Is severe weather common in December?

 

Severe weather reports, 12/28/2024 (Source: NOAA)

Severe weather in December is relatively rare in the United States. The month of December averages the fewest number of tornadoes of any month, with 28. Despite this, there have been a few noteworthy December severe weather outbreaks. Severe weather refers to a thunderstorm that contains any of the following: wind gusts of at least 58 mph, hail 1”/+ in diameter, or a tornado.

2024: There was a four-day severe weather outbreak with a total of 141 tornadoes between December 26 – December 29, 2024 in parts of the Deep South and southeastern United States. The most active day was December 28 with 109 tornadoes from Texas to Georgia. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported. 

2021: Over 100 confirmed tornadoes occurred during a two-day severe weather outbreak on December 10-11. This was the deadliest December tornado outbreak on record in the United States with 89 fatalities confirmed by NOAA across the Midwest and Tennessee Valley.

2018: More than three dozen tornadoes developed and caused extensive damage on December 1.  According to the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, the strongest was an EF-3 tornado with winds of 155 mph in Christian County, IL. Fortunately, there weren’t any reported fatalities during this rare December tornado outbreak but some injuries were reported. This was the largest December tornado outbreak in Illinois state history.

2015: Nearly 100 tornadoes were reported in the United States, primarily from the Ohio Valley to the Deep South, between December 23 and December 28. The busiest severe weather day was December 23 when a total of 38 tornadoes occurred. These tornadoes led to four fatalities and 10 injuries. Contributing to this severe weather was that December 2015 was the warmest December on record in many eastern cities, including Washington, D.C.

Severe weather and tornadoes, in particular, are rare in the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) during December. The last one occurred on December 1, 2010, when a short-lived EF-0 tornado touched down in Charles County, Maryland. That was the third and final day of a severe weather outbreak that extended from the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic. A total of 37 tornadoes developed, but no fatalities were reported.