Dear Tom,
Do tornadoes happen in other countries as well, or just here in the United States? If they don’t happen as often, why is this?
Ken Karczewski
Dear Ken,
Tornadoes that have caused deaths or severe damage have been reported in at least 40 other countries, but tornado researcher Tom Grazulis estimates that at least three-quarters of all tornadoes worldwide occur right here in the United States.
The peculiar geography of south-central North America–essentially the area occupied by the central portion of the United States–provides conditions so favorable for thunderstorm intensification and tornado development that they are unrivaled anywhere else in the world.
The Earth’s polar regions are the only major world areas that are absolutely tornado-free.
———-
Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
