Minnesota is often rated #1 by so many measures. Here’s a stat we probably would just as soon let go to some other state.
Minnesota retains the lead in preliminary tornado reports so far in 2010. Despite tornado warnings, there were no reports of any tornadoes in Minnesota Wednesday. The preliminary tornado tally for Minnesota in 2010 remains at 145.
Severe weather in Texas and Kansas this week has boosted tornado totals there. Here are the latest (still preliminary) SPC numbers.
North Dakota 68
That means 4 of the top 8 tornado producing states this year are “polka states” in the Upper Midwest.
Signs of a trend?
As you can see Minnesota’s tornado numbers are roughly DOUBLE Oklahoma’s this year. Is this just a fluke, or a trend?
It is interesting to compare tornado numbers from each decade going back to the 1950s for Minnesota and Oklahoma.
1950s 579 98 +481
1960s 615 223 +392
1970s 476 193 +283
1980s 522 229 +293
1990s 723 362 +361
2000s 529 463 +66
2010 73 145 -72 (this year only)
As you can see Minnesota closed the “tornado gap” significantly in the past decade when compared with Oklahoma in the heart of tornado alley.
New York City tornado?
Tornado warnings are flying for parts of New York City this afternoon.
Doppler is indicating rotating thunderstorms within a squall line of severe storms rolling through the NYC area. It is a common myth that tornadoes cannot occur in urban areas. Let’s hope NYC escapes without any significant damage or tornado touchdowns.