Record February ??

[Paul Sherman]

Hi Guys,

Hoping some people can shed some info on Stats for February Tornadoes as I cannot seem to find details from before the 50's

With an outbreak already had on the 5th Feb and a Moderate Risk today which will be followed by another Slight Risk for Sunday could this end up being a Record for Numbers of Tornadoes and Tornado Fatalities. The Models also throw up another System for Day 6 across the South and Possibly yet another for the Day 7/8 Period across the Plains.

Any info greatly received

Regards

Paul Sherman

 

[rdale]

There won't be many details on raw numbers from before the 50's - that is when recordkeeping started.

 

[JIM SELLARS]

Go to the SPC website or see if you can find a book called "Significant Tornadoes" by Tom Grazulis...It might have the info you need....
'

 

[Paul Sherman]

Thanks Guys. Will have a look on the SPC's Site

Until I find the Info Anyone know what the record currently stands at for February off the top of their Heads ??

Paul S

 

[MatthewCarman]

Some other big outbreaks for February:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February-March_2007_Tornado_Outbreak

and


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_tornado_outbreak

 

[Marko Korosec]

Paul,

I was doing the same research as you're looking now, but not much luck for dates before 50's... but try to search here, maybe thats is what you're looking for:

http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwEvent~Storms

 

[Paul Sherman]

Thanks for the Links Guys.

Can possibly answer my own question after a bit of Research from Below Link
http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/

Notable Years Since 1950

1971 - 85 Tornadoes with 181 Fatalities Including the Feb 21st Mississippi Delta Outbreak

1998 - 72 Tornadoes with 42 Fatalities

2000 - 58 Tornadoes with 28 Fatalities

So it looks like the Sheer Number of Tornadoes could be a record although we wont know until the SPC Put the Final Figures on this, but the 1971 Outbreak was the most Notable.

Paul S

 

[Kevin Statler2]

Already 88 confirmed tornadoes this February with 58 fatalities this month..

 

[MatthewCarman]

Date of tornado outbreak:February 28-March 2, 2007 (Enterprise HS in AL was hit hard,20 deaths and 580 million in damages making this outbreak the 4th costliest in American History)

57 tornadoes confirmed. Maximum rated tornado: F4Duration:37 hours, 7 minutes

Date of tornado outbreak:February 19-20, 1884 (Enigma outbreak from IL to AL)

60+ estimated tornadoes. Maximum rated tornado: F4


EDIT: I apologize. The first event actually happened on March 1st.

 

[Doug Lee]

It would take some work, but you could check newpaper reports. Some of the larger newpapers have websites, but I can't say that their old reports would be online. Even for those newspapers that don't have websites, you might be able to find their addresses and see if they have something on microfiche.

The biggest caveat is sorting through the reports. Some accounts will be about tornadoes, some will be about downbursts or other events that people assume were tornadoes.

 

[MatthewCarman]

I think the big January outbreaks and February outbreaks make this one of the most active Winter's for tornadoes in recorded history. This is probibly also one of the most deadly Winter's in recorded History. Has to be in the top 5 for sure. We had 2 big days in January and atleast 2-3 big days in February so far. December also had a few active days.

December 15, 14 tornadoes reported. Less then 50 severe weather reports.

December 20, 1 tornado reported. Less than 50 severe weather reports.

January 7, 75 tornadoes reported and 332 severe weather reports.

January 8, 16 tornadoes reported and 178 severe weather reports.

January 10, 36 tornadoes reported and 182 severe weather reports.

January 29, 3 tornadoes reported with 305 total severe weather reports.

February 5, 131 tornadoes reported and 524 severe weather reports.

February 12, 14 tornadoes reported and 143 severe weather reports.