page_title: Tornadoes of 2008
section_title: Synopsis
hierarchical_section_title: Tornadoes of 2008 / Synopsis
caption_attribution_description: English: A chart showing the daily tornado totals in the United States during 2008
context_page_description: This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2008. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
  There were 1,692 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in 2008, with 126 confirmed fatalities. This made 2008 the deadliest year in that country since 1998 with 2011 and 2004 having more tornadoes. Fatalities were also reported elsewhere in the world: three in France, two each in Bangladesh and Poland and one in Russia, and 18 in China. With 1,692 confirmed tornadoes, 2008 ranked as the third most active US tornado season on record, only 2011 and 2004 have had more tornadoes confirmed with 1,697 and 1,817, respectively. The US state of Kansas received the most tornadoes in the United States in 2008 with 187.
context_section_description: The winter months of January and February (usually a fairly quiet time of year for severe weather) were unusually active in 2008 in the US, with several major outbreaks taking place. The first major outbreak took place on the week of January 7, which was unusually far north for January. February saw a new record for tornadoes in that month, with one of the most prolific outbreaks in recent years (and the deadliest since 1985) taking place on February 5, and three smaller outbreaks also taking place later in the month. March was also fairly active, but not at record levels. Steady activity in the first week of the month, an outbreak on March 15 and additional activity at month's end were mostly responsible. April was also active, which was due to steady tornado activity throughout the month despite the fact there were no prolific outbreaks.
  From the beginning of May until mid-June, severe weather was frequent and widespread across the US. Beginning with a significant outbreak on May 2, there were many major outbreaks over that period with smaller outbreaks occurring almost daily. Over that six-week period, well over 600 tornadoes were reported in the US, with many destructive tornadoes over that time frame. The worst tornado events were on May 10, May 22–23, May 25 and June 11.
  After that, activity calmed down somewhat to a more normal pace in the second half of June and into July with several smaller severe weather events. The summer and early fall months from July to September ran somewhat above average in the US; tropical cyclones and their remnants were mostly responsible for the tornado activity from mid-August through mid-September. This was seen particularly from Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike, each of which resulted in large numbers of mostly weak tornadoes. Activity dropped significantly in October, with below normal activity and no major outbreaks. The relative inactivity continued into November before returning to a slightly above normal rate in December, with most of the activity taking place in the middle of the month.
  Overseas, the months of July and August were quite active in Europe with several significant tornado events, including at least one major outbreak. NOAA also concluded there "is no evidence for a detected change in tornado activity to date due to greenhouse gas emission increases."
caption: Daily tornado count and some major outbreaks during 2008
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