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N0KFQ > TODAY 01.05.16 15:10l 47 Lines 2085 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 92183_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 1
Path: IZ3LSV<F1OYP<F4DUR<F3KT<F1OYP<ZL2BAU<GB7LDI<N9PMO<N0KFQ
Sent: 160501/1403Z 92183@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
2003
Record-breaking tornado wave begins
A record-breaking wave of tornadoes begins across the southern
and midwestern United States on this day in 2003. By the time the
wave is over, more than 500 tornadoes are recorded for the month,
shattering the previous record by more than 100.
The amazing spate of twisters followed an unusually quiet month
of April, when tornadoes are usually most frequent. March and
April also saw a lack of significant thunderstorms, another
highly unusual situation. But the residents of the South and
Midwest were not in the clear. In 2003, the moist, warm air
necessary for the formation of tornadoes did not arrive from the
Gulf of Mexico until May and, when it did, weather conditions in
these regions changed suddenly. The first 10 days of May brought
an incredible amount of destructive weather to the central United
States, including more than 300 tornadoes.
The best available records regarding tornadoes in the second half
of the 20th century show that the previous high for tornadoes in
a month was 399 in June 1992. May 2003 had a remarkable 516
recorded twisters. However, the 38 people killed in May 2003 were
far fewer than the record 163 dead in May 1953. The death toll
was lower because 2003 saw no F5 tornadoes (the highest intensity
with winds in excess of 260 mph) and very few measured as high as
F4 (with winds in excess of 207 mph).
Illinois alone had 74 recorded tornadoes in May 2003, almost 50
percent more than its previous monthly high. Missouri suffered
through 71 twisters in the month, which dwarfed the pervious high
of 29 in December 1982.
The worst stretch of tornadoes over a small stretch of time was
recorded April 3-4, 1974, when 148 individual tornadoes touched
down across the Midwest in an 18-hour period. During a single
hour in the middle of this vast storm, 20 tornadoes were recorded
at the same time. More than 300 people died in this single storm.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-Mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
Message timed: 09:01 on May 01, 2016
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