Tornadoes of 2015

Tornadoes of 2015

Graph of the 2015 United States tornado count.
Timespan	January 3 - December 28
Maximum rated tornado	EF4 tornado Rochelle, Illinois on April 9 Dolo – Mira, Italy on July 8 Holly Springs – Ashland, Mississippi on December 23 Garland, Texas on December 26
Tornadoes in U.S.	1,178
Damage (U.S.)	$321.122 million
Fatalities (U.S.)	36
Fatalities (worldwide)	109
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Fatal tornadoes in 2015

March 25 April 9 May 9 May 10 May 10 May 25 Dec. 23 Dec. 23 Dec. 23 Dec. 26 Approximate touchdown location of killer tornadoes in 2015 Summary of tornadoes March 25 – Oklahoma (1 death) April 9 – Illinois (2 deaths) May 9 – Texas (1 death) May 10 – Texas (2 deaths) May 10 – Arkansas (2 deaths) May 25 – Oklahoma (1 death) May 25 – Texas (1 death) December 23 – Mississippi (2 deaths) December 23 – Mississippi (9 deaths) December 23 – Tennessee (2 deaths) December 26 – Texas (10 deaths) December 26 – Texas (2 deaths) December 26 – Texas (1 death) Total Fatalities: 36

This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2015. 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, winds and hail.

There were 1,265 tornadoes reported in the United States in 2015 according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), of which at least 1,178 have been confirmed. Worldwide, 109 fatalities have been reported: 45 in Pakistan, 36 in the United States, 14 in Mexico, 7 in China, 3 in Myanmar, 2 in Brazil and 1 each in Italy and Russia. 2015 ended the very quiet trend of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons, and was the most active in four years.

Throughout much of the first half of 2015, tornado activity was near record low mostly due to a continuous pattern of a trough in the east, which brought colder than average temperatures there, and a ridge in the west, which brought warmer than average temperatures in the west. The pattern changed, slightly, in late March and early April to allow for some severe weather.During May, a few large tornado outbreaks occurred, which led it to be the most active tornado month since April 2011, and the most active May since 2008. Due to a significant El Niño event, November and December were extremely active months with over 20 fatalities in December alone. 93 tornadoes were reported in December, well above average for that month. Furthermore, 2015 was the first year since 2011 to see a total of more than 1,000 tornadoes across the United States. In synopsis, 2015 was the first average or above average year in terms of the number of tornadoes since 2011.