How Unusual is January Severe Weather ?

 

January 3, 2023 Severe Weather Reports (Source: NOAA)

The atmospheric ingredients required for severe weather are most common during the spring and summer months.  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.  Although isolated cases of severe weather are possible in January, they are rare.  Here are a few notable January severe weather outbreaks in recent years:

2023: A modest severe weather outbreak began on December 29, 2022, and continued through January 3, 2023.  A total of 212 severe weather reports occurred during this six-day stretch for an average of approximately 35 instances per day.  Of those 35 daily severe weather reports, an average of six were tornadoes.  This outbreak was concentrated in the Tennessee Valley and the southeastern United States.  Fortunately, no fatalities were reported.

2022:  Eight confirmed tornadoes, along with 26 reports of severe wind gusts, occurred on January 15-16.  Three injuries were reported but there were 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 has been compared to the deadly Florida outbreak of February 1998 when seven overnight tornadoes claimed 42 lives.

2020:  A massive 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.  In addition, there were 87 confirmed tornadoes, including 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. 

2017:  More than 500 reports of severe weather, including more than six dozen tornadoes, occurred across the southeastern U.S. from January 19 – 22.  Unfortunately, some of these tornadoes caused a total of 25 fatalities according to NOAA.  

2008: Another rare January severe weather outbreak happened on January 7 – 11, 2008 and featured over 300 severe weather reports.  Roughly a third were tornadoes.  This round of severe weather caused five fatalities over the five-day period.  This severe weather struck from the Midwest to the East Coast.  The scope of this event was unusual since the Midwest is usually in a deep freeze in January.

Some at-risk communities don’t have tornado sirens.  So, a good investment for your family would be a NOAA weather radio that can alert you to looming danger – day or night.