A destructive and deadly tornado outbreak that took place across the Southern and Central United States from May 1 to May 3, 2008. The outbreak was responsible for at least seven fatalities and 23 injuries in Arkansas. There were at least 29 tornado reports from Iowa to Oklahoma on May 1 and 67 more in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas on May 2. A total of 60 tornadoes were confirmed by weather authorities.
The 2010 New Year's Eve tornado outbreak was a three-day-long tornado outbreak that impacted the central and lower Mississippi Valley from December 30, 2010 to January 1, 2011. Associated with a low pressure system and a strong cold front, 37 tornadoes tracked across five states over the length of the severe event, killing nine and injuring several others. Activity was centered in the states of Missouri and later Mississippi on December 31. Seven tornadoes were rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale; these were the strongest during the outbreak. Non-tornadic winds were recorded to have reached as high as 80 mph (130 km/h) at eight locations on December 31, while hail as large as 2.75 in (7.0 cm) was documented north-northeast of Mansfield, Missouri. Overall, damage from the outbreak totaled US$123.3 million, most of which was related to tornadoes. This is the most prolific tornado outbreak in Missouri in the month of December.
A significant early season tornadic event affected portions of the Midwestern and Southern United States at the end of January 2013. The first signs of the outbreak came on January 23 as the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) detailed the eastward progression of a shortwave trough into an increasingly unstable air mass across portions of the lower Mississippi Valley; however, considerable uncertainty in the placement of severe thunderstorms caused the SPC to remove their threat outline. Succeeding many changes in the forecast, a Day 1 Moderate risk was issued for January 29, warning of the potential for widespread/significant damaging winds and a few strong tornadoes. The threat shifted eastward on January 30, encompassing a large section of the Southeastern United States. By late that day, the shortwave trough tracked northeastward into New England, ending the severe weather threat.
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 5–10, 2015 was a six-day outbreak of tornado activity that affected the Great Plains of the United States in early May 2015. On May 6, strong tornadoes impacted the Oklahoma City area, along with rural parts of Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The outbreak coincided with major flooding, with large amounts of rain falling in parts of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The National Weather Service forecast office in Norman, Oklahoma issued a "flash flood emergency" for Oklahoma City following record-breaking rainfall that occurred in the area that evening. The outbreak sequence resulted in five tornado-related deaths, along with two flood-related deaths. A total of 127 tornadoes were confirmed and rated as a result of this outbreak sequence. Damage from the outbreak was estimated at $1.5 billion.
Preceded by more than a week of heavy rain, a slow-moving storm system dropped tremendous precipitation across much of Texas and Oklahoma during the nights of May 24–26, 2015, triggering record-breaking floods. Additionally, many areas reported tornado activity and lightning. Particularly hard hit were areas along the Blanco River in Hays County, Texas, where entire blocks of homes were leveled. On the morning of May 26, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for southwest Harris County and northeast Fort Bend County. The system also produced deadly tornadoes in parts of Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. This flood significantly contributed to the wettest month ever for Texas and Oklahoma.
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.
An extended period of significant tornado activity affected the Central United States in late May 2016. This outbreak sequence came less than two weeks after another damaging tornado outbreak that affected similar areas. The most prolific day was May 24 when 44 tornadoes touched down with at least 12 of them spawned by an intense, long-tracked supercell near Dodge City, Kansas. The strongest tornado from this outbreak was a violent EF4 tornado on May 25 that caused severe damage near Solomon, Abilene, and Chapman, Kansas, injuring eight. Overall, 98 tornadoes were confirmed.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2017. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they 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 and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail. There were 1,522 reports of tornadoes in the United States in 2017, of which 1,418 were confirmed. Worldwide, 43 fatalities were confirmed in 2017: 35 in the United States, five in China, two in Paraguay, and one in Brazil.
A deadly tornado outbreak severely impacted the Southern United States, and also affected Iowa and Nebraska to a lesser extent, between November 27–30, 2016. The strongest tornadoes of the event affected Alabama and Tennessee during the late evening of November 29 and into the early morning hours of November 30. Overall, this outbreak produced 48 tornadoes, killed six people, and injured many others.
A prolific and deadly winter tornado outbreak struck areas across the Southeast United States between January 21–23, 2017. Lasting just under two days, the outbreak produced a total of 81 tornadoes, cementing its status as the second-largest January tornado outbreak and the third-largest winter tornado outbreak since 1950. Furthermore, it was the largest outbreak on record in Georgia with 42 tornadoes confirmed in the state. The most significant tornadoes were three EF3 tornadoes that heavily damaged or destroyed portions of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Albany and Adel, Georgia. A total of 20 people were killed by tornadoes—mainly during the pre-dawn hours of the outbreak—making it the second-deadliest outbreak in January since 1950, behind the 1969 Hazlehurst, Mississippi tornado outbreak that killed 32 people. In addition, the tornado death toll was higher than the entire previous year. In the aftermath of the outbreak, relief organizations assisted in clean-up and aid distribution. Total economic losses from the event reached at least $1.3 billion.
