NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Visit:NCEI U.S. Tornadoes
According to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, during August, there were 37 preliminary tornado reports. This was about 44 percent of the 1991-2010 average of 83 tornadoes for the month of August. Tornadoes were reported on 17 of the 31 days during the month. There were no days during August with a reported tornado count of 10 or more, as another sign of a relatively quiet month.
On August 1, an EF-2 tornado traversed across the counties of Ohio and Marshall in West Virginia into Washington County, Pennsylvania, destroying a barn and camper, downing trees, and damaging roofs of a barn and house. It was the first tornado in Ohio County, West Virginia, since July 1977. There were no reported injuries or fatalities.
Another round of severe weather occurred on August 4 and 5. A waterspout in the Chesapeake Bay moved onshore and across Smith Island, Maryland, then moved back into the Chesapeake. While on land, the tornado, an EF-1 with winds of up to 110 mph, capsized boats, downed power poles and trees, and damaged buildings including a mobile home in which the occupant was injured. There were no fatalities.
There were no confirmed tornadoes in the Southeast in August. The average monthly frequency is eight. Tropical cyclone activity from the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean can produce tornadoes in the Southeast during the late-summer and Fall months. However, the lack of land-falling tropical cyclones so far in 2022 has contributed to the lack of tornadoes across the Southeast in August.
Did You Know?
Tornado Count
Final monthly tornado counts are typically less than the preliminary count. This can be due to some phenomena being inaccurately reported as tornadic activity or a single tornado being reported multiple times. Tornado accounts are reported to the local National Weather Service forecast offices who are responsible for going into the field and verifying each tornado reported. This process often takes several months to complete. Once all reports have been investigated, the final count is published by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).
The Tornado Monthly Climate Reports are written using the preliminary numbers because the final data is not available at the time of production. Historically, for every 100 preliminary tornado reports, at least 65 tornadoes are confirmed. An error bar is depicted on the tornado count graphic representing this uncertainty in the preliminary tornado count.
The following U.S. studies performed by SPC meteorologists offer deeper context and discussion regarding the frequency and distribution of tornado intensity climatologies:
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Edwards, R., H. E. Brooks, and H. Cohn, 2021: Changes in tornado climatology accompanying the Enhanced
Fujita scale. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 60, 1465-1482
DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-21-0058.1. - Mccarthy, Daniel & Schaefer, Joseph. (2004). Tornado trends over the past thirty years. paper presented at 14th Conference on Applied Meteorology.