January 2, 2009
Holly Deyo

As stated by NOAA, the 2,192 tornado count was a preliminary figure. NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory states that the US sees about 1,000 tornadoes in any given year. The NWS' 10-year running average shot up considerably when 1,817 twisters hit in 2004. This pushes the 10-year number to a distorted average. Even taking this into account, the graph speaks for itself. It was an impressive twister year.