Middle America is no stranger to tornados, but early in the season for these deadly disasters, 2024 has seemed to present more damage than any other year in recent memory. This year, there have been fourteen tornados in the United States, killing 22 individuals, but the last month alone has been responsible for ten of these tornados and the majority of the fatalities the nation has seen in tornado disasters this year. There have been four tornados in Oklahoma, and others have been found across the nation, including in Texas, Tennessee, and Indiana.
Worldwide, 33 people have perished in tornados, meaning two-thirds of all tornado deaths in the world this year have come from the United States. While it is true that the United States does see more tornado activity than much of the rest of the world, this number appears to be oddly large. This severe weather has caused mass panic across the Plains and the South, areas known for tornados. However, the most deadly rain and windstorm disaster, although being quite similar to a tornado, was not one.
The Houston derecho on May 17, 2024, was an event that caused three tornados to form across the states of Texas and Louisiana, and the whole event saw the loss of seven lives. A derecho is a wind storm that moves fast in a straight line and is often accompanied with thunderstorms, leading to tornado formation. The tornados from the derecho caused property damage throughout Louisiana, mostly in Baton Rouge, and Texas, while the area with that saw the most damage was the Greater Houston Area. However, parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida saw the effects of this eastward moving storm. “I’m glad we don’t have to deal with tornados like these,” Mikel David Uyemura, 10, said. While here in California tornados and derechos are not a threat, other forms of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and wildfires, ravage the state. With wildfire season approaching soon, let these disasters across the nation be a warning to all residents to be prepared.
