The tornado outbreak of October 17–19, 2007 was a widespread tornado outbreak that took place across much of the eastern half of North America starting on October 17, 2007, and continuing into the early hours of October 19. The outbreak was also responsible for five deaths; three in Michigan and two in Missouri, plus many injuries. At least 64 tornadoes were confirmed including 16 on October 17 across six states including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri with wind damage reported in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas and Mississippi. On October 18, at least 48 tornadoes were confirmed across eight states including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, plus widespread straight line wind damage. Until 2010, this event held the record for largest tornado outbreak ever recorded in the month of October according to NOAA.
On March 2 and 3, 2012, a deadly tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States into the Ohio Valley region. The storms resulted in 41 tornado-related fatalities, 22 of which occurred in Kentucky. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio. The outbreak was the second deadliest in early March for the U.S. since official records began in 1950; only the 1966 Candlestick Park tornado had a higher death toll for a tornadic system in early March.
On November 17, 2013, the deadliest and costliest November tornado outbreak in Illinois history took shape, becoming the fourth-largest for the state overall. With more than 30 tornadoes in Indiana, it was that state's largest tornado outbreak for the month of November, and the second largest outbreak recorded in Indiana. Associated with a strong trough in the upper levels of the atmosphere, the event resulted in 77 tornadoes tracking across regions of the Midwest United States and Ohio River Valley, impacting seven states. Severe weather during the tornado outbreak caused over 100 injuries and eleven fatalities, of which eight were tornado related. Two tornadoes—both in Illinois and rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale—were the strongest documented during the outbreak and combined for five deaths. In addition to tornadoes, the system associated with the outbreak produced sizeable hail peaking at 4.00 in (10.2 cm) in diameter in Bloomington, Illinois, as well as damaging winds estimated as strong as 100 mph (160 km/h) in three locations.
On December 23, 2015, an outbreak of supercell thunderstorms produced tornadoes across northern Mississippi and middle Tennessee, resulting in 13 tornado-related deaths and numerous injuries. Other tornadoes occurred as far north as Indiana and Michigan. Scattered tornado activity continued over the next two days before the outbreak ended. This was the first of two deadly tornado outbreaks to impact the southern United States during December 2015 with the other occurring just a day after this one ended.
A significant four-day outbreak of tornadoes impacted areas across the High Plains, central Midwest, and parts of the Ohio Valley in early May. The outbreak also produced the first EF4 tornado of the year in Katie, Oklahoma on May 9, where one death occurred. An EF3 tornado near Connerville, Oklahoma also killed a person that day. Other notable tornadoes included two large EF2 tornadoes in Colorado on May 7, a large EF2 tornado near Catherine, Kansas on May 8, and a destructive EF3 tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky on May 10. Overall, 57 tornadoes were confirmed.
The tornado outbreak of February 28 – March 1, 2017 was a widespread and significant outbreak of tornadoes and severe weather that affected the Midwestern United States at the end of February 2017 and beginning of March. Fueled by the combination of ample instability, strong wind shear, and rich low-level moisture, the event led to 71 confirmed tornadoes and thousands of other non-tornadic severe weather reports. The most notable aspect of the outbreak was a long-tracked EF4 tornado—the first violent tornado of 2017 and the first violent tornado during the month of February since the 2013 Hattiesburg, Mississippi tornado—that tracked from Perryville, Missouri to near Christopher, Illinois, killing one person. Three EF3 tornadoes were recorded during the event, including one that caused two fatalities in Ottawa, Illinois, one that caused a fatality near Crossville, and one that heavily damaged or destroyed homes in and around Washburn. In addition to the deaths, 38 people were injured by tornadoes and an additional 30 were injured by non-tornadic impacts, mainly by fallen trees.
A significant severe weather and tornado outbreak affected the Southern United States between December 16–17, 2019. Discrete supercells developed in the early morning on December 16 and moved northeast, spawning multiple strong, long-tracked tornadoes in cities such as Alexandria and in Laurel before congealing into an eastward-moving squall line. During the outbreak, the National Weather Service issued several PDS tornado warnings as well as a rare tornado emergency for Alexandria. In addition to this, the Storm Prediction Center issued six tornado watches for the outbreak. The event happened to take place on the same date of another outbreak in a similar area 19 years earlier.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2020. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail. There were 1,243 preliminary filtered reported tornadoes in 2020 in the United States in 2020, and 1,086 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in 2020. Worldwide, at least 93 tornado-related deaths were confirmed with 78 in the United States, eight in Vietnam, two each in Canada, Indonesia, and Mexico, and one in South Africa.
