2008 Tornado Season Not So Crazy, After All

The 2008 tornado season has been among the most deadly on record, and nothing will reduce that toll.

The 119 reported deaths are significantly more than the death count seen in recent years. The 2008 tornado season is the deadliest in a decade and on pace to be the deadliest ever recorded in the United States.

But it appears the unusual early spate of spring tornadoes has not spawned the off-the-charts storm totals that were first suspected. Despite media reports to the contrary (including several here at The Daily Green), the 2008 tornado total is only trending slightly above the 10-year-average, according to an updated chart published by the U.S. Storm Prediction Center. (The Daily Green has cautioned all along that the numbers reported were inflated and would be reduced as the government combed through data and removed duplicate storm reports, but the headline speaks louder than the caveat.)

The season has still produced an above-average total of storms to date, and government counters have only refined the data through April. The season is still significantly more severe than those of the past three years. But it appears that the off-the-charts assessments were premature.

Here's a look at the Storm Prediction Center's latest updated chart, showing the actual count through April, as compared to the raw count from reports in the field, the predicted number and the actual totals from the last several years.

Some scientists have warned that global warming will create conditions that make violent tornadoes more frequent. There is greater consensus that global warming will, at the least, produce more extreme weather events.

Learn about the search for advanced tornado tracking radar here.

COMMENTS ()