Not Many 2010 Tornadoes So Far: Good News or Crisis

"Record Slow Tornado Start"
Dr. Greg Forbes, Severe Weather Expert, WeatherInsights®: The Weather Channel Blog (April 16, 2010)

"Does it seem like there haven't been many tornadoes so far in 2010? You're right! In fact, in terms of what is expected, it's a record slow start.

"By my count that have been just 73 tornadoes in the United States through April 15, versus a 10-year average of 231. That's only 32% of the average over the last 10 years.

"If tornadoes continue at this pace through the end of April, then..."


(from weather.com, used w/o permission)

Central Minnesota, where I live, is well north of 'Tornado Alley,' but we do get twisters here from time to time. I'm not at all sorry that America hasn't seen many tornadoes so far in 2010. Those are very destructive storms.

I see that the previous record slow start for tornadoes in this country was set in 1987: 23 years ago. That's just over twice the length of an average solar cycle: which may or may not be a coincidence.

Since disasters that don't happen aren't likely to get people's attention, I doubt that there will be earnest articles, ranting blog posts, and anonymous experts telling us that the 2010 tornado deficit crisis is caused by - whatever it is the person believes things are caused by.

Back in my 'good old days,' quite a few people were convinced that 'the commies' were behind just about everything they didn't like. We got the character Frank Burns (M*A*S*H) out of that, so I suppose McCarthyism wasn't a total waste of time.

I don't hear rants about "the communist menace" so much now. These days, it's global warming that we're supposed to be scared silly about. The fans of that impending doom are from a different demographic - but I'm getting off-topic.

Well, I suppose the global warming crisis on Mars (no kidding) could be psychically suppressing North America's tornado gnomes (kidding).

Or, maybe the tornado dearth this year is caused by all that lint caught in America's dryer filters!

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Recycle Lint and Save Earth!"
  (April 17, 2010)
• "Death Map: If the Cold Doesn't Get You, the Heat Will"
  (December 17, 2008)
• "Memorial Day Weekend Tornadoes: Minnesota and Iowa "
  (May 26, 2008)
• "Memorial Day Weekend Tornado: Hugo, Minnesota"
  (May 26, 2008)
• "'My Mind's Made Up: Don't Confuse Me With the Facts'"
  (March 3, 2008)

More:

• "A Good Tornado Record"
  Dr. Greg Forbes, Severe Weather Expert, WeatherInsights®: The Weather Channel Blog (March 1, 2010)