2013 Tornadoes: Slow Pace, So Far

By: Becky Kellogg

Published: August 21,2013

 

 

 

 

 

8 / 220

Scott Jackson hangs an American flag in the remains of a garage of a friend whose home along SW 6th Street in Moore, Okla., was destroyed on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Brad Loper)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

We are in the middle of a tornado drought, and 2013 is on track to possibly be a record low tornado year, forecasters say.
Only 674 tornadoes have been reported in the U.S. so far this year. That's 38 percent below average, according to tornado expert Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel.
January was the only month that's been above average, Forbes said. It had 74 tornadoes, 2.3 times the average number of tornadoes.
(MORE:  Survivors of Moore, Okla. Tornado Return to School)
The numbers don't mean it has been an easy tornado year. At least 44 people have died in the U.S.from tornadoes this year. Two extremely destructive tornadoes devastated towns in Oklahoma in May.
"It's a been a year with some notorious tornadoes," said Forbes said.

NOAA

Tornado Reports 2013

The red dots indicate tornado reports, as logged by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) from January 1, 2013 - August 19, 2013.

An EF-5 tornado touched down in Moore, Okla., killing 23. It was the first EF-5 in two years. Entire neighborhoods were flattened in Moore and an elementary school was reduced to rubble. The community is struggling to rebuild.
On May 31, another EF-5 tornado hit Oklahoma. This time it struck El Reno, an Oklahoma City suburb.
Storm chasers had been tracking that storm cell all day and several were caught in the storm with no way to escape. Storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young were killed by a tornado. Mike Bettes of The Weather Channel and his Tornado Hunt storm chase team were among the teams caught in the tornado.    Bettes was injured when his vehicle was picked up by the tornado and tossed  into a field 200 yards away.
"In terms of fatalities we're not that far from average," Forbes said.

Preliminary 2013 tornado stats (as of Aug. 20, 2013)

• 674 tornadoes
• 9 killer tornadoes
• 44 deaths

With record rain in communities throughout the South and East, it may seem like we've had a stormy year. However, the overall weather patterns have stopped the development of tornadoes, Forbes said.
"This August, it's been wet in the Southeast, but the winds high up the atmosphere have been pretty weak," he said.  "So we've had some slow moving, heavy rain storms but they haven't had the wind energy to develop much in the way of rotation."
Though spring and summer are the most active periods for tornadoes, the season is not over. Tornadoes can form in August and September from landfalling tropical systems.
And the so-called second tornado season doesn't start for another few months.
"November is thought to be second season," Forbes said. "Not so much in that it has a huge jump in the number of tornadoes, but the few days they do occur there can be tornado outbreaks with a large number of tornadoes and some strong tornadoes."