January 21-23, 2017 Tornado Outbreak One of Largest Winter Outbreaks on Record in U.S.

January 25,2017
The Jan. 21-23, 2017 tornado outbreak was one of the largest outbreaks on record not only for January, but for any winter month, according to data from the National Weather Service.
(MORE: Where January Tornadoes Occur | Tornado Central)
Over a roughly 48-hour period from the morning of Jan. 21 through Jan. 23, at least 60 tornadoes have been confirmed either by National Weather Service damage surveys or dual-polarization radar in eight southern states from Texas and Arkansas to Florida to South Carolina.

Preliminary tornado reports from Jan. 21-23, 2017. Some tornadoes may not be shown in this loop, if they were not initially reported to NOAA/SPC as tornadoes.

According to data from The Weather Channel severe weather expert, Dr. Greg Forbes, this latest outbreak spawned the second largest number of tornadoes for any January outbreak, topped only the January 21-22, 1999 outbreak.
This latest outbreak is also the third largest on record for any winter month of December, January or February in reliable records dating to 1950. The infamous Super Tuesday 2008 outbreak also exceeded the count from the Jan. 2017 outbreak.

Five Largest U.S. Tornado Outbreaks in December-February
(1950-2017; Source: Dr. Greg Forbes/The Weather Channel; NWS for 2017 estimate)

Jan. 21-22, 1999	129 tornadoes
Feb. 5-6, 2008 ("Super Tuesday")	86 tornadoes
Jan. 21-23, 2017	60 tornadoes (estimate)
Jan. 29-30, 2013	56 tornadoes
Jan. 7-8, 2008	49 tornadoes

This outbreak has now pushed the tornado count for January 2017 to 111, the second highest total for any January on record since 1950, and only the second time that count has topped 100, according to Forbes. January 1999 had an incredible 212 tornadoes.
To put this in perspective, the 20-year average (1996-2015) U.S. tornado count in July is 112.

Outbreak Details 

At least 20 deaths are being blamed on severe weather across the Deep South and Gulf Coast.
(NEWS: Latest Severe Impacts)
Sadly, the tornado death toll now tops the toll from all of 2016, and is the deadliest January for tornadoes in the U.S. since 1969.
A deadly EF3 tornado touched down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, early on Jan. 21, which caused considerable damage and killed four people.
At least 24 tornadoes have been confirmed in Georgia.
Twelve deaths are being blamed on a tornado (or tornadoes) that struck Thomas, Brooks, Berrien County and Cook Counties in Georgia during the early morning on Jan. 22.
Later that day, a large, long-track tornado carved through the south side of Albany, the Dougherty County seat in southwest Georgia, with a damage swath at least one mile wide, in spots. National Weather Service surveys found at least EF3 damage in Dougherty, Worth and Turner Counties.
This tornado likely continued into Wilcox County, where homes were heavily damaged along American Legion Road near the town of Kramer, Georgia, north of Rebecca, Georgia.
The NWS will continue to survey this tornado track to finalize its path length and intensity in the coming days.
At least a 15-mile non-continuous path was found near Tennille in Washington County from an EF1 tornado, according to a NWS-Peachtree City survey.
Seventeen tornadoes have been confirmed in Alabama.
An EF2 tornado damaged two dozen structures near Gilbertown in Choctaw County, Jan. 21. The next day, an EF1 tornado touched down near Opelika.
Seven tornadoes were confirmed in Louisiana from Jan. 21.
Five homes were damaged in Natchez, Louisiana, from an EF2 tornado, there. Two mobile homes were rolled and destroyed by another EF2 tornado in Bossier Parish.
In South Carolina, another EF2 tornado carved a 13-mile path near Barnwell and Denmark and rolled a mobile home several times, injuring one woman stuck inside.
Finally, NWS meteorologists confirmed a pair of EF1 tornadoes touched down in south Florida before dawn on Jan. 23, producing tree and some structural damage in both Hialeah and Miami Springs.
A rare "high risk" severe weather outlook was issued on the morning of Jan. 22 by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC). This was the first high risk severe weather outlook to be issued by SPC since June 3, 2014, which gives an idea of how unusual they are, though the number of severe reports and tornadoes on Jan. 22 were less than expected.
Strangely enough, rather intense low pressure over the South associated with this storm system took on an eye-like feature, and lead to non-thunderstorm wind damage in Houston and San Antonio on Jan. 22. At least 30,000 were without power in the Houston metro area from these damaging winds at one time.
This impressive system set the January low pressure record for North Little Rock, Arkansas, 29.33 inches of mercury, besting the previous record from Jan. 18, 1982.

MORE: Severe Weather in the South, Jan. 2017 (PHOTOS)