Where November Tornadoes Are Most Common and the 5 Largest Outbreaks

Nick Wiltgen, Chris Dolce, and Jon Erdman
Published: November 5,2015
It may sound surprising, but tornadoes in November are actually not all that uncommon. The month has averaged 54 tornadoes per year during the 20-year period ending in 2014, but as many as 150 tornadoes have occurred in two separate years, 2004 and 2005.
(MORE: Dr. Forbes' Latest TOR:CON Tornado Threat Forecast)
According to our severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes, the second half of October, and especially November, can often be a second season for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.
"In many ways, this is the counterpart to spring, when strong fronts and upper-air systems march across the United States," Forbes said. When enough warm, moist air accompanies these weather systems, the unstable conditions yield severe thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes."
The map below shows how many tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service during November from 1950-2014. Texas has the most, but when adjusted for total area, Mississippi has the most, followed closely by Louisiana and Alabama.
As the map suggests that second-season tornado outbreaks are most common in the Gulf Coast states, but they can sometimes spread north to the Ohio Valley and southern Great Lakes. On rare occasion, weak tornadoes can form on the West Coast in November.

November tornadoes 1950-2014.

(MORE: Tornado Central)
On the other hand, November tornadoes are virtually unheard of in the Rocky Mountain states. There have only been three, and only one did any damage – an F2 that hit Emery, Utah, on Nov. 2, 1967. The others were a tiny F0 (30 feet wide, path length 0.1 mile) outside Salt Lake City in 1993 and a waterspout on Flathead Lake in Montana on Nov. 4, 2013.
While the Rockies can rest easy this time of year, though, many areas cannot. Below we have a look at the top five worst November tornado outbreaks on record.

#5: Nov. 23-24, 2001 - 66 Tornadoes

• States affected: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana
• 34 tornadoes in Alabama alone.
• Two F4 rated tornadoes in Mississippi.
• 13 people were killed and 219 injured.
• $53 million in damage.

#4: Nov. 17, 2013 - 72 Tornadoes

• States affected: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee
• EF4 rated tornadoes in Washington, Ill. and near new Minden, Ill.
• Six fatalities.

A factory is seen completely destroyed November 11, 2002 in Van Wert, Ohio. An F4 tornado destroyed about 12 homes and factories and damaged many others in this western Ohio farm community. Photo by Michael Williams/Getty Images
(Getty Images)

#3: Nov. 9-11, 2002 - 82 Tornadoes

• States affected: 14 total from the Ohio Valley into parts of the South.
• Strongest tornado hit Van Wert, Ohio (rated F4).
• At least five tornadoes had path lengths of more than 40 miles.
• 36 people were killed and 303 injured.

#2: Nov. 23-24, 2004 - 93 Tornadoes

• States affected: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina.
• Several tornadoes rated F3.
• Three fatalities from tornadoes and one from damaging winds.

#1: Nov. 21-23, 1992 - 105 Tornadoes

• States affected: 13 total from Texas to the Carolinas.
• 26 killed and 638 injured.
• $713 million in damage; Houston area hit hard.
• Rated the fourth worst tornado outbreak in any month since 1950 by our Severe Weather Expert Dr. Greg Forbes.

It started the Saturday before Thanksgiving 1992 in Houston. An incredible seven tornadoes were spawned in the span of just two hours in the metro area, with three twisters on the ground at one particular time in Harris County. The strongest tornado, rated F4, destroyed more than 200 homes on Houston's east side. This was the strongest tornado to hit the Houston metro since 1950.
Another F4 tornado went on a 128-mile long rampage through Mississippi overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, Nov. 22. The storm claimed 12 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 700 homes.
Fifteen tornadoes touched down in Indiana that Sunday, the largest November outbreak in state records. One tornado was an F4 in southeast Indiana and northern Kentucky. Not to be left out, other F4 tornadoes carved a swath through the far northwest suburbs of Atlanta, and also struck near White Plains and Lake Oconee, Georgia.
Finally, a pair of F3 tornadoes in North Carolina killed two and injured 59.

PHOTOS: Nov. 21 - 23, 1992 Tornado Outbreak