Who's the umpire, here?...  

The news this morning:

Today marks a milestone in recent U.S. tornado history that we like: the longest stretch of days without a tornado death.
January 9, 2012 marks a milestone in recent U.S. tornado history that we like: the longest stretch of days without a tornado death. It will go down in recorded history as the longest streak with no tornado deaths: 197 days.  [More]

But it only seems like last month when...

The tornadoes on Christmas Day marked an end-of-year rally in the number of twisters to strike the U.S., and ended the third-longest streak of days between deadly tornadoes, at 165. After a record tornado season in 2011, when 1,692 tornadoes left 553 dead and thousands more injured, 2012 has set records for the fewest tornadoes, with just 886 observed through Nov. 30. The month of July 2012, for example, set a record for the fewest tornadoes on record for that month since modern records began in 1954. [More] 

Huh?