Where are all the tornadoes? Lack of twisters has been record-setting in U.S.
Where are all the tornadoes?
“The U.S. is having an incredibly quiet tornado season — so far,” the National Weather Service said in a report issued at the beginning of June.
“As seasons change, spring can often bring violent, deadly tornadoes to the central United States,” according to the service's Storm Prediction Center. “But this year has been different, with a record-breaking lull in tornado activity and a corresponding drop in tornado deaths.”
In Wisconsin, tornado season tends to ramp up this time of year. June is typically the month when the most tornadoes occur, followed by July.
In the 170 years from 1844-2014, roughly half of all the recorded tornadoes in the state occurred in June and July, according to data from the weather service's Green Bay office.
What you should know about tornadoes. Wochit
According to the SPC report, during the first five months of 2018, three people have died in tornadoes in the U.S. That's “well below the historical average of 38 deaths for that period and a record low number over the past 12 months,” the report said.
The weather service has tallied 431 eyewitness tornado reports as of May 31, a little more than half of the average at this time of year.
Two of those tornadoes were recorded in the southern half of Wisconsin on May 9:
- Near Richfield in Washington County: An EF0 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 80 mph caused damage to trees with “minimal structural damage observed,” according to a weather service damage survey. The tornado was on the ground for 5.27 miles and had a maximum width of 50 yards. No injuries were reported.
- Near Fennimore in Grant County: An EF0 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 75 mph resulted in windows being blown out of a house, damage to a machine shed and a barn and tree damage. The tornado was on the ground for 1.5 miles and had a maximum width of 70 yards, according to the Grant County Emergency Management office and the weather service’s office in La Crosse.
Those tornadoes are considered “weak” on the EF damage scale, which fits with the pattern across the U.S. so far this year.
RELATED: Wisconsin tornado database
For this year’s tornadoes as of June 1, “only three have been rated as the more violent and deadly type, EF3, and none have been rated higher (EF4 or EF5) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale,” according to the Storm Prediction Center report.
“More than 85 percent of tornado deaths occur in tornadoes rated EF3 or stronger,” according to the SPC. “Incredibly the U.S. went a record 305 days, from May 17, 2017, to March 18, 2018, with no EF3 or stronger tornadoes.”
So, what is going on?
“Why the nation has experienced so few this year is not clear, although researchers are searching for clues,” the Storm Prediction Center says.
In Wisconsin, did the unusually cold spring — Wisconsin was hit with a blizzard in mid-April — have anything to do with what is happening?
"Our temperatures this spring were actually right at normal. April was below normal, but then May was very much above normal, which balanced it out," Tim Halbach, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Sullivan, said in an email.
"Having the humid air masses in place is what has been lacking, which tend to provide thunderstorms with the moisture needed to develop," Halbach said.
And, "Some of it has just been timing with when storm systems move through," he said.
However, the lack of big storms is no reason for anyone to drop their guard.
"It’s important to remember that tornadoes can happen any time when conditions are right," the weather service says. "Everyone should develop a safety plan, monitor your local forecast, and heed tornado watches and warnings."
"Be prepared to take immediate action because mere minutes can make a difference whether you can get to safe shelter or not," according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Added Halbach: "There is plenty of time for severe weather to occur and at some point it will.
"The season has barely begun, but all it takes is one event for it to be a bad year."
An outbreak of severe weather is forecast across a large portion of the Plains and Midwest on Monday.
A tornado watch has been issued until 11 p.m. Central time Monday for western Iowa, eastern Nebraska and small portions of northwest Missouri, southwest Minnesota and southeast South Dakota.
The Storm Prediction Center says "a few tornadoes (are) likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible," in the watch area. Large hail and high winds are also possible, forecasters say.