Tornado Count Up Over 275% Norm for Jan-Mar. 2008
Holly Deyo
April 6, 2008
Holly Deyo
Normally we see about 1000 tornadoes a year. During 2007, 1,300 twisters ripped through the U.S. This barrage of unrelenting windstorms plagued the Midwest and rampaged eastward. Then something new happened: an unheard of twister barreled across Brooklyn, NY.
This year, in a single February night, 68 tornadoes roared through Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. At least 58 people died: 32 in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, 7 in Kentucky and 6 in Alabama. This tornado outbreak was the nation's worst in more than two decades when 76 people were killed in Pennsylvania and Ohio on May 31, 1985. May, not February. The death toll ranks among the top 15 from tornado outbreaks since 1950. Again, this is tornado off-season.
This very out-of-character wild weather has prompted scientists to ask if January is the new March.
January 2008 - when it's supposed to be snowing - an unbelievable 136 tornadoes wrecked terrible damage. January usually sees about 34 twisters.
In February, typically one of the quietest months for twisters; 232 hit the U.S. in those 29 days, Though tornadoes can strike at any time of the year, the heart of the season is April through June.
Here we are in early April. The National Weather Service has not updated the count yet, but at least another 10 tornados struck the central southeast with 5 in central Mississippi and one in Arkansas, where 47,000 customers lost power.
516 tornadoes slamming the U.S. in the first 3 months show 2008 is going to be a rough year. This is an increase of 276% over the norm.
The bottom graph starkly illustrates 2008's sharp start to twister events.
URL: http://standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Earth_Changes/080406.tornado.count.html
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