EF-5 tornado drought reaches 12 years, longest in history
With all the negative weather headlines focusing on severe storms, rising temperatures, and climate change, here's a positive development. This month marks a significant milestone, as we will surpass 12 years since the last EF-5 tornado touched down.
Despite roughly 1,200 tornadoes occurring every year, May 20, 2013, in Moore, Oklahoma, was the last time a tornado received the maximum damage rating.
To show just how rare and extreme EF-5 tornadoes are, only 59 have ever been recorded. You might remember the third most recent one, which was the EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011. Missouri has only seen two of these powerful storms. One was the Joplin tornado and the other was the F5 Ruskin Heights tornado on May 20, 1957. Fortunately, Arkansas has never experienced an F5 or EF-5 tornado.
This 12-year stretch is now the longest on record since official tracking began in the 1950s. However, this comes with some controversy. Some meteorologists chalk the streak up to a statistical anomaly, noting that the annual number of strong and violent tornadoes has remained relatively consistent.
Research scientist Anthony Lyza of the National Severe Storms Laboratory disagrees. 'Our findings suggest the lack of EF-5 tornadoes is highly unlikely to be rooted in natural causes.'
In February 2007, the National Weather Service switched from the legacy Fujita (F) scale to the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. Lyza explains the shortcomings of the new system: 'The typical rating for a home being swept away from its foundation on the EF scale is EF-4, whereas it was F5 on the F scale.'
He argues that the lack of EF-5 tornadoes is due to changes in how we classify natural disasters, rather than a decline in their occurrence.
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