It seems every other day the US news media is reporting about another deadly tornado. It's like it an epidemic!

But really it is just selective reporting. The number of tornadoes so far this year is about average.

Does anyone remember 5-10 years back, when there was the Summer of the Shark? Shark attacks were reported seemingly every week! However, that year, shark attacks were actually DOWN by 10%.

Again, selective reporting.

It seems every other day the US news media is reporting about another deadly tornado. It's like it an epidemic!

But really it is just selective reporting. The number of tornadoes so far this year is about average.

Does anyone remember 5-10 years back, when there was the Summer of the Shark? Shark attacks were reported seemingly every week! However, that year, shark attacks were actually DOWN by 10%.

Again, selective reporting.

This is just after about five minutes on Wikipedia gets you this:

As of June 1, there have been 1,415 tornadoes reported in the US in 2011 (of which at least 1,007 were confirmed). 2011 has been an exceptionally destructive and deadly year for tornadoes; worldwide, at least 537 people perished due to tornadoes: 12 in Bangladesh, one in New Zealand, one in the Philippines and an estimated 518 in the United States (compared to 564 US deaths in the 10 years prior) [1]. Due in large part to several extremely large tornado outbreaks in the middle and end of April and in late May, the year is currently on record pace. It is also the deadliest year in the United States since 1936, due mostly to the 322 tornadic deaths in the April 27 outbreak and the 140+ tornadic deaths in the May 22 outbreak.[2]

So this is a particularly bad year for tornadoes. In Alabama there has already been more tornadoes this year than the average for a "normal" year - and there is plenty of year left, yet. So, it isn't true that this year is average...