Tropical Tornadoes

Mid-Atlantic Tornadoes from Ivan's remnants (9-17-2004)  Source: NOAA

As Hurricane Florence demonstrated, a hurricane and its remnants have far-reaching impacts for areas well-inland.  

Aside from storm surge-related flooding at the coast and inland flooding from heavy rainfall, hurricanes often spawn tornadoes as well.  Tornadoes caused by tropical systems aren’t usually very strong, but a heightened danger surrounds them because they are often obscured by heavy rain.  Some tropical systems have produced more tornadoes than others, as described below.  

2018:  The majority of the damage caused by Hurricane Florence resulted from widespread flooding in the Carolinas and parts of Virginia.  However, the National Weather Service office in Wakefield, Virginia recently confirmed that 10 tornadoes occurred in the Richmond, VA area on September 17, as the remnants of Florence passed through.  The strongest was an EF-2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with wind speeds of 115-125 mph.  These tornadoes occurred three days after the storm initially made landfall in North Carolina. 

2004:  Hurricane Ivan was a long-lasting Cape Verde hurricane that at peak intensity was a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 165 mph.  It made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on September 16 as a Category 3 hurricane.  Ivan had far-reaching impacts, including in the Mid-Atlantic Region where its remnants sparked a tornado outbreak on September 17, 2004, resulting in dozens of tornadoes.  According to NOAA, Ivan was the top tornado producing hurricane on record with a total of 127 tornadoes in the United States.  (Hurricane Beulah had been the previous record-holder with 115 confirmed tornadoes in 1967.)

2004:  Hurricane Frances made landfall on the East Coast of Florida as a Category 2 hurricane less than two weeks before Ivan’s landfall.  Like Ivan, Frances created a large and far-reaching tornado outbreak over several days.  Over 100 tornadoes were spawned by Frances and its remnants between September 4 and September 8.  Of these, roughly two dozen occurred in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Hurricane Frances remains in third place behind Ivan and Beulah for the total number of U.S. tornadoes it caused (103).

1995:  Longtime DC-Area residents may recall Hurricane Opal’s local impacts in early October 1995.  Opal made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Pensacola, Florida on October 4.  No longer a hurricane or tropical storm a day later, its remnants spawned three tornadoes in Maryland.  One each occurred in Charles, Prince Georges and Anne Arundel Counties.  No fatalities were reported.