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Tornado Central

Fall Can Be a Secondary Peak Time For Tornadoes in the U.S.

By Chris Dolce

October 19, 2022

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At a Glance

  • Fall is often considered a secondary peak time for severe weather.
  • The threat is often highest in the South, but can affect areas farther north.
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Damaging tornadoes can strike the U.S. any time of the year, but fall has a historically notorious uptick in activity that fuels its reputation as a secondary peak season for severe weather.

Just like spring, fall is a battleground season when surges of warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico sometimes meet up with the increasingly stronger cold fronts and jet stream winds that typically sweep across the country this time of year.

When this mix of ingredients comes together it can spin up organized severe thunderstorms that produce damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes.

Although spring produces much higher numbers of tornadoes, fall can also have larger outbreaks.

The biggest second-season tornado outbreak struck Nov. 21-23, 1992. A total of 105 twisters touched down in parts of 13 states from Texas to the Carolinas and killed 26 people and injured 638.

More recently, at least 30 tornadoes were confirmed in less than 24 hours during an Oct. 20-21, 2019, outbreak that hit six southern states. The strongest, an EF3, tore an almost 16-mile-long path in just over 30 minutes at night through the north side of Dallas County, Texas.

Fall's Tornado Risk Areas

Tornadoes can spin up in the month of October from the Midwest and parts of the Plains into the Deep South and mid-Atlantic.

As we shift into November, the risk of second-season tornado outbreaks is typically found in the Deep South, where warm and moist air is more common. However, they can sometimes spread farther north into portions of the Midwest.

Nighttime tornadoes also have a greater chance of spinning up as we head deeper into fall.

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As you can see in the graph below, there is a pronounced nighttime tornado maximum in the month of November.

Given the fewer hours of daylight in standard, rather than daylight time, any cold-season southern tornadoes have a greater chance of occurring after sunset.

This is important since tornadoes occurring at night are more than twice as likely to be deadly as those during the day, according to a recent study.

U.S. nocturnal (defined as from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. CST) tornadoes (F/EF1 or stronger) by month from 1953 to 2015.
(NOAA/SPC via the National Weather Association )

How can you be warned if you're sound asleep? Here are some tips:

-Buy a NOAA weather radio. You can find these at most electronics retailers. They feature warning alarms that can be set to sound when any National Weather Service tornado or severe thunderstorm watch or warning is issued.

-Your smartphone can alert you. Most newer smartphones are capable of receiving wireless emergency alerts from your local NWS office. These include tornado warnings. Make sure your smartphone is charged sufficiently and left on overnight, and a special tone and vibration will occur twice when a tornado warning is issued. Note, however, this will not sound for a tornado watch or severe thunderstorm warning.

-Other weather apps can also alert you. Many weather apps, including The Weather Channel app, can also send alerts to your smartphone, tablet or smartwatch.

-Know where to go. Have a plan in place in advance for where you will seek shelter.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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