NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Visit:NCEI U.S. Tornadoes
According to preliminary data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, during October, there were 31 preliminary tornado reports. This was about half of the 1991-2010 average of 61 tornadoes for the month of October. During this quiet month for tornadoes, many of them occurred on October 3, 11-12 and 26. Below are brief summaries regarding these specific tornado days during October.
October 3 produced seven tornadoes across south central Nebraska and northwestern Kansas. These were brief, weaker tornado touchdowns (all EF-0 or EF-1) in Sherman, Dawson and Staton counties of Nebraska producing minor impacts including damage to farmsteads and outbuildings. Logan and Sherman counties in Kansas also had minor tornado impacts. There were no fatalities or injuries reported.
On October 11-12, seven tornadoes (three EF-2s and four EF-0s) impacted Florida. These occurred during the late evening of the 11th and early morning hours of the 12th, as a low pressure system tracked across the northern part of the state. Mostly minor damage was reported from the EF-0 tornadoes, which occurred in Sarasota, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. The three EF-2 tornadoes, which occurred in Pinellas, Citrus, and Flagler counties, all caused significant roof damage, including some that completely collapsed. There were also reports of flipped vehicles, snapped trees, downed power lines, and damage to fences and sheds. There were no fatalities or injuries reported.
On October 26, there were four reported tornadoes in south central Texas. These were weaker, brief tornadoes in Caldwell, Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties producing minor impacts such as damage to farmsteads and outbuildings There were no fatalities or injuries reported.
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:
-
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.