Grim Statistics Revealed About U.S. Tornadoes in January

Growing up, I just thought tornadoes were only supposed to happen in the spring. After all, the deadly Brandenburg tornado of 1974 was a spring storm, and that is THE reference point storm for the 1970s.

However, in January of 2000, as we all know, Owensboro experienced an EF3 tornado.

And in this month alone--which, as of this writing, still has eight days left--there have been enough tornadoes in the U.S. to send the death toll rate to its highest January level since 1969.

What's more, there have been more deaths from tornadoes in January 2017 than there were in all of 2016.

Frightening.

The deep south--southern Mississippi and southern Georgia, in particular--have been hardest hit.

And, to take it a step further, there more tornado-related deaths in two January DAYS in 2017 than in all of 2016.

Naturally, send our thoughts and prayers and best wishes to those who have been dealing with more than anyone should these last few days.