Tornadoes of 2012
Graph of the 2012 United States tornado count
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|
| Timespan | January 9 – December 26, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Maximum rated tornado |
EF4 tornado
|
| Tornadoes in U.S. | 939 |
| Damage (U.S.) | ~$1.6 billion |
| Fatalities (U.S.) | 69 |
| Fatalities (worldwide) | 86 |
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2012. Extremely destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the U.S., Bangladesh and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, Argentina, and Australia.
There were 939 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in 2012. 86 fatalities have been confirmed worldwide in 2012: one each in Poland, Japan and Italy, three in New Zealand, five in Indonesia, six in Turkey and 69 in the United States.
The year began with an unusual number of tornadoes during January 2012. The first major tornado outbreak occurred on January 22–23, when a spring-like system moved across the southern Mississippi valley, producing at least two dozen confirmed tornadoes across Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. As a whole, January was the third most active on record, behind 1999 and 2008. Despite this, a significant contrast in activity occurred for the month of February. Despite a slow beginning, the month of February ended with a significant tornado outbreak on the 28th and 29th with a strong EF4 doing significant damage and killing eight in Harrisburg, Illinois. Another ramp-up in activity occurred in early March, with one of the largest outbreaks ever recorded in the United States for that time of the year. This outbreak produced 160 reported tornadoes, and affected areas across Indiana and Kentucky in particular. Using the adjusted preliminary tornado count (85% of the total preliminary reports in order to remove overcount), 2012 attained record tornado activity on March 23 with 319 reports, eclipsing the previous record of 317.
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