The tornadoes that struck the South and Midwest American states this week, leaving 13 people dead and injuring many others, have drawn attention to the risk of twisters once again, following closely on the heels of 2011’s record breaking year for those and other severe weather events.
Last year was the deadliest storm season in over three quarters of a century, and thunderstorms and tornadoes brought about approximately $25 billion in uninsured losses. Though the data regarding which states were struck most by tornadoes last year has yet to be released, according to data from the National Weather Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the number of tornadoes in 2010 were as follows:
• 145 in Minnesota
• 105 in Texas
• 100 in Mississippi
• 94 in Kansas
• 80 in Missouri
• 74 in Oklahoma
• 68 in North Dakota and in Wisconsin
• 66 in Colorado
• 65 in Illinois
Statistics from the same organizations also revealed the states that experienced the highest number of deaths as a result of tornadoes in that year:
• 13 in Mississippi
• 7 in Ohio
• 6 in Arkansas
• 5 in Missouri
• 3 in Oklahoma and in Minnesota
Data from 2010 at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed that there were 1,282 confirmed tornadoes in that year, and preliminary data from that organization is suggesting that in 2011 there were a significantly higher number of occurrences, at 1,709.
The Storm Prediction Center from the National Weather Service, and the NOAA showed that there were 45 tornado-related deaths in 2010 and they believe that tornadoes and thunderstorms will have caused 552 deaths in 2011.
