Peak Tornado Season: Active or Quiet?
Late May is typically considered the peak of tornado chase season in the Plains. What makes this period more or less active than usual?
Category: Severe Weather
Violent Tornado Parameter
The Storm Prediction Center released a new composite severe weather parameter in 2018, known as the Violent Tornado Parameter, or VTP. In order to better understand VTP, it is helpful to first consider the...
Analysis of 3/30 Tulsa Tornado Environment
A tornado affected the north and northeast suburbs of Tulsa, Oklahoma early yesterday evening. Despite the conditions in place, a Tornado Watch was not in effect, as instead, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch had been...
Supercell Composite Parameter
Multiple variables are important to consider when it comes to supercell thunderstorm development. The Supercell Composite Parameter (SCP) was created to factor three important ingredients to determine how favorable an environment is to produce supercells. SCP...
Severe Watches Lacking in 2015
For the fourth year in a row, overall severe thunderstorm activity, including tornadoes, finished below average across the Lower 48. This graphic shows the severe thunderstorm watch departure from the 13-year average. The vast...
Supercells in Massachusetts
Multiple supercell thunderstorms moved through central and eastern Massachusetts this afternoon. Some of the storms prompted tornado warnings and there were multiple significant severe weather reports as a result. Some of the thunderstorms originated...
Violent Tornadoes: 1962-2011
Over a 50-year span from 1962 to 2011, the most violent (F/EF-4 and F/EF-5) tornadoes occurred over Oklahoma and Mississippi. The maximum grid-points reported 16 over that period, with two of those grid-points in...
U.S. Tornado Days Per Year
The United States has a greater frequency of tornadoes than most other counties. For many factors, the vast majority of tornadoes occur east of the Rocky Mountains across the continental U.S. Although the central...
Tornado Strikes Worcester, Mass.
A high-end EF-0 tornado hit Worcester, Mass. early last night. The National Weather Service (NWS) out of Taunton, Mass. estimated that the tornado was on the ground from about 8:10 to 8:14 p.m. local...
Evaluating a Tornado Index
I’ve been working on a tornado index over the past few years and it’s really basic. It evaluates instability (MLCAPE), wind shear and the potential for upward cyclonic rotation (helicity) and gives an index...
New England Severe Bust? 7/15/2014
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to July 15th. Some argued there was a “very impressive” severe setup unfolding for (southern) New England, but there was plenty of disagreement with the placement...
Connecticut’s Tornado Season
I decided to take a look back and see where the average “tornado season” falls for this area. Where frequency is the running 10-day daily frequency of a tornado between 1950-2013 The months with...
What is a Severe Thunderstorm?
Most know what a thunderstorm is, but what exactly is a severe thunderstorm? Thunderstorms are often accompanied by heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and even hail or tornadoes on occasion. Once a thunderstorm becomes strong enough,...
Tornadoes in New York: May 29th, 2013
Two tornadoes (an EF-2 and an EF-1) touched down in eastern New York on May 29th, 2013, both around 7:00 p.m., according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The stronger tornado, an EF-2, had...
Northeast Tornado Stats: 2013
Here’s a recap of the 2013 tornado season across the Northeast. Connecticut had four reports of tornadoes during 2013, which is roughly twice the average amount of about two. Keep in mind that 2012...
Early Spring Tornadoes in Connecticut
Severe weather season doesn’t really get going until June and July in the Northeast, but tornadoes have formed in Connecticut during April and May… Earliest Tornado on Record: On April 26th, 1961, an F1...