2023 Off to an Unusually Active Start for Tornadoes

Posted: April 17, 2023 3:00 pm

It is now official. After poring through a load of data, the National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that the first three months of the new year ushered in a record number of tornadoes for this time period.

Here are the details about this report.

Over 400 Preliminary Tornado Reports for First Three Months of 2023

The NWS has confined that there were over 400 preliminary tornado reports for January, February, and March. The unseasonably stormy weather pattern to start the year is responsible for the record number of twisters popping up.

While the bulk of the activity was limited to the south-central U.S., it was not unusual to see a tornado spin up in a random area of the U.S.

The latest tally for tornadoes this year stands at 466. This preliminary figure will likely change slightly as the data goes through the finalization phase. However, the early data puts the number at an all-time record since this activity has been tracked since 1950.

The surge of tornadoes began on January 2. By the end of the month, there were 166 preliminary reports of tornadoes. This number was good enough to land the month as the second-most active January on the record books, falling short of 1999 and its 214 confirmed tornadoes.

The Southeast has seen the brunt of the storm activity so far this year. Warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico have laid the groundwork for the storm development.

Deadly March for the South

March was a particularly devastating month for the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The most severe tornado was an EF4 twister that roared through the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi on March 24. There were 21 fatalities connected to this tornado.

The following week brought another rash of storms that produced enough tornadoes to send the 2023 data into the record books. This includes 122 preliminary twisters that were reported on March 31, taking over fourth place on the list of the most tornadoes in one day since 1950.

The outbreak of March 31 led to at least 25 deaths spread out across seven states. Tennessee saw the most fatalities at 10 with five reported in Arkansas.

In total, the NWS fielded 519 tornado reports in March alone. These figures will be sufficient enough to take the total number of tornado reports in 2023 over the count of 1,331 from 2022.

Unfortunately, the nation is now entering the height of the tornado season. Historically, the weather conditions support the highest amount of tornadoes in April, May, and June. May 25 is distinguished for seeing the highest number of twister confirmations out of any day of the year.

It has already been an active April for storm development. A tornado touched down in Glen Allen, Missouri on April 5, killing five people and damaging several buildings. That same day saw a tornado tear across Louisville, killing one additional person.

Tornado Alley Shifting

The traditional area known as “Tornado Alley” has been largely spared so far this year. Instead, the bulk of the activity has shifted to the east and to the south. This shift is in line with what meteorologists have observed in recent years.

There are a number of meteorological factors that have contributed to this shift in the primary impact zone. The drought that has been impacting the Southwest over the last two decades has ushered in drier air across the Plains states.

This dry air has pushed the typical storm track to the east, raising the risk of tornadoes in the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.

In addition, increasingly rising water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico has fueled the development of more storms in the Southeast. An increase in tornadic activity is a natural result of a more robust storm track.

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