Recent Tornado Outbreak

As you read the news or turned on your TV two weekends ago you might have been surprised to hear about the recent tornado outbreak in the Midwest. You usually hear about these destructive outbreaks during tornado season, and for the area impacted recently their season wrapped up with the end of summer. So why did we see such powerful storms this late in fall?

On the weekend of  Nov.16th an atypical powerful late-season strand of thunderstorms moved across the Midwest. This wave of storms contained intense destructive winds that spun off tornadoes in 12 different states. The strongest, an EF-4, hit Washington, Illinois and destroyed entire neighborhoods. This late-season outbreak is the strongest November outbreak in the past 8 years.

The twisters two weekends ago affected 12 different states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and western New York.

        Quick Facts

• Death toll rises to 6 


• A preliminary rating of EF4 has been given to the tornado that hit New Minden, Ill. (170-190 mph)


• A preliminary EF4 tornado hit Washington, Ill. (166-200 mph)


• Preliminary EF2 tornado hit near Coal City, Ill. (111-135 mph)


• A slew of tornadoes in Indiana, with at least six twisters rated EF2 or stronger


• At least two tornadoes confirmed in far northern Tennessee


• EF0 tornado confirmed in Otsego County, Mich. (65-75 mph); northernmost tornado this late in the year for the state


• EF1 tornado in Butler County, Ky. (105 mph max.)

       SOURCE: THE WEATHER CHANNEL

The question we have to ask ourselves now, is there a general rising trend of tornadoes?

 SOURCE: NOAA

Although there is no trend for tornadoes getting stronger, there is a positive trend for more tornadoes. According to the NOAA, there is a general increasing number of tornadoes each year. With the increasing number of tornadoes it is possible to have more late-season tornadoes. Why do we see more tornadoes? Is it due to climate change? Surprisingly, climate change does not play any factor in the growing number of tornadoes. When examining a correlation between climate change and the increasing number of tornadoes over the past decades, there is no strong positive trend in the numbers of tornadoes stronger than EF-0. This suggests, as of now, that climate change is not having a clear influence on U.S. tornadoes. So the increase is possibly due to these factors unrelated to climate change:

1) Population growth has resulted in more tornadoes being reported.

2) Advances in weather radar. Today’s Doppler radar technology has resulted in a more accurate tornado detection rate.

3) Tornado damage surveys have grown more sophisticated over the years. For instance, they now classify multiple tornadoes along the path of destruction that might have been attributed to just one twister in the past.


Here is some RAW VIDEO from a survivor of the Washington Tornado this past outbreak. The video also demonstrates how powerful tornadoes are and how fast they can travel while on the ground.

As you can see in this video, as a tornado strikes you have very little time to prepare or get to safety. And as fast as the tornado strikes, it’s gone and like the family in this video, you could lose everything. So it is important to be prepared for whenever disaster strikes. Although tornadoes are not common in the Fairfax and surrounding areas, it’s always important to be prepared in advance. Follow this link for to learn more about tornado safety and preparedness, http://www.weather.gov/ctp/TornadoSafety.

-Katie