2024 US Tornadoes

• The first half of the year wrapped up with 1,250 tornadoes, and 91 tornadoes were reported in August, which is 10 above the average.
• CDP often uses preliminary NWS or NOAA/NCEI data because final numbers take significant time. NOAA says, “Historically, for every 100 preliminary tornado reports, at least 65 tornadoes are confirmed.”
• Of the 25 billion-dollar disasters that have been confirmed this year as of Oct. 28, 2024, at least 17 include confirmed tornado outbreaks.
• NOAA has confirmed 52 tornado-related deaths in 2024 as of Oct. 28. Of these deaths, 30 of these deaths occurred in a manufactured home, 10 inside a traditionally built home, three inside a vehicle, three outside, one inside a building, and five locations are unknown. Other deaths may be under investigation.
• The United States has not experienced an EF-5 twister since the Moore Tornado in 2013. While most tornadoes (90%) are rated EF-0 or EF-1, they can still damage homes and cause severe damage to mobile homes and manufactured housing.
• Since 1880, the percentage of fatalities during daytime tornadoes has decreased by 20%, while the percentage of deaths during nighttime tornadoes has increased by the same amount. Nighttime tornadoes kill twice as many people as daytime tornadoes annually.

October 8-9

Hurricane Milton caused around 46 tornadoes throughout Florida, including three EF-3s that affected Glades, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties. These tornadoes stripped off roofs, flipped mobile homes, and tossed around boats and cars. This was the first hurricane or tropical storm to produce an EF-3 tornado in Florida since Hurricane Agnes in June 1972.

September 6

An EF-1 tornado struck New York on Sept. 6, causing extensive tree damage. It was the 29^th tornado in New York this year, breaking the record for the most twisters in a single year.

September 26-27

Hurricane Helene spawned over 20 tornadoes across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The strongest was EF-1 in South Carolina. The tornadoes uprooted trees, damaged buildings and infrastructure. No fatalities were attributed to the tornadoes.

Preliminary data indicates there were 91 confirmed tornadoes in August, which is above the 1991-2020 average of 81 tornadoes.

The most intense day for tornadoes was Aug. 5, when 29 tornadoes hit southern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, coastal South Carolina and Buffalo, New York, with no injuries or fatalities.

Tropical Storm Debby caused tornadoes as it moved inland, leading to significant damage in North Carolina. These included an EF-2 in Sampson County and an EF-3 in Wilson County, resulting in one fatality. On Aug. 8, Debby spawned 11 tornadoes across several other states, causing damage but no injuries or fatalities.

Preliminary data from the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center indicates there were 210 tornadoes reported for July. Over 60 of those tornadoes were connected with the path of Hurricane Beryl as it traveled across the U.S., from Texas to Vermont, and on to Canada.

Several of the outbreaks also set records. For example, New York typically sees nine tornadoes in July. This year, 20 of their 22 twisters have occurred in July (the highest was 13 in 1992).

While there was at least one tornado on all but three days in the month, there were no big outbreaks. June saw 131 tornadoes, with only June 5 exceeding 20 twisters. The severe weather on June 12-13 in the central part of the country is under investigation as a potential billion-dollar disaster.

June 5-6

One EF-2, 10 EF-1, nine EF-0 and several EF-U tornadoes struck Michigan, Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, and Alabama. Although these were small twisters, several homes, businesses, vehicles and infrastructure were damaged in several towns in Maryland. The tornado in Michigan developed so quickly there was no advance notice or warning sirens.

June 25-26

At least 20 tornadoes roared through Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and  Rhode Island at the end of the month. While most were small, there was an EF-3 in Whitman, Nebraska. Rhode Island saw its first tornado in June since 1950 on June 26.

NOAA/NCEI states that there were 570 tornadoes in May, which is a significant increase from the 1991-2020 average of 268.4 tornadoes and the highest count ever recorded in May.

Twisters have been reported in almost half the states in the country, and there were only two days in the month without at least one tornado. Out of the six billion-dollar weather and climate disasters were confirmed in May, three of them included tornadoes.

May 6-10

Multiple tornadoes spawned from violent storms across the U.S., resulting in multiple casualties and injuries. There were 1,400 severe weather reports and 165 tornadoes confirmed across several states from May 6 to May 10.

NCEI said that: “This multi-day tornado outbreak produced at least 61 EF-0, 79 EF-1, 13 EF-2, three EF-3, one EF-4 tornado and dozens of EF-U (unknown/unrated) tornadoes, causing widespread damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. The towns of Barnsdall and Bartlesville, Oklahoma were impacted by a violet EF-4 tornado that caused extensive damage.”

May 19-26

According to NOAA/NCEI, “220 preliminary tornadoes were reported across many midwestern states over this continuous tornado-producing period. These tornadoes were rated as: 65 EF-0, 105 EF-1, 20 EF-2, 12 EF-3, one EF-4 and more than one dozen EF-U (unknown or unconfirmed) tornadoes. The states most affected included Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Kentucky. These states experienced damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. For the full multi-day episode, there were 21 tornado-related fatalities and more than 150 injuries were reported.”

