Rare January Severe Weather

 

January 16, 2022 Severe Reports  (Source: NOAA)

The atmospheric ingredients required for severe weather are most common during the spring and summer months.  Widespread severe weather outbreaks are rare, by comparison, in January when cold and dry weather often dominate large areas of the United States.  However, every so often the tension between differing air masses that facilitates large severe weather outbreaks occurs during the winter. 

NOAA defines a “severe” thunderstorm as one that has one or more of the following: wind gusts of at least 58 mph; hail 1”/+ in diameter; or a tornado.

2022:  Last weekend’s winter storm that brought the D.C. Metro Area its third episode of accumulating snowfall this month also sparked severe weather elsewhere.  On January 15 and January 16, it caused 8 confirmed tornadoes, along with 26 reports of severe wind gusts.  Three injuries were reported but there were, fortunately, no fatalities.  Most of the tornadoes developed in Florida, with the strongest being an EF-2 that had estimated winds of 111-135 mph on January 16.  This tornado outbreak in Florida has been compared to the deadly one in Florida of February 1998 when seven overnight tornadoes claimed 42 lives.

2020:  A massive two-day severe weather outbreak occurred on January 10 – 11 with nearly 1,200 severe weather reports.  Almost 1,100 of those reports were for severe wind gusts from Texas to Virginia.  However, there were 87 confirmed tornadoes during this event with 11 confirmed fatalities and 30 reported injuries.  This would be a significant severe weather outbreak for any month, but it stands out during the month of January for two reasons.  Not only did a significant amount of severe weather occur, but it happened over an unusually large geographic area for January. 

2019:  A smaller, but no less significant severe weather outbreak, occurred January 19 from Louisiana to Florida.  There were a total of 73 severe weather reports, including 11 tornadoes.  Although six injuries were reported, this outbreak had no fatalities. 

2018:  Another outbreak occurred on January 21 when NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center received 43 severe thunderstorm reports.  What made this event unusual is that it occurred from Missouri southward to eastern Texas.  Environmental conditions normally aren’t favorable for severe weather in the central United States during the winter months.  Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported.