2018 Mid-South Tornado Summary

2018 Mid-South Tornado Summary

http://midsouthtornadoes.msstate.edu/index.php?cw=meg

(Figure 1)

The Mid-South was struck by 20 tornadoes in 2018 which is about normal (Figure 1). The 20 year (1999-2018) annual average for the Mid-South is 19.2 tornadoes. February 24, 2018 was the busiest tornado day of the year. Nine tornadoes tracked across northern sections of the Mid-South during a 3 hour stretch in the evening. The most significant tornado of that day was an EF-2 that moved from Clay County, AR into Dunklin County, MO (Figure 2). This storm resulted in the only Mid-South tornado related fatality in 2018.

(Figure 2)

Most of the tornadoes during 2018 (Figure 3) were categorized as weak (EF0 or EF1) with two significant tornadoes (EF-2) recorded.

2018 Tornadoes

EF-0........10

EF-1..........8

EF-2..........2

Total.........20

(Figure 3)

The first significant tornado of the year is highlighted above (Figure 2). The second significant tornado of the year tracked from Pontotoc County, MS into Lee County, MS (Figure 4) during the late evening of November 5, 2018. This tornado caused considerable damage across the northern parts of Tupelo, MS.

(Figure 4)

The Mid-South Tornado database can be found at http://midsouthtornadoes.msstate.edu/index.php?cw=meg. This database contains tornadoes dating back to the late 1800s and represents the most complete catalog of tornadoes for the Mid-South.