Steve Orr New York — with only four twisters in the last two years — is in a tornado drought.
Instead, each of the last two summers have brought just two short-lived, relatively weak tornadoes.
The first four months of 2017 already is the fifth-most tornadic such period on record.
In other such years, there have been quite a few twisters here.
On average, New York has recorded 7.7 tornadoes each summer in the modern tornado record, which dates to 1990.
In the 10 years with the heaviest activity nationwide in the spring, we’ve had an average of 7.2 tornadoes.
"There’s no real good prediction for tornado and severe weather events across New York state.
Tornadoes in upstate New York form when a warm front brings winds and hot, moist air to the region, Thomas said.
If the low-level jet stream is passing over the region, it can impart the energy and winds necessary to turn a thunderstorm into a tornado.
At other times, such conditions are rare in New York — and so are twisters.