U.S. Counties That Haven’t Had a Tornado in More Than 60 Years
With Minnesota experiencing the earliest tornadoes ever on March 6 in Zimmerman and Clarks Grove, I thought I'd just do a bit of poking around in regards to which states get the most.
First we'll start in Minneapolis/St.Paul. Between 1950 and 2013 the busiest month for tornadoes has been July with 20, followed by May with 17. Keep in mind this is just for the metro area. The Twin Cities during this window recorded no tornadoes in October, December, January or February. March, with two, is next to last.
What about individual states? Alaska averages zero tornadoes a year while Nevada, Hawaii, Vermont, Delaware and Connecticut each average one per year.
Looking at the counties in the 48 lower states, there are eight states that can boast having one or more counties with no reported tornadoes since 1950. It's probably no surprise that hot, dry states like New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona would make the list. Here are a few of the ones that surprised me. There have been no reported tornadoes since 1950 in Taliaferro County, Georgia; Ashe and Mitchell counties in North Carolina; Clay County in Tennessee; and Vinton County, Ohio. The counties in Tennessee and Georgia were the biggest surprises to me as it seems those states have their share of them. One thing to consider though is that in counties with small populations, there could have been tornadoes but they just weren't reported.
You can learn more by going to the Counties With No Tornadoes Since 1950 website.
Here's hoping Monday isn't a sign of things to come. Here's hoping to a safe summer in Minnesota.