May 7-8, 2024 Severe Weather Event (2024)

FAQs

May 7-8, 2024 Severe Weather Event? ›

May 7–8. Mobile homes that were destroyed at high-end EF2 intensity in Portage, Michigan. On May 7, a tornado-driven enhanced risk was issued across the Ohio Valley by the Storm Prediction Center. That afternoon, a strong, high-end EF2 tornado caused severe damage in Portage, Michigan.

July 5, 2024 4:30 am

More than 1,100 tornadoes were reported through May − a preliminary number but nearly twice the 30-year average at that point and behind only 2011, when deadly tornado outbreaks tore across the southeastern U.S. The U.S. experienced several multistate outbreaks in 2024.

Discussion. The so-called Tri-State Tornado traveled an exact heading N 69° E for 183 of its 219 mile track. It was on the ground for 3 ½ hours and killed an estimated 695 people. Its average forward (not rotational) speed was 27.7 m/s (62 mph) with a maximum speed of 32.6 m/s (73 mph).

Texas leads the nation in the number of tornadoes that occur each year on average, followed by Kansas. Texas leads the nation for the average number each year only because of its size.

If you are under a tornado or severe weather warning:

Go to a safe shelter immediately, such as a safe room, basem*nt, storm cellar or a small interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building. Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Do not go under an overpass or bridge.

In April 2024, there were 300 recorded tornadoes, making it the second most active April on record, according to preliminary data from the NWS Storm Prediction Center. High activity has continued into May 2024, marking what appears to be the beginnings of a historically bad tornado season.

In total, two tornadoes received the rating of F6, but both were later downgraded to F5. Based on aerial photographs of the damage it caused, Fujita assigned the strongest tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, which affected Xenia, Ohio, a preliminary rating of F6 intensity ± 1 scale.

1. Tri-State Tornado: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana (1925) On March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, tore a 219-mile-long path across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

The nation's last EF-5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013.

What state has never had a tornado? ›

Tornadoes have been documented in every U.S. state (not including the non-state territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico) at least once since 1950, although some regions and states are hit by tornadoes far more than others.

Introduction. Oklahoma City (OKC), by virtue of its large areal extent and location near the heart of "tornado alley," has earned a reputation over the years as one of the more tornado-prone cities in the United States.

If you have a cellar, storm shelter, safe room or basem*nt available, go immediately to that area. If none of these options are available to you, get to the lowest level of your home. Get to a windowless interior room, such as a bathroom, closet or inner hallway. Stay as far from windows as possible.

An approaching cloud of debris especially at ground level, even if a funnel is not visible; A loud roar - similar to a freight train - or a strange quiet occurring within or shortly after a thunderstorm. A change in the color of the sky. Debris dropping from the sky.

Tornado frequency is slightly declining in the Great Plains and increasing in the East, a 2018 study by NOAA and Northern Illinois University found. The authors of the study added that further research is needed to determine for sure whether the shift is specifically driven by natural or human-induced climate change.

Tornado Alley in the U.S. is shifting: According to a report published in the April 2024 issue of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, since 1951 tornado activity has been shifting away from the Great Plains and toward the Midwestern and Southeast U.S. Scientists aren't entirely sure of the reasons for ...

Tornadoes are more common in the United States than in any other country or state. The United States receives more than 1,200 tornadoes annually—four times the amount seen in Europe. Violent tornadoes—those rated EF4 or EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale—occur more often in the United States than in any other country.

In an average year, about 1,000 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries.