500 Dead in Tornadoes in 2011

Here’s a dubious distinction: It’s not even June, and 2011 is already the deadliest year for tornadoes in the United States since 1953. With recent tornadoes—especially in Joplin, Missouri, but also in Oklahoma and elsewhere—505 people have died, and the number is expected to rise as cleanup continues in the Show Me State. It will take only 14 more deaths to eclipse the 1953 mark. It’s not much consolation, but 2011 is still well behind the all-time mark of 794 during 1925.