NOAA Reports Record-Setting Tornado Outbreak for October
October 31, 2007
Reported tornado sightings (indicated by red dots) during October.
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A total of 87 tornadoes were reported in the United States from Oct. 17-19 – a new record outbreak for the month, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. The outbreak also contributed to the monthly total of 105 tornado reports – the second highest for October, behind the 117 tornadoes in October 2001. Records date back to 1950.
Although these real-time reports must be confirmed by local National Weather Service forecast offices, the preliminary number for the three-day outbreak significantly surpasses the previous October outbreak record of 63 tornadoes set along the Gulf Coast from southeast Texas to Florida and Georgia from Oct. 23-27, 1997.
Two weather systems that co-existed over the country were the primary cause of the record-setting outbreak, according to Joe Schaefer, Storm Prediction Center Director.
Selection of NOAA Weather Radio receivers - providing immediate warning information from NOAA's National Weather Service.
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“The positioning of the jet stream from southwest Texas to northeast Michigan with readily available moisture streaming inland from the Gulf created conditions favorable for tornado activity in the country’s mid-section,” Schaefer explained.
This set-up allowed for two different tornado-spawning systems to occur simultaneously over the United States. A low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico was the primary cause of storms that produced six tornadoes on Oct. 17 through the morning of Oct. 19 in the coastal regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. The Oct. 18 Pensacola tornado was one of these storms.
The major weather producer, associated with the remaining 81 tornadoes, was an upper level trough of low pressure that extended from the Central Plains through the Great Lakes. Intense thunderstorms developed ahead of this system and tornadoes were reported over a large portion of the central U.S. from southwestern Missouri to middle Tennessee, and from central Mississippi through lower Michigan. Unfortunately, five fatalities - two in Missouri and three in Michigan - were associated with these storms.
“These storms are a reminder to all that tornadoes can develop any time of year, and anywhere,” said Schaefer. “When severe weather is forecast, people should stay on top of developments closely. Monitor television and radio or listen to NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, the fastest and most direct link to hazard watches and warnings from local National Weather Service forecast offices.”