Final thoughts on 2014 weather!

Twin tornadoes near Pilger, NE

Good Wednesday morning on this New Years Eve. Everybody is so busy these days I often wonder how much we stop and think back on what has happened throughout the course of the year. Some of you may be glad to see 2014 go into the dustbin of history.

Last night after the 10 p.m. newscast, I did a little thinking about what I thought were the biggest weather features of 2014 and then it hit me. Tornadoes (or lack thereof) Living in Kansas, we get teased so much because of The Wizard of Oz and all of the tornadoes here, but this year was quite different. Here are some tornado stats for 2014:

And after looking over those numbers, it's even harder to believe that some parts of Kansas never even had a tornado watch. Look at this map from the Storm Prediction Center out of Norman, OK.

I don't have a good explanation as to why the numbers were so low this year, but I do think the drier than normal weather we had at the beginning of the year played a role. How dry was it? Well, for some areas, it was the driest start to any calendar year since the Dust Bowl days of the 30s. We finally started getting some rains in late May and June, but by then, the peak of tornado season was on the downhill slide. It makes it more challenging to get tornadoes when the ground is dry and there isn't much low level moisture available. After all, low level moisture is one of the key ingredients in getting tornadoes to form, and when it's not there, your chances are greatly reduced.

But nobody is complaining about the lack of twisters. It's a good problem to have. However, let's hope Mother Nature doesn't try to make up for the lack of tornadoes in 2015. Happy New Year!