Tornadoes of 2009
Map of all local storm reports received by the Storm Prediction Center in the United States in 2009
|
|
| Timespan | January 3 – December 24, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Maximum rated tornado |
EF4 tornado
|
| Tornadoes in U.S. | 1,159 |
| Damage (U.S.) | $566 million |
| Fatalities (U.S.) | 22 |
| Fatalities (worldwide) | 45 |
In 2009, tornadic activity was generally near average. Each year, tornadoes and tornado outbreaks occur worldwide primarily under conductive conditions, though a majority of tornadoes form in the United States. Tornadoes also occur to a less frequent extent in Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the U.S., there were 1,304 reports of tornadoes received by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), and 1,159 tornadoes were confirmed to have taken place. Worldwide, 45 fatalities were caused by tornadoes, with 22 in the U.S., 15 in India, four in Canada, two in Greece and one each in Serbia and Russia.
Tornadic activity in 2009 began with the development an EF1 tornado near Stringer, Mississippi on January 3 and ended with the dissipation of an EF0 tornado near Vancleave, Mississippi on December 24. During the year the two strongest tornadoes were both assessed as an EF4 – one occurred in Oklahoma on February 10 and the second occurred in Tennessee on April 10. During the early months of the year tornadic activity remained mostly below average in contrast to an active trend of tornadoes in 2008. Activity peaked in April and May as a result of destabilizing atmospheric conditions and featured a bulk of the year's tornadoes. However, the number of developing tornadoes subsequently began to wane and remained generally inactive for the latter half of 2009.
In contrast to the first nine months of 2008, the final quarter was fairly inactive overall, and the inactivity continued into January 2009 with only a few tornadoes in the US the entire month as generally stable air dominated. The pattern broke for the first time on February 10 when a modest tornado outbreak occurred, but produced a deadly tornado in Oklahoma. The severe weather activity changed to a moderate pace for the remainder of February into March, and although the start of the season did not have a large prolific tornado outbreak, it has had several notable events. Overall activity in March ran near normal.
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