This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2011. Extremely destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
One of several tornado outbreaks in the United States to take place during the record month of April 2011, 49 tornadoes were produced across the Midwest and Southeast from April 9–11. Widespread damage took place; however, no fatalities resulted from the event due to timely warnings. In Wisconsin, 16 tornadoes touched down, ranking this outbreak as the state's largest April event on record as well as one of the largest single-day events during the course of any year. The strongest tornado of the outbreak was an EF4 tornado that touched down west of Pocahontas, Iowa on April 9, a short-lived satellite to a long-track EF3 tornado. Between 0256 and 0258 UTC that day, five tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously in Pocahontas County, Iowa, all of which were from one supercell thunderstorm. Other tornadoes impacted parts of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee on April 9, hours before the event in Iowa.
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruction in its wake. Over 175 tornadoes struck Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, which were the most severely damaged states. Other destructive tornadoes occurred in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, and Virginia, with storms also affecting other states in the Southern and Eastern United States. In total, 360 tornadoes were confirmed by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) and Government of Canada's Environment Canada in 21 states from Texas to New York to southern Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak. April 27 was the most active day, with a record 216 tornadoes touching down that day from midnight to midnight CDT. Four of the tornadoes were rated EF5, which is the highest ranking on the Enhanced Fujita scale; typically these tornadoes are recorded no more than once a year.
From May 21 to May 26, 2011, one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. A six-day tornado outbreak sequence, most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas, while isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive EF5 tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin, Missouri, resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado was the deadliest in the United States since April 9, 1947, when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward, Oklahoma, area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Overall, the tornado outbreak resulted in 186 deaths, 8 of those non-tornadic, making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974. It was the second costliest tornado outbreak in United States history behind that same April 2011 outbreak, with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2012. Extremely destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil and eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, Argentina, and Australia.
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.
From April 13 to 16, 2012, a major tornado outbreak occurred across a large portion of the Great Plains. The storms resulted in six tornado-related fatalities, all of which occurred as a result of a nighttime EF3 tornado that caused major damage in and around Woodward, Oklahoma. Numerous other tornadoes occurred, including a violent EF4 tornado that passed near Marquette, Kansas, and an EF3 that caused major damage in Wichita.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2013. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
On Sunday, February 10, 2013, a large EF4 multiple-vortex wedge tornado devastated the cities of West Hattiesburg, Hattiesburg, and Petal, Mississippi. The tornado was one of eight that touched down in southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama that day. It reached a maximum path width of 0.75 miles (1.21 km) in its path through the Hattiesburg area and reached estimated maximum sustained winds of 170 mph (270 km/h) in Oak Grove neighborhood of West Hattiesburg. It destroyed many structures and impacted University of Southern Mississippi and two high schools. Mississippi was declared a federal disaster area by President Barack Obama, and a state of emergency was issued by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant.
A prolonged and widespread tornado outbreak affected a large portion of the United States in late-May 2013 and early-June 2013. The outbreak was the result of a slow-moving but powerful storm system that produced several strong tornadoes across the Great Plains states, especially in Kansas and Oklahoma. Other strong tornadoes caused severe damage in Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan. The outbreak extended as far east as Upstate New York. 27 fatalities were reported in total, with nine resulting from tornadoes.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2014. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
A relatively widespread, damaging, and deadly tornado outbreak struck the central and southern United States in late April 2014. The storm complex responsible for the outbreak produced multiple long-track tornadoes – seven of which were deadly, causing 35 fatalities. One additional death occurred in Florida, due to severe flooding associated with this system.
The tornado outbreak of June 16–18, 2014, was a tornado outbreak concentrated in the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. Two tornadoes also occurred in Ontario. The severe weather event most significantly affected the state of Nebraska, where twin EF4 tornadoes killed two and critically injured twenty others in and around the town of Pilger on the evening of June 16. The two Pilger tornadoes were part of a violent tornado family that produced four EF4 tornadoes and was broadcast live on television. The outbreak went on to produce multiple other strong tornadoes across the northern Great Plains states throughout the next two days.
A significant and deadly severe weather event that affected the Southeastern United States on March 3, 2019. Over the course of 6 hours, a total of 42 tornadoes touched down across portions of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The strongest of these was an EF4 tornado that devastated rural communities from Beauregard, Alabama, through Smiths Station, Alabama to Talbotton, Georgia, killing 23 people and injuring at least 100 others. Its death toll represented more than twice the number of tornado deaths in the United States in 2018 as well as the deadliest single tornado in the country since the 2013 Moore EF5 tornado. An EF3 tornado also destroyed residences to the east of Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, and was only the second tornado of that strength in the county since 1945. Several other strong tornadoes occurred across the region throughout the evening of March 3 and caused significant damage. A large number of EF0 and EF1 tornadoes also touched down.
A widespread and deadly tornado outbreak affected the Southeastern United States on Easter Sunday and Monday, April 12–13, 2020. Several tornadoes were responsible for prompting tornado emergencies, including the first one to be issued by the National Weather Service in Charleston, South Carolina. A large squall line formed and tracked through the mid-Atlantic on April 13, prompting more tornado warnings and watches. A total of 15 watches were produced during the course of the event, two of which were designated Particularly Dangerous Situations.
During the late evening of Friday, December 10, 2021, a violent, long-tracked EF4 tornado moved across Western Kentucky, producing severe to catastrophic damage in numerous towns, including Mayfield, Princeton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen. The second significant tornado in an exceedingly long-tracked tornado family, this tornado began just inside northern Obion County, Tennessee, a few miles after another long-tracked tornado – which traveled through northeast Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, and northwest Tennessee – dissipated in western Obion County. After crossing into Kentucky, the tornado moved through eleven counties of the Jackson Purchase and Western Coal Field regions while at times becoming wrapped in rain during its almost three-hour lifespan that covered 165.6 miles (266.5 km). It was the deadliest and longest-tracked tornado in an outbreak that produced numerous strong tornadoes in several states; 57 fatalities were confirmed in the tornado.
A significant early spring tornado outbreak occurred during the afternoon and evening hours of March 5, 2022 in the Midwest, primarily in the state of Iowa, before transitioning to a damaging wind event across northern parts of Illinois and Indiana. Multiple tornadoes were reported, several of which were produced by a dominant supercell thunderstorm in central Iowa. One long-track, low-end EF4 tornado caused major damage near the towns of Winterset and Norwalk, resulting in six fatalities. Multiple other supercells spawned along an area of moderate destabilization in northern Missouri, prompting further tornado warnings in southern Iowa, as they entered a highly favorable environment for maturing. Large hail and damaging wind gusts accompanied the storms, which continued their passage across the Midwestern states into overnight. More tornadic weather was confirmed in Arkansas and Missouri the next day and into the early morning of March 7. In addition to that, straight line winds killed one person near Hazel, Kentucky when a semi trailer was blown over on US 641. Another non-tornadic fatality occurred in western New York as the storm approached.
On the evening of March 24, 2023, a large, violent and destructive multi-vortex wedge tornado struck the communities of Rolling Fork and Silver City, Mississippi, killing 17 people and injuring at least 165 others. The tornado was the strongest and deadliest of a widespread tornado outbreak in the Southern United States between March 24–27, 2023. The tornado damaged or destroyed much of Rolling Fork, with the most intense damage leading the National Weather Service to assign a high end EF4 rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with maximum windspeeds estimated at 195 miles per hour (314 km/h). This made this the strongest tornado since the 2015 Rochelle–Fairdale tornado.
