2023 Severe weather season update
The start of the 2023 severe weather has been a busy one across a large portion of the United States. As conditions have switched out of the La Nina pattern we have seen the last three cycles, conditions have continued to change in the atmosphere. The general gist has been an increase in severe storms with increased numbers of tornadoes.
To start off 2023, the first three months of the year have lead to a record for the three month time period as there have been 410 confirmed tornadoes from the month of January lasting through the end of March. This is not an official total for 2023 as not all reports are finished meaning this number will remain the same or potentially increase. This beats the previous record set in 2017 of 398 tornadoes.
A large portion of the three-month record that was broken this January-March comes in one 24-hour period set on March 31st. 122 tornadoes were recorded with the potential for that number to still increase. At its current standing, it sits as the 4th most tornadoes in a single convective day. The current record is 173 recorded on April 27, 2011.
The final report has came out from the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. The rating of the April 5th tornado that struck Bollinger county Missouri sits as a high EF-2 with damages revealing winds up to 130 mph. The width of this tornado spanned 150 yards covering a distance of 22.3 miles. As a result of this tornado, there would be 4 reported injuries with 5 deaths.
The second half of April and the full month of May typically sees the highest volume of severe storms for much of Missouri meaning that the risk still remains for potentially dangerous weather. Make sure to stay up to date on weather in your area by following the ABC17 Stormtrack Weather Team.
