June 24th, 2012…. that was when the last tornado-related fatality occurred in the United States. That was 198 days ago, and this streak of 198 days without a tornado-related fatality across the country has broken a new record. The old record was 197 days.
A quiet tornado season could have helped set this record. According to Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel, as of Christmas Day, there were 922 tornadoes in the United States that formed in 2012. This is over 400 tornadoes less than the 10 year average of 1334. Of those 922 tornadoes, 210 came in 3 separate outbreaks in February, March, and April, which was before the streak of no fatalities began.
There is a good chance this streak with reach 200 days and beyond. The Storm Prediction Center has only a two percent chance of tornadoes forming in Texas and Louisiana today, and a small chance for severe weather to occur over the next few days across the country.