Despite a spectacular tornado outbreak in Oklahoma at the beginning of summer, 2013 is turning out to be a quiet year for tornadoes across the United States. Through Aug. 29, there had been just 613 confirmed tornadoes this year. The average number through the end of August is well over 1,000 tornadoes.
There have been 45 tornado fatalities this year, with 34 of those in Oklahoma, and 24 all on May 20. Except for that one terrible evening in central Oklahoma, tornadoes have hardly been a threat this year.
The reason for the lack of tornadoes is a lack of thunderstorms. It has been a year in which the various conditions for violent thunderstorms have not come together often. The last year with so few tornadoes was 2002.
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