2020 lightning and tornado numbers were down -- but not tornado fatalities - CNN - 0 views
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There was some good news to come out of 2020: fewer tornadoes and fewer lightning strikes across the United States. But sadly, fewer tornadoes did not mean fewer fatalities -- a stark reminder that the timing and location of such storms can be critical.With a preliminary tally of 1,053, 2020 saw the lowest annual number of tornadoes since 2015, when 971 were recorded,
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Still, tornadoes last year killed 78 people, the highest count since 2011, when a super outbreak in late April led to 553 deaths.
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Similarly, two events in 2020 contributed to the majority of last year's fatalities. In the first -- March 2 into 3 -- 10 tornadoes rolled through Tennessee, including Nashville, killing 24 people.
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The following month ended up being the second-most active April on record for tornadoes, behind only 2011 for total number. Every day in April but one -- April 5 -- saw at least a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) for severe storms somewhere across the contiguous US,
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2020's second significant outbreak -- on April 12 and 13 -- produced more than 140 tornadoes. It was also the deadliest tornado outbreak in six years, with 32 fatalities
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"Tornadoes are the same way. Some of the strongest tornadoes every year occur in rural parts of the country, so damage can be limited, but if a tornado, even a weaker one, strikes a major metro area, damage and fatalities can be extensive,"
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There were 14 killer tornadoes in April 2020. Then, into May 2020, a shift in the weather pattern began to favor development of strong troughs in the eastern US.
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Another potentially deadly weather phenomenon -- lightning strikes -- also saw tallies drop in 2020. There were about 170 million lightning events last year across the continental US, down about 52 million from 2019,
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Unsurprisingly, Texas ranks No. 1 in total lightning strikes, due in part to its huge land area, Vaisala reports. By square kilometer, though, Florida tops the list, with Texas sixth. Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming all saw far fewer lightning strikes in 2020.
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Sometimes a single event can account for a large number of lightning strikes. An example is the Midwestern derecho event last summer. It spawned 8% of all Iowa lightning strikes in 2020, with over 27,000 cloud-to-ground strikes. Despite this, Iowa -- which based off the average from 2010-2019 places 13th for most strikes -- actually dropped to the No. 22 spot last year.Other states saw big increases in lightning strikes in 2020. Georgia jumped four spots, cracking the Top 10 for only the third time. Ohio, Michigan and North Dakota also notched more lightning strikes last year, with over 2 million cloud-to-ground strikes each.
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Preliminary numbers show lightning killed 17 people across the US in 2020, the second-lowest total since 2010, according to the National Weather Service.
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Lightning in some Western states can be especially concerning in the summer months due to the potential for sparking wildfires. But not all lightning is created equal.
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Oftentimes as thunderstorms develop out West, the surrounding air is so dry that any rain that falls actually gets evaporated before it reaches the ground, a phenomena called "virga." Lightning can still occur within these storms, which don't have the benefit of moisture to extinguish any fires a strike might set.