Tornadoes: Correction
Clarifications on those reports of the record tornado drought.
We noted last week that with an outbreak in Tornado Alley on March 25 ended what was a record run, and that is correct.
To recap: Until this year, March 23 was the record for the latest appearance of a first tornado in the month notorious for its violent clashes of contrasting air masses.
In the back of the A-section of Tuesday's Inquirer, The Weather Channel also took note of that outbreak, in which eight tornados were reported, saying they were "the first tornadoes of the season."
The tornado "season" has no hard and fast dates, and twisters have been known to occur in all 12 months.
Tornado activity does tend to pick up in March and peak in April and May.
In any event, Greg Carbin, the warning coordination meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center, in Norman, Okla., has advised us the following:
The March 28 tornadoes were not the first of the year. A total of 28 were reported in January and February, based on preliminary accounts.
This year did set a record for the longest wait in March, but the streak actually was broken late on March 24, when a weak twister touched down in Benton County, Ark.