Breather in US deadly weather

Homes and vehicles are destroyed in Joplin, Missouri as a deadly tornado blasted through the city [Getty]

After another round of deadly tornados, the weather in the States is finally having a breather.

This latest batch of tornadoes included one which destroyed parts of the city of Joplin in Missouri. It is estimated that this one tornado alone caused over $1m worth of damage. So far 126 people have been confirmed dead, and hundreds more are injured.

These storms follow hot on the heels of April’s severe weather, which became the most active month for tornadoes on record, and over 600 were reported. Severe weather was seen on April 3-5, 8-11 and 25-28.

At the end of April there was a period of calm in the US weather, but the tornadoes started again on May 17, and have been steadily increasing ever since.

Wednesday was the most active day, when 81 tornadoes were reported. This number is likely to be an over-estimation of the actual number, as often two people will report the same storm, but clearly a large number of tornadoes were formed that day.

It is important to remember that while tornadoes generally make the headlines, they are not the only hazard that the US has been dealing with. The severe thunderstorms have also produced giant hail and damaging gusts of wind. Trees and power lines have been pulled down, even without a tornado being present.

It is unknown how long this quiet weather will last, as the forecast models cannot agree on the longer range forecasts. However, given that the tornado season lasts until mid July, there are almost certainly more storms still to come.