Ticker for May 12, 2008

                
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May 12, 2008       May 12, 2008       May 12, 2008       May 12, 2008



Some Tornado Facts

A horrible weather weekend for the state, reminding us of what is
valuable and what is left to accomplish in the connections between
our science and our communities.

Several Ticker readers have asked if there have been more tornadoes
than usual. The answer, like many answers in weather and climate,
is both yes and no.

If it seems like there has been more tornado coverage in the news this
year, there is a good reason. Nationally, tornado reports are up
dramatically.

According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there have been 910
reported tornadoes so far across the country. This is compared to 1300
reports during all of last year, and about 1100 in 2006. The 2008
number is colossally ahead of recent years:


(from the Storm Prediction Center)

Much of the dramatic increase in reports comes from outbreaks along
the Lower Mississippi Valley. Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas have
seen a spike in tornado occurrences this year.

However, in Oklahoma, our total of 29 reports is pretty much consistent
with the long-term average:



The major difference, of course, has to do with the loss of lives,
which no statistic can adequately capture.