Energy and Environment

Tornado seasons lately have been boom or bust

By Seth Borenstein

Published April 30, 2014 8:12pm ET

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Tornado seasons lately have been boom or bust — FILE - This Monday, April 28, 2014 aerial photo shows destroyed buildings and debris along U.S. Highway 64 in Vilonia, Ark. Vilonia was hit hard Sunday for the second time in three years. Four people were killed in a 2011 storm. Until this late April 2014 outbreak, the U.S. as a whole had by far the quietest start of the year for tornadoes. Longer trends show more tornado clusters recently. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) | Danny Johnston

WASHINGTON (AP) — Something strange is happening with tornadoes lately in the United States and it’s baffling meteorologists. It’s either unusually quiet or deadly active.

Until this weekend’s outbreak, the U.S. had by far the quietest start of the year for tornadoes. By the beginning of last week, there had been only 20 significant tornadoes and none of them that big.

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