It's not unheard of, this idea of much of tornado alley without tornadoes.
But it is uncommon.
Prior to Tuesday, both the Dodge City and Goodland National Weather Service forecast areas had gone without a single tornado being reported. The same would have been true for the rest of northwest Kansas, but a storm swept through Russell County about 10 days ago with tornadoes dipping from the sky as the system moved northeast.
"Not this year," said Dodge City NWS warning coordination meteorologist Jeff Hutton. "We haven't had one yet."
The next day, tornadoes dipped down in Rush County, breaking that pattern.
Dave Floyd, who serves in the same spot at Goodland, maintains a clean slate.
Doing without tornadoes is odd enough Floyd took it upon himself to take a look at past records for tornadoes. What he found was in 1976, the first tornado of the year was Sept. 12.
Confident there will be something before September this year, Floyd delved back into the records to look at the current time period and found it's not common, but not unheard of either, for the Goodland forecast area to remain tornado-free in much of May.
"May is definitely our peak month," Floyd said.
That's also true in the Dodge City forecast area, where Hutton said he is quick to point out, "We could make up for the year being average in just one event."
Both Floyd and Hutton agree the lack of severe storms is a result of a strong weather pattern that has pushed moisture-laden air to the southeast. That means it hasn't been able to make its way into northwest Kansas.
"It dries off," Hutton said of the moisture needed to form tornadoes.
What forecasters have been expecting, however, is as the weather changes, the moist air could make it's way back into western Kansas, setting off a series of events that could mean storms.
Floyd said it's not the result of La Nina, the cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean responsible for a lack of moisture last fall and through the winter.
The La Nina, he said, has all but dissolved, with near-neutral conditions in the ocean.
"We had a very cool late April and early May," Floyd said, adding weather systems would sweep through but remain south of Kansas. "We had a couple opportunities, but those things didn't come together."
But it is uncommon.
Prior to Tuesday, both the Dodge City and Goodland National Weather Service forecast areas had gone without a single tornado being reported. The same would have been true for the rest of northwest Kansas, but a storm swept through Russell County about 10 days ago with tornadoes dipping from the sky as the system moved northeast.
"Not this year," said Dodge City NWS warning coordination meteorologist Jeff Hutton. "We haven't had one yet."
The next day, tornadoes dipped down in Rush County, breaking that pattern.
Dave Floyd, who serves in the same spot at Goodland, maintains a clean slate.
Doing without tornadoes is odd enough Floyd took it upon himself to take a look at past records for tornadoes. What he found was in 1976, the first tornado of the year was Sept. 12.
Confident there will be something before September this year, Floyd delved back into the records to look at the current time period and found it's not common, but not unheard of either, for the Goodland forecast area to remain tornado-free in much of May.
"May is definitely our peak month," Floyd said.
That's also true in the Dodge City forecast area, where Hutton said he is quick to point out, "We could make up for the year being average in just one event."
Both Floyd and Hutton agree the lack of severe storms is a result of a strong weather pattern that has pushed moisture-laden air to the southeast. That means it hasn't been able to make its way into northwest Kansas.
"It dries off," Hutton said of the moisture needed to form tornadoes.
What forecasters have been expecting, however, is as the weather changes, the moist air could make it's way back into western Kansas, setting off a series of events that could mean storms.
Floyd said it's not the result of La Nina, the cooler-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean responsible for a lack of moisture last fall and through the winter.
The La Nina, he said, has all but dissolved, with near-neutral conditions in the ocean.
"We had a very cool late April and early May," Floyd said, adding weather systems would sweep through but remain south of Kansas. "We had a couple opportunities, but those things didn't come together."
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