The 2002 Veterans Day weekend tornado outbreak was an unusually severe and expansive severe weather event across portions of the Central and Eastern United States from the evening hours of November 9 into the early morning hours of Veterans Day, November 11, 2002. A series of troughs tracked eastward across the United States, providing strong wind shear, while anomalously warm and unstable air surged northward into the Ohio River Valley. As a result, multiple tornadoes occurred across Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri on November 9. A far more widespread and severe event occurred the following day, with three distinct tornado outbreaks focused across areas from Illinois to Pennsylvania; Tennessee and Kentucky; and areas from Mississippi to South Carolina. The most intense tornado of the outbreak was a violent F4 tornado that occurred near Van Wert, Ohio. A total of 76 tornadoes occurred during the 3-day period, collectively resulting in 36 deaths and 303 injuries. As of 2022, the event ranks as the third-largest tornado outbreak on record in November.
On March 28, 1984, a deadly and destructive tornado outbreak impacted the Southeastern United States, lasting about seven hours. Striking mainly the Carolinas, it was the most damaging to hit the two states since the Enigma outbreak, which struck a century and a month earlier. Individual storms traveled at up to 65 mph (105 km/h), producing many large and strong tornadoes, several of them 3⁄4 to 1 mi wide; a long-lived supercell tracked more than 250 mi (400 km) across both states, generating a dozen intense tornadoes. Prior to the outbreak, the National Severe Storms Forecast Center, now the Storm Prediction Center, issued a high risk for parts of eastern North Carolina—the first such severe weather prognosis for the Carolinas before April 16, 2011. Several tornadoes were long-tracked and paralleled an intense low-pressure area, prompting comparisons to the 1925 Tri-State tornado. One of the tornadoes reportedly reached a width of 2+1⁄2 mi (4.0 km) as well.
A widespread, destructive tornado outbreak affected Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska on April 27, 2002, and Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia on the following day, April 28. Generally, tornado reports were widely scattered in each state, but significant to severe damage was noted in multiple states. Overall, 48 tornadoes were confirmed along with 6 deaths, 256 injuries, and $224 million in damage, with wind and hail adding to the damage total.
There is a long history of destructive tornadoes in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The third-deadliest, and the costliest in United States history, the 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, injured more than one thousand people and caused at least 255 fatalities in the City of St. Louis and in East St. Louis. The second-costliest tornado also occurred in St. Louis in September 1927. More tornado fatalities occurred in St. Louis than any other city in the United States. Also noteworthy is that destructive tornadoes occur in winter and autumn, as well as the typical months of spring. Additionally, damaging tornadoes occur in the morning and late at night, as well as the more common late afternoon to early evening maximum period.
From May 3 to May 11, 2003, a prolonged and destructive series of tornado outbreaks affected much of the Great Plains and Eastern United States. Most of the severe activity was concentrated between May 4 and May 10, which saw more tornadoes than any other week-long span in recorded history; 335 tornadoes occurred during this period, concentrated in the Ozarks and central Mississippi River Valley. Additional tornadoes were produced by the same storm systems from May 3 to May 11, producing 363 tornadoes overall, of which 62 were significant. Six of the tornadoes were rated F4, and of these four occurred on May 4, the most prolific day of the tornado outbreak sequence; these were the outbreak's strongest tornadoes. Damage caused by the severe weather and associated flooding amounted to US$4.1 billion, making it the costliest U.S. tornado outbreak of the 2000s. A total of 50 deaths and 713 injuries were caused by the severe weather, with a majority caused by tornadoes; the deadliest tornado was an F4 that struck Madison and Henderson counties in Tennessee, killing 11. In 2023, tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis created the outbreak intensity score (OIS) as a way to rank various tornado outbreaks. The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 received an OIS of 232, making it the fourth worst tornado outbreak in recorded history.
On Tuesday, June 2, 1998, one of the most significant tornado outbreaks in recent history hit the east-central United States. The severe weather event spawned a total of 33 tornadoes in nine states from New York to South Carolina and caused an estimated $40 million in damage, 77 injuries and 2 fatalities. For Pennsylvania in particular, it was the second historic and deadly severe weather outbreak in three days, as it immediately followed the late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho.
