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The Temporal Trends And Spatial Pattern Of Tornado Activity

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DISCUSSION The results from the Analytical phase of the project yielded useful information on the temporal trends and spatial pattern of tornado activity in the state of Georgia. Before discussing the results, it is worth recalling that only “strong tornadoes” were studied in this project. Strong tornadoes, in this case, is defined by having an F3 or higher rating on the Fujita Scale and an EF 3 or higher rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The reason for excluding weaker tornadoes is to attempt to account for any reporting or technological bias inherent in studying report data over a long stretch of time. By plotting the tornado frequency on the y-axis and the years on the x-axis, we can discern a trend in the number of the tornadoes …show more content…

Perhaps the second most apparent detail shown in Figure 4 is the dramatic lack of strong tornadoes in June through October. During this time period, there hasn’t been one “strong” tornado since 1966. It is likely the case that conditions in Georgia during this time are simply not ideal for the formation of tornadoes. Note, that this is not same as saying thunderstorms are not typically formed during this time. Given the heat and humidity between June and August, this is likely the time of year where most storms form. However, during summer and early parts of fall, there is a noticeable lack of a cold front to provide the wind shear necessary for tornadoes. Prior to learning how tornadoes form, one might also be shocked to see tornadoes form so readily in January and February. These are usually cold times of the year for Georgia and cold weather is usually not conducive for thunderstorms. Incidentally, when taking into account the cold fronts and wind shear, it is not so unusual to see more tornadoes form in winter than in the summer. Notice also the trend line. The trend line fit is not exact and this would be a reasonable result. Temperature and climate condition do not change in one direction over the course of a year.
This project also looked at tornado frequency during different times of the day. The result of this analysis is displayed in Figure 5. Tornado activity is usually greatest between roughly

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