The severe weather season is upon us, and the Storm Center 7 team is examining how this season may unfold.
We have seen more active weather across the eastern half of the country, with above-average temperatures. Our colleagues at Climate Central have crunched the numbers and found the Miami Valley is seeing more “tornado favorable” days per decade.
More days favorable for tornadoes are translating to more tornado touchdowns.
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The 30-year average for tornado touchdowns across Ohio stands at 24. When we shrink that timeframe to 20 years, the average number of tornadoes increases to 28 annually. How about the past 10 years? An average of 35 tornado touchdowns. Our part of the country has become more prone to tornadoes, and the data clearly reflects that increase.
Going into this spring season, a weak La Niña is still in place in the Pacific.
Historically, spring seasons following La Niña winters have seen more active weather across the eastern half of the country, with above-average thunderstorm chances. We see no reason to believe this spring will be any different.
Taking recent history and La Niña into account, we expect to have a more active than normal severe weather season with more tornado touchdowns than average.
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