'There will be 1,075 tornadoes': Weather vendor's prediction draws scrutiny

Popular weather vendor AccuWeather took the meteorological community by storm Tuesday, releasing its highly specific outlook for the 2019 tornado season. "AccuWeather predicts there will be 1,075 tornadoes in 2019," their piece begins, adding that Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and southern Nebraska have the highest risk of twisters this spring.

"The 525 tornadoes expected from March through May is almost exactly the normal average of 526 from March through May," AccuWeather wrote. In other words, they are expecting one less tornado than average in the spring. Many broadcast and private-sector meteorologists took issue with bold forecast.

"They are simply being very unscientific," wrote Scott Feldman, a meteorology graduate from Iowa State University. "There is really no way to know . . . until a few days before a severe outbreak. It misleads the public into thinking we know more than we do so far in advance." He said it undermines trust in meteorologists.
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