Tornado Count in This Very Active Season

July 18, 2008
Holly Deyo

As stated by NOAA, the 1,735 tornado count is a preliminary figure. Even so, if you look at their stats for the past 3 years, actual vs. preliminary numbers at their widest only vary by 207. That would make the count nearer to 1,538 instead of lagging at April's 547 number.

More importantly, NOAA statistics show that the US is seeing an earlier start to tornado season as well as a decided uptick in events.
NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory states that the US sees about 1,000 tornadoes in any given year. The NWS' 10-year running average shot up considerably when 1,817 twisters hit in 2004.

This pushes the 10-year number to a distorted average. Even taking this into account, the graph speaks for itself. With months still to go before year end, this could be a very impressive twister year.