Spate of tornadoes far outpaces yearly average

By Editor | May 8, 2024

April was a busy month for tornadoes across the United States with 373 recorded, bringing the total for the year to 549, the Austin American-Statesman reported. That is nearly double the average at this point in the year, the National Weather Service says.
Texas, as usual, is a leader in tornadic activity, with 14 tornadoes reported within a 24-hour span in Central and East Texas during a spring storm in late April. Luckily, none resulted in injury or fatality. All of the tornadoes reported on April 26 fell within a 70-mile stretch along Interstate 35 and Texas Hwy. 31, around Corsicana, McGregor and Hillsboro.
The weather service reported that tornadoes have nearly reached half the annual average recorded over the past decade, with April alone accounting for more than one-fourth of the annual average.
It’s official: Power lines caused Panhandle wildfires
A House committee investigating the deadly Panhandle wildfires concluded the most destructive blazes were caused by power lines that “had not been effectively maintained or replaced by a utility provider and an oil and gas operator,” The Dallas Morning News reported.
The findings were released in an interim report last week. The Smokehouse Creek fire started Feb. 26 in Hutchinson County and rapidly became the largest wildfire in state history.
The fire scorched more than a million acres. It killed at least two people and more than 15,000 head of cattle and destroyed an estimated 138 homes and businesses.
The committee’s findings included ineffective monitoring of utility, oil and gas providers in the area; a lack of funding for volunteer fire departments; and lack of coordination among first responders and government agencies.
Both the Smokehouse Creek and the smaller Reamer Creek fires were caused by downed Xcel Energy power poles, while the Windy Deuce Fire was caused by tree limbs rubbing against power lines on a pole.
Paxton sues to block closing ‘gun show loophole’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing to stop the Biden administration’s bid to close what is known as the ‘gun show loophole.
“We will not let Biden continue this tyrannical abuse of power,” kut.org quoted Paxton as saying. “His war on Second Amendment rights must be stopped.”
Paxton was joined by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach in suing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to attempt to block a new rule requiring all gun sellers to be federally licensed and to conduct background checks of purchases – including weapons sold at gun shows or in private transactions.
Steven Dettelback, ATF director, said requiring firearms dealers to have federal licenses to sell guns and conducting background checks on buyers closes a loophole, since licensed gun sellers are already required to keep records of sales.
“We can clearly see that a whole group of folks are openly flouting that law,” Dettelbach said. “That leads to not just unfair but, in this case, dangerous consequences.”
Abbott orders TEA to ignore new Title IX guidelines
Abbott last week ordered the Texas Education Agency to ignore new Biden administration guidelines that add new categories of protection within Title IX to include LGBTQ students, the Texas Standard reported. The new rules also spurred yet another lawsuit against the Biden Administration by Paxton. The state’s AG office says, “the Biden administration misinterpreted the intent of Title IX.”
However, Joanna Grossman, a law professor at Southern Methodist University who specializes in women and the law, said the Department of Education is charged with interpreting and implementing Title IX, and the governor is exceeding his powers.
“To be clear, a governor of a state does not have the authority to order his people to ignore federal law. A federal law is supreme. So, the idea that he can just sort of pick and choose and decide that Texas isn’t going to follow federal law is not one of his options,” she said.