One of those tornadoes ravaged Clarksville, Tennessee. More than two dozen buildings were leveled in the downtown area. Incredibly, there were no deaths and only a few injuries. January's preliminary total of 169 tornadoes more than triples the previous record of 52 set in 1975. What was unusual about the recent outbreaks was the magnitude of the outbreaks, we're talking scores of tornadoes, also the area that was affected was a bit farther north than what would typically be the case in the middle of the winter.
Tornadoes are more likely to strike along the Gulf Coast during the winter.
While the number of tornadoes was unusually high this winter, the weather events leading up to them were not necessarily out of the ordinary. We've had disturbances coming across the southern part of the U.S. which have resulted in a triggering of thunderstorms with a strong vertical wind shear that we've associated with these disturbances this time of the year. Index Page Go Shopping Send us your feedback about this page. Bookmark this page.