While a chilly spring may help Wisconsin avoid severe weather similar to what's been devastating communities across the United States since Sunday, tornado season is nevertheless here until summer’s calmer winds set in.
Over the last two days, 31 people have died due to an outbreak of severe weather across a large swath of the United States that has included almost 100 reported tornadoes. The deaths came after a record-breaking 124 days without a tornado fatality in the country – the longest period in U.S. history in 99 years.
After a long cold winter, Wisconsin's tornado season “is here in earnest at this point,” according to a Madison TV meteorologist.
Brian Olson of Madison's WKOW-TV, attributes the late start to the season to the cold winter.
“Basically, what we have had not happen so far is that really warm air coming up the plains and clashing with that cold air," he said. "All of our moisture for these severe storms, all of the heat and everything comes up from the Gulf of Mexico.”
The spring months of April, May and June are generally considered the most prone to severe weather because of the diverse weather systems colliding between the northern and southern U.S. As Olson put it, “Weather is all about change.”
“In July and August, you don’t have that clash as readily available,” said Olson.
This year, however, “instead of April, May, June, we would be looking at maybe from late May to June and into July. We will have average to slightly cooler-than-average weather … which would keep the severe weather down somewhat,” said Olson.
“There is a positive sign there, and it’s that we’re not seeing what they’re seeing just to our south,” said Olson. “At this point we are not anywhere close to seeing those conditions that they've seen as close as Iowa.”
When it comes to recent trends in Wisconsin tornadoes, 2005 was the major record-breaking year with 62 tornadoes -- well above the state average of 23 per year. There were four tornadoes in 2012, and 16 in 2013.
While some in the upper Midwest may feel safer because of the Great Lakes, Olson said it's a myth that the lakes keep away severe weather. He said it takes a much larger body of water like an ocean to do that, and that a “maritime layer of air changes the composition of the atmosphere.” Another myth about tornadoes is that mountains can break them up.
