In a blow to those that want to link increased severe weather with global warming/climate change, a new record low has been set according to NOAA tornado data. At the same time, it has been 2750 days (7 years, 6 months, 11 days) since the last major Hurricane (Cat 3 or greater) hit the USA on October 24th 2005 when hurricane Wilma made landfall. Each new day is a new record in this major hurricane drought.
Essay by Harold Brooks, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
Graph: Harold Brooks: NOAA
The 12-month period from May 2012 to April 2013 was remarkable for the absence of tornado activity and tornado impacts in the United States.
We can start by looking at the number of EF1 and stronger tornadoes during that period. A final count is available through January 2013 and we have a pretty good estimate of how many occurred in February through April, although final numbers won’t be available until July. Although the 12 month total may change a little bit with the final data, it’s unlikely to change enough to affect the results here.
From May 2012-April 2013, the estimate is that there were 197 tornadoes rated EF1 or stronger. Where does that stack up historically? Well, we have pretty good data back to 1954. During that time, the previous low for (E)F1 and stronger tornadoes in a 12 consecutive calendar month period was 247, from June 1991-May 1992. The next lowest (ignoring the overlapping periods, such as April 2012-March 2013) was 270 from November 1986-October 1987. The lowest non-overlapping 12 month counts on record from 1954-present, with the starting month, are:
197 May 2012 (preliminary)
247 June 1991
270 November 1986
289 December 2001
298 June 2000
This apparent record was set less than two years after the record for most EF1+ tornadoes in a 12-month period was set, with 1050 from June 2010-May 2011. The time series showing the evolution of the number of (E)F1+ tornadoes since 1954 is below. The number of (E)F1+ tornadoes in the 12 months beginning with the time on the x-axis is plotted for every month starting in January 1954 and ending in May 2012, the most recent point.
ef1plus12
The death toll from May 2012-April 2013 was 7. National Weather Service official statistics go back to January 1950, but we can extend that by using the work of Tom Grazulis from the Tornado Project, who has collected tornado fatality information back into the 17th century. The data are reasonably good back to 1875, but it’s still possible that there are some missed fatalities, particularly as we go back farther in time. So, where does 7 fatalities in 12 consecutive calendar months stack up? Again, here are the lowest totals, going back to 1875, for 12 consecutive months, with the starting month. (For overlapping periods, such as April 2012-March 2013 and May 2012-April 2013, only the lowest period is listed.)
5 September 1899
7 May 2012
8 August 1991
12 November 1909
12 May 1940
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=============================================================
Update: Here is an updated chart showing the hurricane drought stretch. Originally done by Dr. Roger Pielke Jr., I’ve updated it since he is taking a blog break.
Reference: NOAA/NCDC US Landfalling hurricanes: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E23.html
Highest peak shortly followed by deepest trough. It all evens out.
Tornadoes this year, up to end of April, are running less than half of the average, so it was not only the low number last year, that is pulling the total down.
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/us-tornado-updateapril-2013/
Klench Mychiques says:
May 4, 2013 at 8:54 am
Highest peak shortly followed by deepest trough. It all evens out.
From NOAA:
“With increased national Doppler radar coverage, increasing population, and greater attention to tornado reporting, there has been an increase in the number of tornado reports over the past several decades. This can create a misleading appearance of an increasing trend in tornado frequency. To better understand the true variability and trend in tornado frequency in the U.S., the total number of strong to violent tornadoes (EF3 to EF5 category on the Enhanced Fujita scale) can be analyzed. These are the tornadoes that would have likely been reported even during the decades before Doppler radar use became widespread and practices resulted in increasing tornado reports. The bar chart below indicates there has been little trend in the frequency of the strongest tornadoes over the past 55 years.”
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadoes.html
In other words, our ability to detect EF1’s and 2’s have increased/improved, not the actual number them, hence the “record” high.
The recent paucity of hurricanes may explain why they are now naming every little thunder storm that pops up in the Atlantic.
Forgot this:
http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb/images/tornado/clim/EF3-EF5.png
A catastrophic decrease in tornadoes, as predicted by the CAGW Hypothesis?
Oh dear….
What should we do?
Is all the global warming being stored up like a capacitor to be discharged in one almighty category 50 million billion trillion storm? Climate extremes an all that….
Or a category (similar hyperbole) tornado that will get the world spinning like a top?
I hope I haven’t given the faithful any new ideas…..
As the Sun goes QUIET, the warm Earth is now entering a cooling phase. One cooling phase is in the modern record and that is the 1970s. Note that the area under the Solar Cycle 20 curve was greatly reduced [compared to Cycle 19 and Cycle 21] and cooling ensued.
As the Solar output drops, the main heating area, the Equator, gets cooler. The Jet Stream move toward the Equator and Arctic/Antarctic temperatures move toward the Equator.
