NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee had more tornadoes than usual in 2012, but they caused fewer deaths.
Data from the National Weather Service shows 34 recorded tornadoes statewide last year — 20 of them occurring in March.
NWS meteorologist Bobby Boyd in Nashville said the average year brings 21 tornadoes in Tennessee, based on data from 1981-2010. There is an average of five tornado-caused deaths per year. In 2012, three people were killed.
The year with the largest number of tornadoes was 2011, when 113 of them struck, killing 34 people.
The year with the most tornado-related fatalities was 1952, when 70 people were killed by 22 tornadoes, most of them in West Tennessee.