Fuelled by unusually hot water in the Gulf, a monster hurricane batters Florida. Storm chasers Max and Aaron document the incredible coastal storm surge, but as Hurricane Helene tears inland, it collides with the peaks of North Carolina, causing a one-in-a-thousand-year weather event impacting the Blue Ridge Mountains' communities forever.

A heat dome, a powerful weather phenomenon, creates perfect conditions for wildfires as firefighters struggle to cope. In north-east Portugal Sophie drives through intense flames to save her family from a devastating wildfire. Rui, a Portuguese firefighter breaks protocol to cross the border to save a Spanish village in danger of being engulfed.

On April 27, 2011, a record 62 tornadoes rip through Alabama during the United States' largest ever tornado super outbreak. But one, in Tuscaloosa, proves especially deadly. This tornado is on the ground for 90 minutes, leaving a trail of destruction 80 miles long, as weather reporter Richard desperately tries to get residents to take cover.