NWS: 2012 Below Average Year for Twisters in Alabama

Forecasters say 2012 is a below-average year for tornadoes in Alabama, at least so far.

While Alabama has 40 tornadoes in an average year, the National Weather Service says only 32 tornadoes occurred in the state through Thanksgiving.

If no more twisters occur this year, 2012 will end with the state’s lowest tornado total since 1999, when 23 occurred. But November and December are considered a secondary tornado season for the state.

The slow period comes just a year after Alabama recorded a record of more than 140 tornadoes in 2011. That total was bolstered by the spring outbreak that killed more than 250 people statewide on April 27.