With nearly 400 tornadoes confirmed in April, the month brought more than double the average of 182.4 tornadoes. including at least 27 EFUs, 84 EF-0s, 161 EF-1s, 35 EF-2s, nine EF-3s and one EF-4. At least seven direct tornado deaths and several related fatalities were recorded, with fatalities spread across several of the outbreaks.

NOAA/NCEI said: “The preliminary tornado count for the January-April year-to-date period was 547, which is similar to the total from the last couple of years and above the 1991-2020 average of 337.9 tornadoes. It was also the third highest count for this period on record.”

Three of April’s tornado outbreaks produced billion-dollar disasters: April 1-3 at $2.5 billion, April 8-11 at $2.2 billion and April 26-28 at $1.2 billion in economic losses.

The worst tornado outbreak of the year, with more than 140 tornadoes, occurred between April 25 and April 28 in the Midwest and Great Plains, including Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

Alaska experienced its fifth-ever tornado on April 19; the first since 2005.

April 1-3

A powerful line of storms passed through the Midwest and into much of the Central and Southeast U.S., causing severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes. There were more than 85 twisters in this outbreak stretching from Oklahoma to West Virginia, including 14 EF-2 tornadoes. West Virginia saw 10 tornadoes.

April 16

On April 16, severe storms moved into the Midwest and spawned twisters in Iowa and Kansas, hurting several people. This included an EF-2 tornado that made landfall in Greenwood County. At least 15 tornadoes touched down across Iowa on April 16, including a 900-feet wide long-track EF-2 tornado that ran for more than 42 miles, with peak wind speeds of 130 mph. It is the longest tornado path in the area since almost exactly a decade ago, April 27, 2014.

April 26–27

Multiple storm systems moved through the Midwest and Central Plains between April 26 and 28, spawning more than two dozen tornadoes. These twisters resulted in at least five fatalities, four of which occurred in Oklahoma, where President Biden approved a major disaster declaration on May 1.

In Nebraska, two supercells produced five tornadoes across the southern region. An EF-3 tornado hit Howard County, gaining significant strength when it entered the town of Elba, damaging homes, outbuildings and farmsteads. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen announced at least 450 homes were “totally destroyed” in Omaha following the twisters.

Two EF-3 tornadoes crossed over from Omaha, Nebraska, into Iowa. One of them reached peak wind speeds of 165 mph, traveled for over 31 miles and, at its widest, was nearly one mile. In a town of 600 people, the tornado damaged 120 homes.

NOAA/NCEI confirmed 66 tornadoes in March, which is below the 30-year average of 80.1 events for the month. Half of the days in the month had no tornadoes, and this is the lowest amount for the month since March 2018. NOAA/NCEI also said that “March 2024 was the 17th-warmest March on record for the nation and precipitation ranked in the wettest third of the historical record for the month.”

A tornado system from March 13 to March 15 is one of the billion-dollar disasters in 2024 at a cost of $5.9 billion. The states affected by tornadoes included Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Ohio.

March 9

About 15 people were displaced after a short (less than 10 minutes) but strong (130 mph winds) EF-2 tornado hit Brantley County, Georgia. At least one mobile home was flattened, several were damaged and five people were reportedly injured. 

March 13-15

The mid-March outbreak saw more than 41 tornadoes across the Midwest and Ohio River Valley. The primary impacts were in southwestern Illinois, eastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio.

NCEI said, “This cluster of tornadoes included at least ten EF-0, eight EF-1, seven EF-2, two EF-3 and several EF-U (unrated) tornadoes.”

An EF-3 tornado hit the community of Indian Lake, Ohio, traveling 31.2 miles for 47 minutes. Three deaths and 27 injuries were confirmed in Logan County. Packing wind speeds of 155 mph, the tornado struck a manufactured home community near Indian Lake, where most of the fatalities occurred.

FEMA declared a major disaster declaration for Ohio’s tornadoes on March 14 [DR-4777] for  11 counties. There were 442 individual assistance applications approved for nearly $3.6 million in assistance, an average of $7,583.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center reported 52 preliminary tornadoes during February, below the 1991-2020 average of 75 tornadoes for the month. States affected include California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. The month was unseasonably warm and dry.

A severe weather system on Feb. 27 and 28, is one of the nation’s billion-dollar disasters in 2024, at $1.3 billion.

Feb. 27-28

Hail, high winds and more than two dozen confirmed tornadoes hit the Great Lake states, including the suburbs of Chicago, leaving behind a trail of damage, debris and power outages.

A rare set of 12 tornadoes struck northwest Illinois and Indiana on Feb. 27.”

The tornadoes, ranging from EF-U to EF-1, affected 11.1 million people. The storms led to damaged buildings and roofs, uprooted trees, and downed power lines.

Southeast Michigan experienced its second-ever tornado in February since 1974 with two tornadoes reported on Feb. 28, including an EF-2 in Grand Blanc Township near Flint.

Similarly, central Ohio experienced nine confirmed tornadoes – three EF-0, three EF-1 and three EF-2. This is the highest number of February tornadoes in Ohio. Additionally, “The EF2 tornado in southeastern Franklin County was the strongest recorded in February since Feb. 22, 1971.”