The tornado outbreak of January 10–11, 2020 was a two-day severe weather event stretching from the South-Central Plains eastward into the Southeast United States. An eastward-moving shortwave trough tracked across the continental United States through that two-day period, combining with abundant moisture, instability, and wind shear to promote the formation of a long-lived squall line. Hundreds of damaging wind reports were received, and 80 tornadoes occurred within this line, making it the third largest January tornado outbreak on record. Three tornadoes—an EF1 in eastern Texas, an EF2 in northern Louisiana, and an EF2 in western Alabama—led to a total of seven deaths, all in mobile homes. There were five other storm related deaths, including two due to icy roads in Lubbock, Texas, one due to drowning in Oklahoma, and one due to icy roads in Iowa. The system also brought a monthly record high temperature to Boston and Bridgeport. Extensive damage and several other injuries occurred as well. The severe weather event was notable in that it was forecast well in advance, with the Storm Prediction Center first highlighting the risk area a full week beforehand. Total damage from the event reached $1.1 billion according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
A small but deadly tornado outbreak affected West and Middle Tennessee on the night of March 2 and into the morning of March 3, 2020, including a high-end EF3 tornado that hit Nashville and Mount Juliet, becoming the 6th costliest tornado in United States history, and a violent EF4 tornado that impacted areas in and just west of Cookeville. A total of 25 people were killed by the tornadoes, with an additional 309 being injured, and more than 70,000 lost electricity. The path of the Nashville tornado was very similar to the one that hit East Nashville in 1998. A few additional tornadoes were also confirmed in Alabama, southeastern Missouri, and western Kentucky. Total damage from the event reached $1.607 billion according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
A significant tornado outbreak sequence took place from March 24–28, 2021 in the Southern United States, just one week after another outbreak affected similar regions. There were 43 tornadoes confirmed across 11 states, with the bulk of activity primarily on March 25, which resulted in the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issuing its second high-risk outlook for the month of March, as well as the second high-risk outlook for 2021. Several intense tornadoes touched down on that day, including ones that prompted the issuance of rare tornado emergencies near Hoover, Alabama, Brent and Centreville, Alabama, and in the Newnan, Georgia area. March 27 also saw widespread tornado activity mainly across East Texas, Southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and Western Tennessee with several strong tornadoes touching down. Scattered to widespread wind and hail damage occurred throughout the outbreak sequence, and repeated rounds of heavy rain caused widespread severe flash and river flooding across much of Tennessee.
A deadly late-season tornado outbreak, the deadliest on record in December, produced catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across portions of the Southern United States and Ohio Valley from the evening of December 10 to the early morning of December 11, 2021. The event developed as a trough progressed eastward across the United States, interacting with an unseasonably moist and unstable environment across the Mississippi Valley. Tornado activity began in northeastern Arkansas, before progressing into Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
A large tornado outbreak struck the Southern region of the United States on March 21–22, 2022, before transitioning to the Eastern United States on March 23. The outbreak started with numerous supercell thunderstorms and severe squall lines developing in central Texas and southern Oklahoma, prompting the issuance of numerous tornado warnings, including multiple PDS tornado warnings. An EF3 tornado caused considerable damage in Jacksboro, Texas while an EF2 tornado from the same storm caused a fatality in Sherwood Shores. Other strong tornadoes caused damage near College Station and in the Austin and Houston metropolitan areas. Severe and tornadic activity continued into the next day as the system moved eastward with numerous tornadoes reported in Mississippi and Alabama. On the evening of March 22, a supercell moved through the New Orleans metropolitan area, with an EF3 tornado producing severe damage in Arabi, resulting in one death and at least two injuries. Widespread flooding also accompanied the decaying squall line in Alabama. Tornadoes occurred on March 23 over the Eastern United States, associated with the same system, including EF2 tornadoes near Pickens, South Carolina, and Gladesboro, Virginia. In all, 85 tornadoes were confirmed.
The April 2022 North American storm complex affected much of the Rocky Mountains and the Midwestern United States with tornadoes, heavy snow, and gusty winds. The system in general first began impacting the Northwest on April 11, before moving eastward into the Rocky Mountains the following day. It was also responsible for producing a large severe weather outbreak of tornadoes and damaging straight-line wind in the Midwest and South while contributing to a powerful blizzard in the upper Midwest states of North and South Dakota.
A four-day tornado outbreak affected the Central and Southern United States in mid-December 2022. The outbreak produced strong tornadoes in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, resulting in severe damage and three fatalities. On December 13, a high-end EF1 tornado was caught on video from multiple angles as it caused considerable damage in Grapevine, Texas, where five people were injured, and multiple EF2 tornadoes caused significant damage in other parts of Texas and Oklahoma that morning. Two large EF2 tornadoes occurred near DeBerry, Texas and Keachi, Louisiana to the southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana, with the second one causing severe damage and two fatalities. An EF3 tornado struck the northern fringes of Farmerville, causing major structural damage and 14 injuries.
An early-season tornado outbreak impacted the Southeastern United States on January 12, 2023. The result of a mid-level trough moving through, moisture and the presence of a strong low-level jet aided in the development of numerous severe and tornadic thunderstorms. Early in the outbreak, a strong EF2 tornado caused considerable damage in Winston County, Alabama, while another EF2 tornado struck just south of Greensboro. A destructive high-end EF2 tornado struck Selma, causing widespread damage and two injuries. The same storm produced a long-lived EF3 tornado that moved through or near Old Kingston, Titus, Equality, and Lake Martin, resulting in seven fatalities and several injuries in Autauga County alone. Another EF2 tornado from the storm struck areas in or around Five Points and Standing Rock before crossing into Georgia. After the dissipation of that tornado, nine more tornadoes, five of which were strong, caused heavy damage across west-central Georgia, especially in LaGrange, Griffin, and Experiment, the second one of which was impacted by four tornadoes in the span of 10 minutes, including two that were rated EF2 and EF3 respectively. Another EF2 tornado from the storm caused major damage and another fatality in the Jackson Lake area as well; an indirect death from the tornado also occurred the following day. Elsewhere, other tornadoes caused damage in Sumter and Mobile counties in Alabama, as well as parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and the Carolinas. In all, 44 tornadoes were confirmed.
On March 24, 2023, a severe weather and tornado outbreak began across portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley in the United States. A slow-moving trough moved eastward across the United States and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass originating from the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in widespread heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms, and significant tornadoes over a four-day period. A violent high-end EF4 tornado moved through the towns of Rolling Fork, Midnight, and Silver City in western Mississippi, causing catastrophic damage and many fatalities. Multiple tornado emergencies were issued for that tornado and two subsequent EF3 tornadoes from the same supercell that struck Winona and Amory.
