More than 1,300 twisters have been reported, doubling the total at this point last year.
Storm damage is seen in downtown after a tornado in Springfield, Mass., Wednesday, June 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Residents begin digging through the rubble of their home after it was destroyed by a tornado that hit Joplin, Mo. on Sunday evening, May 22, 2011. The tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)The tornadoes that swept through Western and Central Massachusetts Wednesday are among more than 1,300 twisters reported across the country this year. Putting things in perspective, that number is more than double the amount of storms reported at this point last year.
While the alarming jump in funnel clouds seen this year is leaving meteorologists and scientists scratching their heads, those same experts are confident that the increase isn't evidence to suggest tornadoes are becoming more frequent, according a report by the St. Louis Beacon.
Perhaps even more staggering than the amount of tornadoes that have touched down on U.S. soil this year --- primarily from March through May --- is the death toll. The three deaths caused by Wednesday's tornadoes puts the national mark at 522 this year, which is the highest recorded total since 1953 and the highest since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950, according to USA Today.
Despite the destruction and devastation caused by Wednesday's tornadoes and the other massive storms to strike down in Joplin and Tuscaloosa, researchers say that tornadoes are still typically popping up in tornado alley areas in the Plains and the Southeast.
Wednesday's storms came at what is typically the back end of the tornado season. It is proven, though, that towards the end of the season, northern states will receive severe weather.
"In June, you'll normally get severe weather in Colorado, in the northern Plains and upper Midwest," says Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Moore. "You'll also get a decent amount of severe weather in New York and New England."