ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 2019 was an active year for tornadoes across the U.S. It was the fifth most active year on record since records began in 1950. 

Mississippi was especially hard hit with 114 tornadoes, setting records for the most tornadoes in a year, most tornadoes in April, and most tornadoes recorded in December.

Oklahoma also had a busy year with 146 tornadoes, a new state record.

The most active day was May 27 with 77 confirmed tornadoes, mainly in the Southern Plains.  Tornadoes were reported in every month of the year, with May being the most active and January/November being the least active. 

On October 24, a very destructive EF3 tornado hit highly populated North Dallas during the Dallas Cowboys football game. There was massive damage. but miraculously no one was killed or injured.   

Twelve killer tornadoes killed 41 people in 2019 — half of those fatalities came from one tornado.  On March 3, a deadly tornado hit the small communities south of Auburn, Alabama on a Sunday morning, killing 23, mostly in mobile homes. 

Also, 2019 had the most number of tornado deaths in the last five years.

But, here in Florida it was not an active year. The most significant tornado in our area was a EF2 in October from one of the rain bands associated with Tropical Storm Nestor. That tornado hit the Lakeland/Kathleen area late at night.