14 DAY TRIAL // Weather experts say that, this year, the number of tornadoes recorded in the United States has been significantly lower that that of such weather events last year. Additionally, those that did form have been of much lower intensity, and caused less damage throughout the Tornado Alley and elsewhere. By the end of June, 2008, some 1,304 tornadoes had touched down somewhere in the US, while, in 2009, only 839 were observed. While this is terrific news for people living in the affected areas, scientists are disappointed that they didn't get a chance to study the weather formations as thoroughly as they would have liked to.
None of the tornadoes that formed this year hit any major cities or other densely populated areas, so the amount of damage they caused was fairly limited. “We haven't had as many tornadoes as we had last year,” National Severe Storms Laboratory expert Harold Brooks, from Norman, Oklahoma, explained. Historically, spring is the most tornado-active season of all, so if this year's is any indication of this, we have a fairly quiet 2009 ahead, the scientists add.
According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity, the low number of tornadoes was caused by particular atmospheric conditions, which are simply not appropriate for forming low-pressure storm centers. The level of humidity in the air above the ground and the Atlantic ocean was also too low for large atmospheric fronts to be generated. Forecasts say that weather patterns throughout the summer will remain roughly the same as they are now, so the danger posed by tornadoes this year is relatively low, unless a major one forms and hits a large population center.
The number of fatalities caused by these events has also decreased significantly from the year ending in May, 2008. Only nine people died in tornadoes this year, as opposed to 29 last year. Brooks told LiveScience that 2008 was a major year for fatalities, even when compared with the average number of deaths recorded over the past three years. While this is good news for the population, it's nothing but disappointment for the international research team involved in the VORTEX2 project, which was supposed to follow tornadoes around with Doppler radars, and collect substantial amounts of data.