Pat Shingleton for Thursday, May 17, 2012

Weatherwise Magazine identified the “Top 10 Weather Events 2011” in the U.S. No. 10 was the Groundhog Day Blizzard in February, with 20.2 inches of snow in Chicago. At No. 9 was the “Snowtober” Nor’easter that recorded 4 to 30 inches and power outages for 3 million. April’s tornado outbreak, with 177 twisters stretched from Oklahoma to North Carolina, made the No. 8 slot. No. 7 was Midwest flooding; No. 6 was Hurricane Irene, which made landfall in New York City. No. 5 was the record heat from Texas to Louisiana and 63 days of triple-digit highs in Dallas. Mississippi River flooding in our state was No. 4, and the Joplin tornado in May made No. 3. At No. 2 was the Southern Plains drought, and No. 1 was the Tornado Super Outbreak; the largest on record, with 343 twisters.

Fastcast: A shower.