From May 10–13, 2010, a major tornado outbreak affected large areas of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas, with the bulk of the activity in central and eastern Oklahoma. Over 60 tornadoes, some large and multiple-vortex in nature, affected large parts of Oklahoma and adjacent parts of southern Kansas and Missouri, with the most destructive tornadoes causing severe damage in southern suburbs of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and just east of Norman, Oklahoma, where the fatalities were reported from both tornado tracks. The outbreak was responsible for three fatalities, all of which occurred in Oklahoma. Damage was estimated to be over $595 million in central Oklahoma alone.
The June 2010 Northern Plains tornado outbreak was one of the most prolific summer tornado outbreaks in the Northern Great Plains of the United States on record. The outbreak began on June 16, with several tornadoes in South Dakota and Montana. The most intense storms took place the following day across much of eastern North Dakota and much of Minnesota. The system produced 93 tornadoes reported across four states while killing three people in Minnesota. Four of the tornadoes were rated as EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the most violent tornadoes in a 24-hour period since there were five within 15 hours in the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak. This was the region's first major tornado outbreak of the year and one of the largest on record in the region, comparable to a similar outbreak in June 1992. The 48 tornadoes that touched down in Minnesota on June 17 marked the most active single day in the state's history. June 17 was the second largest tornado day on record in the meteorological summer, behind the most prolific day of the 2003 South Dakota tornado outbreak on June 24, 2003.
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.
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.
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.
Throughout the evening hours of April 9, 2015, an extremely violent and long-lived multiple-vortex tornado tore through the communities near Rochelle and in Fairdale, Illinois. Part of a larger severe weather event that impacted the Central United States, the tornado first touched down in Lee County at 6:39 p.m. CDT (23:39 UTC). It progressed through the counties of Ogle, DeKalb, and Boone before finally dissipating at 7:20 p.m. CDT. Along the tornado's 30.14-mile (48.51 km) path, numerous structures were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in the small town of Fairdale where two fatalities and eleven injuries were recorded. A few well-constructed homes were swept completely away, indicative of peak winds near 200 mph (320 km/h), the upper bounds of an EF4 tornado. In the aftermath of the event, hundreds of citizens assisted in cleanup and recovery efforts. Economic losses from the tornado reached $19 million.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2018. 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 1,169 preliminary filtered reported tornadoes and 1,121 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in 2018. Worldwide, 17 tornado-related deaths were confirmed; 10 in the United States, four in Brazil, two in Indonesia, and one in Canada.
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.
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.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2021. 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. Worldwide, 150 tornado-related deaths were confirmed with 103 in the United States, 28 in China, six in the Czech Republic, four in Russia, three in Italy, two in India, and one each in Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Turkey.
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.
Hurricane Ida generated a tornado outbreak as it traversed the Southeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeastern United States. Thirty-six confirmed tornadoes touched down from Mississippi to Massachusetts; one person was killed in Upper Dublin Township, Pennsylvania, and several people were injured in Alabama, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The most active and destructive part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon of September 1, when several strong tornadoes struck Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including an EF3 tornado which impacted Mullica Hill, New Jersey. The same storm later dropped an EF1 tornado that prompted a tornado emergency for Burlington, New Jersey and Croydon, and Bristol, Pennsylvania, the first of its kind in the Northeast, as well as the first such alert associated with a tropical cyclone or its remnants. This outbreak severely impacted New Jersey and the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, a region which had been significantly impacted by strong tornadoes from another outbreak that occurred just over a month prior, as well as several weak tornadoes from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred two weeks earlier. Overall, the 36 tornadoes killed one person and injured seven others.
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.
A late-season tornado outbreak in the Southern United States affected the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, from the afternoon of November 29 into the morning of November 30, 2022. The outbreak was the result of an intense upper-level trough that materialized over the aforementioned states where increased moisture, atmospheric instability, and elevated wind shear were present, creating conditions highly conducive to supercell thunderstorms. Multiple tornadic storms developed in the risk area, producing numerous tornadoes. Several of these tornadoes were strong and destructive, prompting the issuance of multiple PDS tornado warnings. Two low-end EF3 tornadoes caused severe damage near Clarks, Louisiana and Tibbie, Alabama respectively while the Flatwood and Willow Springs communities north of Montgomery, Alabama was struck by an EF2 tornado, which caused two fatalities. Numerous weaker tornadoes also touched down, including a high-end EF1 tornado that caused considerable damage in Eutaw, Alabama. In all, 27 tornadoes were confirmed.