A small but damaging outbreak of 15 tornadoes impacted the Southeastern United States on February 7, 2017. The most damaging tornado of the outbreak was a large and powerful EF3 tornado. The tornado caused considerable damage along its path and left approximately 10,000 homes without electricity. 33 injuries occurred in the area after the tornado hit near Chef Menteur Highway with hundreds of structures sustaining moderate to significant damage along the ten-mile path. In response to the disaster, Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency.
The tornado outbreak of March 6–7, 2017 was a widespread severe weather and tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Midwestern United States in the overnight hours of March 6–7. Occurring just days after a deadly and more significant event across similar areas just a week prior, this particular outbreak led to 63 tornadoes within a 91⁄2-hour period as a quasi-linear convective system and discrete supercell thunderstorms traversed the region. The most notable aspect of the outbreak was an EF3 tornado that damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures within Oak Grove, Missouri, injuring 12 people but causing no fatalities. An EF1 tornado touched down near Bricelyn, the earliest known tornado on record in the state of Minnesota. Outside of tornadic activity, hundreds of damaging wind reports and a multitude of severe hail reports were documented.
Between April 28 – May 1, 2017, a series of severe weather events affected the Central United States, producing life-threatening flooding and a major tornado outbreak. It formed out of a disturbance in the Southwestern United States on April 28, and caused significant impacts, including a heavy snowstorm in the Rockies, and other types of severe weather. Up to 3 feet (36 in) of snow fell on the cold side of the system, and up to a foot of rain fell in and around the central parts of the nation.
A prolonged period of intense tornado activity affected the Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley during May 15–20, 2017. This outbreak sequence was the most prolific tornado event of 2017 in terms of number of tornadoes. It is also notable for producing the longest-tracked tornado in Wisconsin state history: an intense EF3 tornado that remained on the ground for over 82 miles (132 km) and killed one person while causing major damage near Chetek and Conrath. Overall, the outbreak sequence resulted in two deaths and several injuries.
The April 2018 North American storm complex also known as Winter Storm Xanto brought a wide swath of severe and winter weather that affected much of Midwest across to the East Coast of the United States. This particular outbreak led to at least 73 confirmed tornadoes over a three-day period, most of which occurred across Arkansas and Louisiana during the evening hours of April 13. The most significant tornadoes were an EF1 that caused a fatality in Red Chute, Louisiana, early on April 14, an upper-end EF2 tornado that impacted eastern sections of Greensboro, North Carolina on April 15, causing 17 injuries, and a significant EF3 tornado that impacted areas from Lynchburg to Elon, Virginia, causing severe damage and at least 10 injuries.
The tornado outbreak of November 30 – December 2, 2018 was a late-season tornado outbreak that occurred across portions of the West South Central states and Midwestern United States. As a potent shortwave trough moved across the southern portions of the country, it was met with ample moisture return and destabilization, resulting in widespread severe thunderstorms that produced damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes. The event began late on November 30 in Oklahoma, spreading east and resulting in one fatality in Aurora, Missouri. Several tornadic supercells moved across portions of Illinois on December 1, and resulted in 29 confirmed tornadoes. This outbreak was the largest December tornado event on record in Illinois history, surpassing the December 1957 tornado outbreak sequence. The most significant tornado of the event was an EF3 that impacted Taylorville, Illinois, damaging or destroying hundreds of structures and injuring 22 people.
A significant severe weather event impacted the South Central United States between October 20–22, 2019. Forecasters first identified the threat on October 16 as a large upper-level trough was expected to combine with an unstable atmosphere across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas particularly. On the evening of October 20, discrete supercell thunderstorms developed across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, contributing to several tornadoes. One of those tornadoes caused EF3 damage in the Dallas suburbs, becoming the costliest tornado event in Texas history, at $1.55 billion. A later squall line contributed to additional tornadoes and a widespread swath of damaging winds as the system tracked eastward.
A significant late-season tornado outbreak took place on November 4, 2022, across Northeast Texas, southwestern Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, and northwestern Louisiana with multiple large, destructive tornadoes occurring over a span of several hours. Major damage was reported in Sulphur Springs, Powderly, Caviness, Paris, Cason, Daingerfield, Athens, New Boston, Texas, and Idabel, Oklahoma, with the latter two communities being placed under tornado emergencies. Two fatalities occurred in Cason, Texas, and Pickens, Oklahoma respectively. Numerous PDS tornado warnings were issued as well. An additional tornado embedded within a narrow, but intense line of showers with damaging winds was also confirmed in Illinois the following morning as the system progressed eastward. Strong winds affected most of the western Great Lakes throughout the day before moving into Canada that evening. Two fatalities and at least 34 injuries were confirmed from tornadoes, and an additional fatality occurred near Stilwell, Oklahoma from drowning.
