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United States likely to see ‘above-normal’ number of tornadoes in 2012


February 22, 2012   by Canadian Underwriter


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AccuWeather.com is predicting an active severe weather season in the United States, with an above-normal number of tornadoes in 2012.

Last year ranks as the fourth most deadly tornado year ever recorded in the U.S., with 1,709 tornadoes touching down. The average number of tornadoes over the past decade is about 1,300.

Warmer-than-normal Gulf of Mexico water is a key component to the active severe weather season anticipated in 2012. The ample supply of warm and humid air resulting from the warming of the gulf will provide fuel for supercell thunderstorms, the type of storms that spawn strong tornadoes, Accuweather says.

The Deep South — the area hit hardest in 2011 — is expected to get hit by severe weather early in the season, mainly in March. By early April, the severe weather threat will retreat to the north, reaching the lower Ohio and mid-Mississippi valleys, the Accuweather release says.

Whether or not the 2012 twisters will hit densely populated areas, like the tornadoes of 2011 did, is still too difficult to pinpoint, it added. 


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