🌪️ What makes it so wild?⁠ ⁠ "The U.S. is uniquely situated in the mid-latitudes — about halfway between the equator and the North Pole — and between two oceans," Sean Potter, a meteorologist and weather historian in New York City, notes.⁠ "The contrast of cold, dry, Arctic air from Canada and warm, moist, tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and Atlantic helps fuel the massive storms that move across the country year-round, bringing everything from blizzards to heavy rain and thunderstorms, depending on the time of year," he said.⁠ ⁠ Tornadoes are nearly a uniquely American phenomenon. Each year, "the U.S. experiences about 80% to 90% of all of the tornadoes that occur across the world," said Randy Cerveny, a professor of geography at Arizona State University.⁠ "The U.S. averages more than 10,000 severe thunderstorm events per year, with more than 1,000 tornadoes," Potter said. "By comparison, China, which is slightly larger in size, sees around the same number of severe th...