Non-tornadic convective wind fatalities in the United States

A database was compiled for the period 1978–2007 to assess the threat to life in the conterminous United States from non-tornadic convective wind events. This study reveals the number of fatalities from these wind storms, their cause, and their unique spatial distributions. Non-tornadic convective wind fatalities occur most frequently outdoors, in vehicles, or while boating. Fatalities are most common in the Great Lakes and Northeast, with fewer fatalities observed in the central United States despite the climatological peak in severe thunderstorms in this region. Differences in fatality locations between tornadoes and non-tornadic convective wind events highlight the unique combination of physical and social vulnerabilities involved in these fatalities. Understanding these unique vulnerabilities is important to future reduction of non-tornadic convective wind fatalities.