2 days ago
Tornado count creeps higher, record already set
The spring severe weather season spilled into the month of June in Missouri and Arkansas, with more tornadoes added to this year's tornado count. The preliminary number in Missouri stands at 115. This is second in the nation! And this is a new yearly record for Missouri, topping 106 tornadoes in 2006. In Arkansas, the count stands at 54. The record year was 1999 with 107 tornadoes.
Texas leads the nation at 136, but this shouldn't be a surprise given its size relative to other states. Tornado concentrations this year have been outside of the more traditional tornado hotspots like Tornado Alley, which runs from the Dakotas south to Texas, and Dixie Alley, which runs from Louisiana to Georgia north into Kentucky.
This year's tornadoes have focused from Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas east into Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. Why? Well, this year, the timing and intensity of storm systems early in the season led to big outbreaks in the same spots. Remember the windstorms back in March. The wind was driven by deep areas of low pressure that moved through the region. That wind energy helps drive severe weather as well if there's enough instability and thunderstorms develop.
The pattern remained consistently active through April and the middle of May. This also contributed to big rain totals across the region, with nearly two feet of rainfall falling in Springfield from April through May.
Looking ahead, it appears we're transitioning to more of a summer pattern as the jet stream, or storm-organizing winds, shift further north.
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