Image Courtesy: Justin Hobson

Deadly Southern Tornadoes

By Ray Miller @yourmetray December 24, 2014 10:37 am CST

When discussing dangerous weather in December, the first thoughts that come to mind usually involve blizzards, ice storms, and dangerously cold temperatures. But even at this time of year, strong thunderstorms and tornadoes can occur when conditions are favorable, and, sadly, that's exactly what happened in Mississippi on Tuesday. Multiple tornadoes touched down in the southeastern part of the state, and at least 4 fatalities have been reported, along with significant property damage.

The deadly storm system was formed as a cold front developed across the region.  This front was associated with an area of low pressure well to the north.  Ahead of the front, this low pressure system pulled a great deal of warm, moist air into the region ahead of the front, and the position of the low and the jet stream set up a very favorable wind profile for rotating thunderstorms. This setup led to a large cluster of severe storms along the front, and within that cluster, several individual storms began rotating, with a few producing tornadoes.

 

Radar Image of Tornadic Thunderstorm Near Columbia, MS

As the above radar imagery shows, these were not the kind of weak tornadoes that we typically see in these clustered storms, but rather a very intense circulation.  Fortunately, this obvious rotation on radar allowed for plenty of advanced warning for those in the storms' path.  Without those warnings, the death toll would likely have been much higher, considering the strength of these storms.

December tornadoes are uncommon, but they're not as rare as you might expect.  In fact, based on climate data from 1991-2010, a tornado occurred somewhere in the US on roughly 19% of December days.  The southern U.S., in particular, is vulnerable to these late-year storms, because winter temperatures tend to be relatively mild and moisture remains abundant.

Tornado Statistics By Month

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