claim only a few victims each year.

According to weather.com, the wild spring weather occurs due to a battle between warmer air attempting to push further northward while the last of the winter’s cold plunges southward out of Canada. The weather.com article goes on to explain the five reasons which are responsible for making spring the most dynamic of the four seasons: