Before we get into the numbers, an item about some Alabama snowflakes. Light flurries were reported early this afternoon in Leesburg in NE Alabama and even in downtown Gadsden. Not to worry, no danger of sticking. Likely that a few flurries could be seen in other areas of NE Alabama this afternoon.
* 1,264 is the number of tornadoes in the USA so far this year*
* 1,819 was the number of tornadoes in the nation in 2004–an all time record*
* 62 is the number of fatalities so far this year including 8 in North carolina and one in Louisiana last week.*
* 82 is how many F5 (top of the line) tornadoes in the USA since 1850*
* 2,758 days (7 and 1/2 years) is how long it has been since our last F5. That occurred in the Oklahoma City area on May 3, 1999. That is the longest F5 drought since 1900.*
SPECIAL NOTE: Scroll down to see all of the above information and more in a story posted by Bill Murray earlier today.
* 42 inches is how much snow is on the ground at Pelican, Alaska.
* 28 inches is on the ground at Juneau.
* 44 inches is how much snow Juneau has already had this season. That is over 6 times the normal amount.
* 32 below zero was the low in Alaska this morning in Bettles.
* 5 above zero was the low in the lower 48 states at Cook, Minnesota.
* 39 was the midday temperature at Ft. Payne Airport with light rain. Could be some flurries on the higher ridges around Ft. Payne, such as Lookout Mountain and the Mentone area.
FOR SNOW FANS:
2 inches of snow now on the ground at Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky National Park. They had a low of 15 this morning. There is also 2 inches of snow on the ground on Grandfather Mountain and in Newland, both in North Carolina. There is 1 inch on the ground at Beech Mountain, Mt. Mitchell and Banner Elk, North Carolina.
