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According to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, during February, there were 55 preliminary tornado reports. This is nearly double the 1991-2010 average of 29 tornadoes for the month of February. February had several notable weather systems that brought a relatively high number of tornadoes to portions of the United States.
On February 8-9, there were 10 tornados that developed across portions of Louisiana, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. As an example, on February 9, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Walton County in the western Panhandle of Florida. Significant damage to trees and minor damage to structures were observed in the community of Eucheeanna. A total of 10 tornadoes was confirmed by the National Weather Service, including two EF-2 tornadoes. There were no injuries or fatalities reported with these tornadoes.
During February 16-17, more than one dozen tornados developed across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. A total of 13 tornadoes, including two EF-2 tornadoes, was confirmed by the National Weather Service. As an example on February 17, an EF-1 tornado touched down near the town of LaGrange in Troup County, Georgia. Numerous trees were damaged, and a few were uprooted and snapped on the campus of LaGrange College. Roof damage to several structures was reported including a health department building. Other tornadoes across the region caused damage to homes, vehicles, businesses and other infrastructure. There were several injuries but no fatalities reported with these tornadoes.
On February 21, an EF-2 tornado hit parts of central New Jersey, inflicting damage to an apartment complex in the suburbs of Trenton. This tornado had winds of up to 115 mph and traveled over 5 miles across Mercer County, New Jersey, on February 21, damaging trees and roofs along its path. According to NCEI’s Storm Events Database, which has records back to 1950, this is the first tornado to touch down in Mercer County in the month of February. It was the fifth February tornado for the state of New Jersey, with one in February 1999 and three in February 1973.
On February 26-27, a tornado outbreak occurred across portions of the South and Midwest. A total of 27 tornadoes, including three EF-2 tornadoes, was confirmed by the National Weather Service. The tornadoes caused damage in portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. These tornadoes caused damage to homes, vehicles, businesses and other infrastructure. Eleven of these confirmed tornadoes occurred in Oklahoma on February 26 – the highest number of tornadoes in February for the state since records began in 1950. There were no injuries or fatalities reported with these tornadoes.
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.