Unusual Tornado Outbreak Taking Place in the United States: A Closer Look
A series of tornadoes have been wreaking havoc in the US, with at least one recorded every day since April 25 in Salt Lake City. This has led to a two-weeklong streak that has seen hundreds of these twisters.
Typically, April and May are the busiest months for tornadoes in the US (which is considered Earth's tornado hotspot), but the recent streak has been particularly exceptional. Before the streak began, the US was lagging behind in terms of tornado count. However, with around 300 reported tornadoes, the country has now surpassed the usual levels.
Experts assessing the reports and damage from each tornado have so far confirmed over 200 of them during this stretch.
One particularly busy day for tornadoes was April 26, where a third of all the reported instances occurred, mostly in the Plains region. On that day, there were 62 confirmed tornadoes, including some powerful EF3s that caused devastation in Nebraska and Iowa, which resulted in one death.
Over 100 tornadoes hit the Heartland at the beginning of the streak, causing a billion dollars' worth of damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rest of April saw an unusually high number of tornadoes, with more than 300 hitting more than a dozen states east of the Rockies, making it the second-most tornadoes ever recorded in a month.
Several locations have been hit or threatened by tornadoes more than once during this streak. Barnsdall, Oklahoma, is the most glaring example of this. A town that endured an EF1 tornado on April 1 was hit again a month later by an EF4 tornado with winds of 165 to 175 mph. This resulted in significant property damage and at least one fatality.
While EF4 and EF5 tornadoes (which are incredibly rare and deadly) are not unheard of, this streak has seen two of them. The first occurred in Marietta, Oklahoma, on April 27, killing one person and marking the first EF4 tornado in the US in over a year.
The month of May also contributed its share to the streak, with a rare Level 5 of 5 high risk for severe weather on May 6. This resulted in the Barnsdall EF4 and the first of four tornado emergencies that week, including the first-ever one in Michigan.
The streak continued for 15 consecutive days when a tornado was spotted in southern Georgia in the afternoon of Thursday. A Level 3 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms stretching across more than 21 million people in the South on that day brought more chances for tornadoes.
The threats from tornadoes decrease on Friday and Saturday, but enough dangerous weather has still led to tornadoes during this streak, which continues.
CNN Meteorologist Rob Shackelford contributed to this report.
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In this unusual tornado outbreak, the US has reported over 200 confirmed tornadoes during the streak, surpassing typical levels for this time of year. The recent streak has also seen two rare EF4 tornadoes, causing significant damage and casualties.
Source: edition.cnn.com
