The Worse F5 tornado was in 1925 and killed about 670 people.

It destroyed a half dozen towns bigger than Greensburg.

The 8 of the top ten tornados occurred before 1960

I was in Trader Joes the other day during a cold rainstorm. The admittedly pleasant hippie-ish checker offered the opinion that it was part of "Global Warming". I smiled and said I thought it was due to a cold front moving in. She looked at me like I was insane to suggest such a thing.

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

- Arabian Proverb

If this tornado had followed a path one mile (a minute amount considering the size of Earth) to the east or to the west and we have no story (nor another opportunity to blame GW or GW Bush).

It is rather mind-boggling to me that this is lost on liberals.  There could have been far more stronger storms in the past, but if they hit unoccupied areas, there would have been no damage except to plants and trees.  (Kind of like the Earth battling itself)

Surely thinking people can see this viewpoint.  I sure hope so.

"Ned Potter set out to find why tornado touchdowns have increased in the past few years."

Well theres the problem, lets think of an answer than ask the questions... What makes him think we have more touchdowns lately? This 1 city? Yeah thats what I thought!

"I called the National Weather Service, which says that as of today it knows of 69 dead in tornadoes since Jan. 1, compared to 49 up to this point last year, and 38 deaths for all of 2005."

So more people died from tornadoes so far this year? Wow that's shocking, they must be getting better with their aim or something. Let me tell you I have been through a couple tornadoes and they are very random, its just the luck of the draw, if they rip up some corn seedlings, or downtown. More deaths DOES NOT mean more tornadoes.

"for all they know, global warming might even change atmospheric patterns and conditions in such a way to lead to fewer tornadoes."

What!? your telling me that they know AGW is going to kill everyone in Florida, and NYC, and the polar bears, but they don't know if it will make more of fewer tornadoes???? Please lets be a little consistant! Just ask Al, I'm sure he will tell you that tornadoes will be able to seek in on IR heat signals and hunt humans down cause we are producing CO2!

What??? Thats just as reasonable as the rest of AGW!

Crazies to the left, and Whimps to the right

Some possible explanations for the higher death toll that have nothing to do with global warming:

1)  By chance, some of the deadliest recent tornados have hit in the middle of the night, when people aren't listening to warnings broadcast on TV or radio.  (If you live in tornado alley, get a weather radio with an alarm that will come on any time, 24/7, when a tornado warning is issued.  If you have normal hearing, it will wake you up so you have a better chance of getting to shelter.)

2)  By chance, tornados may be hitting more population centers than usual.

3) One tornado wiped out an occupied high school, where a number of victims were gathered in one spot.

4) The Kansas tornado was an EF 5, the most intense category; even so, the estimated winds were about 100 mph less than the 1999 Oklahoma City tornado.

One more thing.  Ken wrote:  "I'll have to remember that this summer when we're bound to see the media reporting on the nation's 'parched' farmlands and 'tinder box' conditions in Western forests as proof-positive of global warming."  Ken, in the midwest they're comparing the recent heavy rains to the flood of 1993, a so-called "500 year flood".  I'd bet the farm if it happens, that'll be global warming too.