Severe Thunderstorm

Tornadoes can happen at any time in the U.S., but generally most occur between March and June.

Australia experiences tropical cyclones, severe thunderstorms, bushfires, earthquakes, floods, and other perils, and the damage caused by them is increasing every year.

This past weekend the Southeast region of the United States experienced an outbreak of reportedly more than 40 tornadoes, including a deadly EF-3 event in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

A recent survey asked 5,000 adults in the UK to identify the things that make the British unique as a nation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular trait proved to be "talking about the weather."

Any conversation about Australia’s major natural hazards will likely include cyclones, floods, bushfires, hail, and even, on occasion, earthquakes. Many forget to consider tornadoes, given that they are a rarer phenomenon in Australia.

In the weather community, few topics generate more buzz than weather modification. It has been the source of grand engineering ideas, among them tornado walls, armadas of mirror-laden ships, and hurricane-busting superbombs. And popular culture has glamorized the idea with futuristic devices that provide rain or shine at the touch of a button.

On June 27, 2015, a severe thunderstorm struck the small town of Roseisle, Manitoba, just over an hour’s drive southwest of Winnipeg. Hail was reported to be tennis ball–sized and accompanied by winds of 100 km/h (62 mph).

In 2011, a record was set for insured losses from severe thunderstorms. In all, more than USD 26 billion of losses left insurance companies wondering if they had underestimated nature's potential or—more importantly—if we were in the midst of a fundamental shift in the distribution of severe thunderstorm risk.

Over the last 85 years the number of people at risk from tornadoes has increased dramatically, yet the tornado fatality rate has dropped significantly. This is undoubtedly good news, but a bigger drop would be even better.

In late February, I had the chance to present our U.S. severe thunderstorm model at the National Tornado Summit in Oklahoma City, OK. Attendees included representatives from the insurance industry, regulators, emergency managers, disaster recovery companies, and many others.