I’ve blogged about this before because it continues to amaze me with each month that goes by. After a record number of Tri-State tornadoes in 2012, this year has been a very slow one for severe weather. In fact, 2013 will be the quietest year for severe weather in the Tri-State on record by most measures.

How do Severe Thunderstorm, Tornado, and Flash Flood Warnings so far this year compare to average??

The current Tri-State Severe Thunderstorm Warning count of 61 this year is tied (with 2005) for the fewest Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued in a year (since the National Weather Service in Wilmington started issuing warnings for the Tri-State in 1995):

19 Flash Flood Warnings have been issued in the Tri-State so far this year. While our Flash Flood Warning count is likely to be below average this year, there have been several years since 1995 with fewer Flash Flood Warnings.

The statistic that continues to amaze me is the fact that no Tornado Warnings have been issued in the Tri-State so far this year. Since 1995, we have never gone an entire year without at least one Tornado Warning being issued in the Tri-State; in fact…since 1995, at least one Tornado Warning had been issued somewhere in the Tri-State prior to July 28th. For perspective, 24 Tornado Warnings were issued in the Tri-State through this date last year.

Here’s a comparison of Tri-State Tornado Warnings issued by year since 1995:

The only thing better to see than 0 Tornado Warnings in a year is 0 confirmed tornadoes in that same area. If we don’t see a confirmed tornado for the rest of the year, 2013 will be the first year since 1987 without one:

We need to thank our lucky stars for a boring severe weather season. After going through deadly tornadoes last year (including March 2, 2012 – the deadliest severe weather day in the Tri-State since official tornado records began in 1950), we needed a year to rebuild and regroup.

The last tornado in the Tri-State was on September 8, 2012…389 days ago. Let’s hope we make it another 389 days without a tornado.