Tornadoes of 2008
Tornadoes of 2008
Tracks of all United States tornadoes during 2008
|
| Timespan |
January 7 – December 27, 2008 |
| Maximum rated tornado |
EF5 tornado
|
| Tornadoes in U.S. |
1,692 |
| Damage (U.S.) |
~$1.84 billion |
| Fatalities (U.S.) |
126 |
| Fatalities (worldwide) |
135 |
|
|
January 21
|
F1 tornado |
| Tornadoes confirmed |
1 |
|
Max rating1
|
F1 tornado |
| Areas affected |
Belgium |
|
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
|
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2008. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
There were 1,692 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in 2008, with 126 confirmed fatalities. This made 2008 the deadliest year in that country since 1998. Nine other fatalities have been reported elsewhere in the world: three in France, two each in Bangladesh and Poland and one each in Russia and China. With 1,692 confirmed tornadoes, 2008 ranked as the third most active US tornado season on record, only 2011 and 2004 have had more tornadoes confirmed with 1,700 and 1,817, respectively. The US state of Kansas received the most tornadoes in the United States in 2008 with 187.
The winter months of January and February (usually a fairly quiet time of year for severe weather) were unusually active in 2008 in the US, with several major outbreaks taking place. The first major outbreak took place on the week of January 7, which was unusually far north for January. February saw a new record for tornadoes in that month, with one of the most prolific outbreaks in recent years (and the deadliest since 1985) taking place on February 5, and three smaller outbreaks also taking place later in the month. March was also fairly active, but not at record levels. Steady activity in the first week of the month, an outbreak on March 15 and additional activity at month's end were mostly responsible. April was also active, which was due to steady tornado activity throughout the month despite the fact there were no prolific outbreaks.
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