2007 An Unusually Deadly Tornado Year

The numbers are in for the first three months of 2007, and they aren't good. There have been more killer tornadoes (14), and more fatalities (49) in January, February and March than in the same period any year since 1998.

Like last year, the early-year number of tornadoes is considerably ahead of 2003, 2004, 2005, and the averages. In March, there were 216 tornadoes, beating the record of 180 in March 1976, if that number holds up (in March last year there were 226 tornadoes found preliminarily but only 143 when duplicates and non-tornadoes were removed).

Data compiled from SPC with the help of Meteo Madness Man (PREMIUM | PRO).