For all the exposure he’s getting these days, I sure hope WeatherData CEO Mike Smith has sunblock lotion with a high SPF.
Only a couple of weeks after appearing in an episode of The History Channel’s “Shockwave” series, Smith will be featured in a show called “Tornado Rampage” on The Discovery Channel. The program will air at 8 p.m. CDT Monday. He’s also working on a book about his life as a meteorologist.
With five months left in the year, 2008 is on pace to obliterate the record for most tornadoes in one year. Through Aug. 2, 1,803 tornadoes had been reported in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. The record for one year is 1,817 in 2004.
The numbers for this year are preliminary, and will almost certainly drop as meteorologists review reports and storm tracks. Several reports may simply be different angles of the same tornado.
Nevertheless, with “Second Season” still to come this fall in Tornado Alley, a new record for tornadoes in one year seems certain. To put this year’s number in perspective, the annual average for the past 10 years is 1,254.