Major damaging convective storms in the United States

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
An assessment of the geographical and temporal distributions of costly convective storms across the U.S. during 1949-2008 found that losses were caused by various types of convective storms, including thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, heavy rains, and high winds. The most frequent catastrophes occurred in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, and Missouri. The number of catastrophes occurring in only one state and in one climate region during 1949-2008 were least during 1999-2008, revealing that recent catastrophes were of greater size than those occurring during 1949-1998. No long-term trend was evident. Catastrophe losses nationally fluctuated during 1949-1993, but thereafter increased systematically to a peak in 2004-2008. This upward trend in losses reflects recent increases in catastrophe sizes in the Central, Southeast, and Northeast and reveals a recent intensification of storm-producing conditions in the eastern U.S.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Physical geography, issn : 0272-3646, 2011, vol. 32, n°. 3, p. 286-294, nombre de pages : 9, Références bibliographiques : 15 ref.

Date :
2011

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Abingdon, Taylor and Francis