This study evaluates the spatial-temporal patterns in Virginia tornadoes using the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center’s Severe Weather GIS (SVRGIS) database. In addition to descriptive statistics, the analysis employs Kernel Density Estimation for spatial pattern analysis and space-time cubes to visualize the spatiotemporal frequency of tornadoes and potential trends. Most of the 726 tornadoes between 1960–2019 occurred in Eastern Virginia, along the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. Consistent with other literature, both the number of tornadoes and the tornado days have increased in Virginia. While 80% of the tornadoes occurred during the warm season, tornadoes did occur during each month including two deadly tornadoes in January and February. Over the 60-year period, a total of 28 people were killed in the Commonwealth. Most tornado activity took place in the afternoon and early evening hours drawing attention to the temporal variability of risk and vulnerability. Spatial analysis results identify significant, non-random clusters of tornado activity and increasing temporal frequency. While this study improves weather-related literacy and addresses a need in the Commonwealth, more research is necessary to further evaluate the synoptic and mesoscale mechanisms of Virginia tornadoes.

中文翻译：

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使用核密度和时空立方体分析探索弗吉尼亚龙卷风的空间格局（1960–2019年）

这项研究使用国家气象局风暴预报中心的恶劣天气GIS（SVRGIS）数据库评估了弗吉尼亚龙卷风的时空格局。除了描述性统计数据之外，该分析还使用核密度估计进行空间模式分析和时空立方体，以可视化龙卷风的时空频率和潜在趋势。在1960年至2019年之间的726次龙卷风中，大部分发生在弗吉尼亚州东部，皮埃蒙特和沿海平原。与其他文献一致，弗吉尼亚州的龙卷风数量和龙卷风天数都增加了。尽管80％的龙卷风发生在温暖的季节，但每个月的确发生了龙卷风，包括1月和2月的两次致命龙卷风。在60年期间，英联邦共有28人被杀。大多数龙卷风活动发生在下午和傍晚，引起人们对风险和脆弱性随时间变化的关注。空间分析结果确定了龙卷风活动和时间频率增加的重要的非随机簇。尽管这项研究提高了与天气有关的素养水平并满足了英联邦的需求，但仍需要进行更多的研究以进一步评估弗吉尼亚龙卷风的天气和中尺度机制。