After a slow start to severe weather season, Monday?s devastating tornado that hit Oklahoma reminds us how costly and destructive the change of seasons can be in the United States. Following one of the coldest March/April stretches in several decades, which caught most of the energy market by surprise, April and the first half of May produced significantly fewer tornadoes than normal. The cold air that overwhelmed the country in March and April resulted in huge natural gas withdrawals, drove prices up some 30% and served as the mitigating factor for thunderstorm development.
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