Peak U.S. tornado touchdown risk

Last week we added a new page to Artemis, under the Catastrophes tab above, providing sources of data to help you track the development of the U.S. tornado and severe thunderstorm season, one of the perils that catastrophe bonds and ILS have exposure to.

Interestingly, one of the best graphics for visualising the tornado hotspots in the United States ended up being found via Twitter, the increasingly popular social network where you can join almost 1,400 others and follow Artemis.

Twitter is an absolute goldmine for finding new scientific data and information. Just follow a selection of the world’s top meteorologists or tornado experts, for example, and you’ll find yourself supplied with a constant feed of useful and up to date information.

In this case the charts in question were found thanks to Tim Brice, a meteorologist who works for the National Weather Service in El Paso Texas. The charts show U.S. tornado counts by longitude and latitude, which is a great way to visualise where the areas at highest risk of tornado touchdowns are across the country.

Yes, this is data that is available in many other maps and visuals, but Tim Brice has hit on a particularly nice way to display peak tornado touchdown risk across the United States. With the exposure to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and associated perils of hail and high winds now making up a significant chunk of the ILS markets exposure, it’s important to track the tornado seasons impact.

Visit our U.S. tornado and severe thunderstorm page for more useful graphics.

By the way, the dip in both charts is thought to be to do with the landscapes geography in that region or due to lower population meaning some tornado touchdowns are not recorded.

U.S. tornado touchdowns by longitude 1950 - 2013

U.S. tornado touchdowns by latitude 1950 - 2013