March tornadoes racked up $1.1 Billion in insured losses
Severe weather in the U.S., led by tornadoes in the Midwest and Tennessee Valley, caused more than $1.2 billion of insured losses in March, according to Aon Corp. AON, the world’s biggest insurance broker.Insurers reported more than 170,000 claims tied to storms from March 2 and 3, London-based Aon said in a report today. The [...]
Michigan tornado set record for farthest north
Three reported tornadoes tore through southeastern Michigan Thursday, destroying 13 homes and leaving 105 houses significantly damaged, while downing power lines, sparking fires and flooding streets in Dexter, Mich. Sheriff’s spokesman Derrick Jackson said there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities. A tornado touchdown was reported in Dexter and the surrounding area northwest [...]
Michigan hit by earliest ever EF3 tornado
Prior to yesterday, there were only sixteen tornadoes on record in Michigan that occurred before March 16, going back to 1950. In a remarkably short half-hour period, a severe thunderstorm sprang up west of Ann Arbor, began spinning, and dropped a strong tornado down on the unfortunate town of Dexter, Michigan. The tornado skipped along [...]
Warm winter helped fuel tornado outbreak
The USA‘s freakishly warm winter may have played a role in the ferocity of last week’s early-season tornado outbreaks. “This year’s unusually mild winter has led to ocean temperatures across the Gulf of Mexico that are approximately 1 degrees C (1.8 degrees F) above average,” says meteorologist Jeff Masters of the Weather Underground. This places [...]
Early season tornadoes breaking records
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged 81 preliminary tornado reports from yesterday’s outbreak as of noon today. These preliminary reports are typically over-counted by 15%, but more delayed reports will likely come in today, and the total number of tornadoes from the outbreak will probably be in the 80 to 90 range. This would put the [...]
First ever February Tornadoes in Nebraska
A late winter storm brought severe weather to western and central Nebraska Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, including the first-ever tornadoes in the state during the month of February since records have been kept. A fairly weak tornado touched down in an open field southwest of Stapleton Tuesday night. It traveled two miles on the [...]
2nd deadliest day for U.S. tornadoes since last May
Yesterday was the deadliest day for U.S. tornadoes since May 24, 2011, when 18 people died in a Midwest tornado outbreak–part of the five-day outbreak that brought the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947, the May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado, which killed 158 people and injured 1150. The preliminary tornado total from February 28 – [...]
NOAA: January tornado outbreak most prolific ever
In Louisville KY, yesterday was most prolific January tornado outbreak ever recorded. https://twitter.com/#!/JustinNOAA
Two studies report on link between tornadoes and climate change
Two separate studies in 2007 reported that global warming could bring a dramatic increase in the frequency of weather conditions that feed severe thunderstorms and tornadoes by the end of the 21st century. One study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that locations could see as much as a 100% increase [...]
