Tornado swarm 2011: Overwhelming areal coverage

Through yesterday, a staggering 1425 tornadoes have been reported in the United States in 2011 - the most on record to date. The map (above) shows the majority of the eastern two thirds of the United States has been victimizied. The notable exceptions are West Virginia - in a veritable “tornado hole” (0 tornadoes have been reported in the state this year compared to 38 in neighboring Virginia) and northern New England.

But it’s not only the number of tornadoes that has been impressive, but also the intensity. There have been five EF-5 tornadoes (the most violent classification), the most since 1974 and the second highest number on record.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/the-overwhelming-2011-areal-tornado-coverage/2011/06/03/AGURc6HH_blog.html