Tornado Record SMASHED . . . Updated

I’ve updated this post with later information as of February 20th. It would appear from all the information that I can find that February, 2008, has established a new record for tornadoes smashing the old record.

According to National Weather Service (NWS) data, February, 1990, saw eleven (11) tornadoes during the month, the highest for any February since 1950. If my count is correct, and the final numbers are not complete until Storm Data is officially finalized, there have been 21 tornadoes so far in Alabama this February – and we still have nine days to go in the month. So February, 2008, is already in the record books with a historical count on tornadoes. The tornado breakdown as I have it is:
Birmingham NWS County Warning Area: 15
Huntsville NWS County Warning Area: 4 (includes 2 EF4 tornadoes)
Mobile NWS County Warning Area: 2
Tallahassee NWS County Warning Area: 0

Some other interesting tornado data for Alabama for February:
Average number of February tornadoes since 1950: 2
Total number of February tornadoes since 1950: 104

Remember, this is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Alabama and surrounding states, so please, please, make sure everyone in your family knows what to do. And make sure you have a NOAA Weather Radio in your home with fresh batteries.

-Brian-

Note: I plan to post the summary of tornado surveys from NWS Birmingham issued late this afternoon.

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