NWS – Already Nearly 400 Tornadoes in Just First 3 Months of 2023
By any standard, the first 3 months of 2023 have been excessively stormy. Several major tornado outbreaks already and Spring has barely begun. The National Weather Service has just shared that the twister count has nearly reached 400 already this year.
The NOAA Storm Prediction Center shared this incredible graphic on their Facebook page showing all of the confirmed tornadoes in 2023. As of this writing, the count is 386.
Here are some more troubling numbers. CBS News is reporting that the death toll from tornadoes in 2023 is already approaching the average number the country would see for an entire year. The report mentions that the number of "killer tornadoes" has increased dramatically this year.
Here's a graphic based on 30 years of data showing the number of tornado deaths for each state from NOAA.
The numbers shown are in some cases less than what has already occurred in 2023 in the first 3 months.
Why the jump in violent tornadoes?
USA Today recently shared an article asserting that climate change is to blame. While there's not nearly enough data to draw that conclusion at this time, it's obvious that something has changed - for the worse.