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[thread] Earlier this month, we talked about the lack of tornadoes here in central, south-central, and southeast Kansas. The following tweets in this thread will briefly dig into why this was the case... #kswx
First off, as a reminder, here is a map showing where tornadoes have been reported across the Country. Notice the hole there in the middle of "Tornado Alley". That's the area our office covers, and it's a pretty remarkable stat. *Note* These numbers are preliminary. #kswx
Here is a list of a few notable areas of the Country that have reported more tornadoes than our office. This list isn't exhaustive, but shows some NWS offices that you wouldn't normally expect to have more tornadoes than our office. #kswx
Ok, so the question is why?? For starters, you need moisture and instability for thunderstorms and tornadoes. Our area of Kansas lacked in both. #kswx
These maps show the number of days where the dewpoint reached, or exceeded, 60 degrees (dewpoint is a good indicator of available moisture for thunderstorms). Dewpoint-wise, this was one of the driest springs in 20-30 years for central/south-central KS. #kswx
One explanation for the lack of available moisture was the wind direction. During our peak tornado month (May), the wind was predominantly out of the north (not a good direction for bringing moisture in). #kswx
The lack of moisture led to a lack of better instability as well. Notice the large area of below normal instability across the Central and Southern Plains. #kswx
There are a lot of ingredients needed for tornadoes. While we had some of those necessary ingredients at times, we had a harder time getting all of them together at the same time. It's not uncommon to get quiet years, but 2020 certainly wins the prize. #kswx
Lastly, it's important not to let the lack of tornadoes this year lead to a lack of preparation for next year. We don't know what it will hold, but it's important not to let your guard down. Plan ahead and have a safety plan in place! https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado #kswx
