Did Tallahassee see worst tornado outbreak ever? Here's what we know (2024)

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Did Tallahassee see worst tornado outbreak ever? Here's what we know? ›

Here's what we know. May 10, 2024, could possibly go down in history as Tallahassee's worst tornado outbreak ever. Three different tornadoes, two of them EF-2 tornadoes, hit the area Friday. Two tornadoes tore through the urban core of Tallahassee and converged at the Capital City Country Club.

A severe thunderstorm caused sportatic damage from downtown Tallahassee across the east and north sides of the city and spawned a tornado that caused considerable damage.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported Wednesday on the death of 47-year-old Carolyn Benton, the other storm victim, who died when a tree crashed onto her mobile home off Aenon Church Road.

The most extensive tornado outbreak on record was the 2011 Super Outbreak, which resulted in 360 tornadoes and 324 tornadic fatalities, whereas the 1974 Super Outbreak was the most intense tornado outbreak on tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis's outbreak intensity score with 578, as opposed to the 2011 outbreak's 378.

In total, two tornadoes received the rating of F6, but both were later downgraded to F5. Based on aerial photographs of the damage it caused, Fujita assigned the strongest tornado of the 1974 Super Outbreak, which affected Xenia, Ohio, a preliminary rating of F6 intensity ± 1 scale.

Tornadoes have been documented in every U.S. state (not including the non-state territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico) at least once since 1950, although some regions and states are hit by tornadoes far more than others.

No F5 tornado has occurred in Florida. This F5 damage was from the Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 3, 1999.

Introduction. Oklahoma City (OKC), by virtue of its large areal extent and location near the heart of "tornado alley," has earned a reputation over the years as one of the more tornado-prone cities in the United States.

Texas leads the nation in the number of tornadoes that occur each year on average, followed by Kansas. Texas leads the nation for the average number each year only because of its size.

1. Tri-State Tornado: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana (1925) On March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, tore a 219-mile-long path across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Is an F7 tornado possible? ›

First of all, it is impossible to assign a rating higher than F5. While Fujita defined wind speeds for categories all the way up to F12, actual tornado ratings are based on the severity of the damage a tornado inflicts, not wind speed. F5 damage is total destruction, e.g. houses completely blown away.

An F12 tornado would have winds of about 740 MPH, the speed of sound. Roughly 3/4 of all tornadoes are EF0 or EF1 tornadoes and have winds that are less than 100 MPH. EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are rare but cause the majority of tornado deaths.

F5/EF-5 tornadoes are very rare

Tornado data is far more sparse in Canada, where Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Northern Tornadoes Project have confirmed more than 2,500 touchdowns since 1980. Out of all those tornadoes, only 60 (0.085 percent) have ever been rated an F5 or EF-5.

In Florida, measured in frequency of tornadoes for every 10,000 square miles, the coast between Tampa Bay and Fort Myers has a particularly high incidence, as do the western panhandle and parts of the Atlantic Coast. So, what is a tornado?

Statistically, hurricanes directly impact Tallahassee on average once every eight years (22 hurricanes in the last 171 years). However, we know from historical hurricane climatology that the frequency of storms comes in multi-decade cycles where there will be long stretches between active periods of numerous storms.

FSU Flying High Circus searching for support after tornado rips through campus. Florida State University's iconic circus was destroyed after three EF-2 tornadoes ripped through Tallahassee a few days ago.

Florida is not included in either Tornado Alley or Dixie Alley, even though The Tampa Bay region experiences as many tornadoes, if not more, as the states in Tornado Alley, because of the average Florida tornadoes' lack of strength comparatively. The Gulf of Mexico is a major factor.