Less energy in, “less boiling in the pan”, less energy for Hurricanes. Tornadoes are a different problem since they result from the clashes of warm/wet with cool/dry. Expect them to move toward the Equator.
This is so simple. The correlations are all there. Look at the area under the Solar Cycle curves to get a good idea of what is going to happen in the climate/weather. Note that entering a long term cooling phase has never happened since 1650.
The record high & record low aren’t as interesting as the trend. Over the time range presented is largely flat to maybe slightly down (my visual estimates).
Conclusion : “Global warming” has no impact on US tornado counts.
The logic disconnect CAGWers have on this issue is astounding & shows their belief must be largely political but not scientific. The majority of tornadic activity is dominated by mid-lattitude cold front boundaries. The AGW hypothesis predicts a larger relative warming at northern latitudes, thus, by definition, predicts that , on average, frontal boundaries will have less temperature contrast – ie weaker – and thus , if anything, to be internally consistent, you should expect a decrease in tornadic activity.
Alternatively stated, AGW should decrease tornado counts & thus would be a net benefit. But of course, that wouldn’t be alarming & that is simply unacceptable to those pushing the hypothesis.
[snip – strawman argument for the purpose of misdirection – the IPCC is not discussed here in this article – mod]
wow…..extreme high…to extreme low…in one click
But I’m sure somehow somewhere some computer game predicted it….
..these bozo’s are running so many computer models..one has to be right….
They can’t lose………
Hmmm. We had two La Ninas back to back, which I believe was part if not the Main reason, for last year’s drought in the US?
Makes me wonder: do tornado outbreaks follow the shifts in weather patters, which are caused by such events?
By coincidence I was just reading a series of communications between Revkin and Mann wherein Revkin questions the use of tornadoes as a reference to CAGW. Mann, as usual is angry and implies Revkin is a bumpkin that is unfamiliar with the null hypothesis.
https://twitter.com/Revkin/status/330364146614939649
Ironically, that was exactly what Revkin was employing.
So again we see that every observation whether it discredits or confirms the alarmism of The Climateers is proof of CA-climate change.
Where’s all this extreme weather they go on about? Do they mean extreme lows? Just you wait, they’ll soon blame…………………………………………………….global warming. 😉
We have reached a consensus.
Beware, the eye of Jupiter may be ‘permanently’ realized here on Earth!
The Weather Channel parked their asses here in Arlington, Texas 2 days ago with their ‘tornado chasing’ van in the background but segqued into the cloudy cool temps around the US. TWC all dressed up and nowhere to go.
Hurricanes depend on heat to generate it’s existence. If indeed the earth is getting colder, then episodes of intense hurricanes may well take a hiatus.
Let me see…
Planet is in a cooling phase. Which means that the polar jets are stronger causing wind shear over the oceans and keeping major storms from developing. If they do develop, the dipping of the stream tears them apart before they can make land fall.
Add to this the periodic oscillations which are now neutral or cold and the energy to support these storms vanishes. Solar output to the surface is waning and thus reduced heat is being absorbed by the oceans.
It seems that two or more of the normal variations are now coming together in unison. This coupled state is causing cooling and diminished summer storm activity while winter storms are increasing in their activity yet not outside of what has happened before..
The earth is in control not man.. we just dont know it yet..
Apparently you haven’t heard of the dreaded Hypercane!!!
What a shame. Here all this time the climastrologists have been concentrating on “communicating climate change/extreme weather” to people (without much success), but forgot to “communicate climate change/extreme weather” to Mother Nature. Oh well. Better luck next time.
Worries me this. I read long ago that any climate change is seen at the poles. For a warming world poles get warmer so equator pole temperature difference drops and so does air movement, less storms. If the poles cool, greater temperature difference and air movement increases, more storms.
I’ve been expecting more bad weather as Earth becomes cooler and the AGW crowd to crow loudly. Something is wrong. Must be me as usual.
Richard111 says:
May 4, 2013 at 10:37 am
Worries me this. I read long ago that any climate change is seen at the poles. For a warming world poles get warmer so equator pole temperature difference drops and so does air movement, less storms. If the poles cool, greater temperature difference and air movement increases, more storms.
I’ve been expecting more bad weather as Earth becomes cooler and the AGW crowd to crow loudly. Something is wrong. Must be me as usual.
=================================
They forgot about the paradoxical effect of cooling. the greater differential means a larger polar jet and lower intrusion. This causes wind shear and tears these storms apart. when the equatorial jets are reduced so is water content and thus storm severity.
Like Gore, they got their hurricanes backwards..
NOAA: “The bar chart below indicates there has been little trend in the frequency of the strongest tornadoes over the past 55 years.”
What they are careful not to mention or illustrate is that the “little trend” is down.
The lack of spring storms in Oklahoma is a problem. There has been rain, but very little runoff due to the lack of storms. Ranchers are still having to haul water for the cattle. By the way we had frost the night before last and the coolest spring on record. Thanks goodness for the wood stove and it is May!