NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Visit:NCEI U.S. Tornadoes
May 2024 Tornado Occurrences
Source: SPC
According to preliminary data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, during May, there were 570 preliminary tornado reports. This is more than double the 1991-2020 average of 268.4 tornadoes for the month of May, and the highest May count on record surpassing the 550 tornadoes of May 2003. This record high number of preliminary tornadoes is also nearly 250 percent of the most recent 3-year average (2021-2023) during the month of May. In addition, the preliminary tornado count for the January-May period is 1,117 - second place behind 2011's 1,238 tornadoes, for the same January-May period. It is worth noting that 2024 trails only 2011, which was a particularly devastating year of tornado outbreaks including the EF-5 tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri and also several high-end tornado outbreaks across the Southeast. Only two days in May saw zero tornadoes, as tornadoes occurred throughout the majority of the month. A few of these tornado events are summarized below in greater detail.
On May 6-9, an outbreak producing more than 165 tornadoes developed across many central, southern and southeastern states. The states most affected include Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. This multi-day tornado outbreak produced at least 61 EF-0, 79 EF-1, 13 EF-2, three EF-3, one EF-4 tornado and dozens of EF-U (unknown/unrated) tornadoes, causing widespread damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. The towns of Barnsdall and Bartlesville, Oklahoma were impacted by a violet EF-4 tornado that caused extensive damage. There were three tornado-related fatalities and more than two dozen injuries were reported.
Between May 19-26, 220 preliminary tornadoes were reported across many midwestern states over this continuous tornado-producing period. These tornadoes were rated as: 65 EF-0, 105 EF-1, 20 EF-2, 12 EF-3, one EF-4 and more than one dozen EF-U (unknown or unconfirmed) tornadoes. The states most affected included Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Kentucky. These states experienced damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. On May 21, an EF-4 tornado cut a 44-mile path across southeast Iowa, resulting in five fatalities, while a broader swath of severe storms affected Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Multiple 'Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS)' watches were issued by NOAA's National Weather Service for these states, during this multi-day sequence that produced many tornadoes and other severe weather phenomena. For the full multi-day episode, there were 21 tornado-related fatalities and more than 150 injuries were 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.