Over the past 20 years, the number of tornadoes in New York has grown dramatically: what is the threat

The study found a sharp rise in the number of tornadoes reported in New York State over the past two decades. Writes about it Times union.

The Quote Wizard, an online insurance marketplace, found that the number of tornadoes in New York increased by almost 36% between the first and second decades of this century. The region recorded 67 tornadoes between 2000 and 2009 and 91 between 2010 and 2019.

These numbers are certainly only a fraction of the more than 2000 tornadoes in Texas, or nearly 2000 in Kansas in those 20 years. At the same time, there was a decrease in the number of tornadoes in Texas: 1330 in 2000-2009 decreased to 1196 in 2010-2019. But New York was among the states where the number of tornadoes was growing, by the way, these are the majority.

Overall, from 2010 to 2019, the number of tornadoes throughout the United States increased by almost 11%, with the highest increases in Wyoming, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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The company's analysts also found that over the past decade, tornado territory in the United States has shifted from the traditional "tornado alley" in the Great Plains region to the southeast of the country.

How much the danger to New York has grown

These research results, according to meteorologists, do not mean that New Yorkers need to build shelters from tornadoes.

“We (New York) are not going to be Oklahoma or Kansas anytime soon,” said Brian Tung, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Albany.

There is a possibility that the tornadoes in New York have not increased, they have just become more often noticed. Over the past two decades, technologies for detecting tornadoes have become much better, and the emergence of social networks, where every fallen tree or damaged roof is published, has played an important role.

“Social media has played a huge role,” Tang said.

In addition, there are more "storm hunters" or amateur meteorologists who are investigating various weather phenomena.

This leads to "noisy" data, which is difficult to assess, Tang said.

Tornadoes do sometimes wreak havoc on New York and other northeastern regions. The tornado that passed through Mechanicville and Stillwater in 1998 left extensive destruction in its path.

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In 1995, a powerful tornado was also observed in the Great Barrington area of ​​Massachusetts, knocking down many trees. Another massive tornado struck Duisburg, New York in 2014.

The 1998 Mechanicville Stillwater tornado struck in May. This month, along with June, is the peak time for tornadoes in upstate New York. This is because in May and June, the jet stream moves north over New York. This movement means that severe weather is most likely during these months.

After that, the air movement over New York calms down.

“If, for some reason, there are a lot of tornadoes in the region, it always happens in the last two weeks of May,” Tang said.