The 2017 tornado season across the United States has gotten off to an active start. As of April 22, 570 tornadoes have been reported, which is almost a hundred more than average.
Using a combination of observations and models, NOAA-funded scientists have found a small but significant “advanced warning” signal for heightened summer tornado activity in the U.S.: warmer-than-average water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico
Currently, the risk of regional-scale tornado outbreaks is predictable only about 7 days in advance. But NOAA scientists report that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific may provide a month or more of advance warning of an elevated risk for tornado outbreaks.
Quiet March in Tornado Alley
April 7, 2015
What began as an ordinary Sunday on August 21, 2011, became anything but ordinary for residents of Goderich, Ontario, as an EF-3 tornado (winds between 136-165 mph) ripped through their historic town.
With 28 events, 2023 easily surpassed 2020 as the year with the most billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. The preliminary price tag is at least $92.9 billion.