Convective storms and their impact

During 1996 and 1997, tornadoes, convective wind gusts, and hail, over the United States caused 153 deaths, 2585 injuries and over $3.3 Billion in damage. Before these data can be used to draw conclusions bout societies vulnerability to convective storms, it is necessary to put them into a historical context. This is much more complex then it sounds. The quality of the climatological record of severe thunderstorms is dubious at best. Changes in observing technologies, verification techniques and reporting procedures can all be seen in the historical record. The need for economic data further exacerbates the problem. There a few reliable sources of information. Changes in things like net economic worth and standard of living, as well as inflation must be accounted for. With these considerations in mind, the mitigation of the effects of future severe thunderstorm outbreaks by forecasting and public awareness will be explored.