Passage Summary: We are reporting three times as many tornadoes as we did in the 1950s, even though the climate factors that cause them haven't changed at all.

Reasoning: The number of recorded tornadoes in North America has tripled since 1953, yet the weather conditions that create tornadoes have remained the same.

Analysis: The discrepancy lies in the difference between the actual occurrence of a natural phenomenon and the recording of that phenomenon. If the climate hasn't changed, the actual number of tornadoes likely hasn't changed either. To resolve this, we should look for an explanation that accounts for why we are better at spotting or documenting tornadoes today than we were seventy years ago. Factors like improved radar technology, a larger population to witness them, or more systematic reporting would bridge this gap perfectly.