Expert Says 2011 Tornadoes 106% Above Average
Becky Kellogg, Content Manager
"It took until December in 2010 to have as many tornadoes as we've already had this year," says Dr. Forbes.
Needless to say, by virtue of an inconceivable April, we're on a record pace."
While we've had tornadoes in every month this year, the extreme tornado outbreaks began in April and continued through May. Dr. Forbes keeps a meticulous list of every tornado report throughout the year. He's crunched the numbers to compare 2011 to every other year in the past decade.
2011 Tornado Statistics
Forbes Count 10-Yr Average Departure from Average
Jan 16 22 -32% Actual
Feb 61 32 +91% Actual
Mar 75 83 -10% Actual
Apr (573 confirmed) 762 163 +367% (Forbes estimate)
May 332 298 +11% (Forbes estimate)
June (through 2nd) 13 16 -19% (Forbes estimate)
2011 (to date) 1262 614 +106% (Forbes estimate)
"Only 8 years in history have had more tornadoes for a full year than we've already had this year, the most being 1819 in 2004," Dr. Forbes points out. "We've had almost twice as many tornadoes thus far this year as happened to date in that record year (2004)! "
As to what to expect in the rest of the year, Dr. Forbes points out the year is only halfway done.
"June has averaged 236 tornadoes over the past 10 years," says Dr. Forbes. "During that period there has been an average of 679 more tornadoes between June 3 and the end of the year."
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/forbes-tornado-stats_2011-06-03