United States Tornadoes of 2012

　

*Updated Jan. 6, 2013 and subject to revision.

Comparisons are made for the 62-year period 1950-2011 unless otherwise noted. The official NOAA/NWS period of record for tornadoes in the United States extends back to 1950. Fatality records for significant tornado events prior to 1950 are used for historical comparison. Tornado numbers from January through October, 2012 are derived from
Storm Data while numbers for November through December are preliminary estimates based on NWS Public Statements and Local Storm Reports.

First Tornado.....................................8:45 AM CST, 9-Jan (EF0-TX)

Last Tornado......................................5:00 PM EST, 26-Dec (EF1-NC)

2012 Total Tornadoes..............................936 (Ranked 25th since 1950)


Record Annual Total..............................1817 in 2004


Greatest 2012 Monthly Total........................206 in April


Greatest Monthly Total on Record...................759 in April 2011


2012 Tornado Days..................................170


Annual Average.....................................178 (50-years, 1962-2011)

Record Tornado Days in Any Year....................211 in 2000


Greatest 2012 Daily Total (Mid-Mid CST).............86 on 14-Apr


Greatest Daily Total on Record.....................200 on 27-Apr-2011


States Reporting Tornadoes in 2012..................46


Annual Average Number of States.....................43 (50-years, 1962-2011)

Most States Reporting Tornadoes in Any Year.........48 (2011 and 1989)


2012 Tornado Deaths.................................68 (Ranked 25th since 1950)


Annual Average Tornado Deaths.......................91 (62-years, 1950-2011)

2011 Tornado Deaths................................553 (Ranked 2nd in History)

Greatest Annual Number of Tornado Deaths...........794 (1925)


2012 Tornado Injuries..............................829 (Ranked 43rd since 1950)


Greatest Annual Number of Injuries................6824 in 1974


2012 Deadliest Single Tornado.......................Henryville, IN (11, 2-Mar)


Record Deadliest Single Tornado (modern era)........Joplin, MO, 158, 22-May-2011


2012 Longest Track..................................85 miles (KY-WV, 2-Mar)


Record Longest Track...............................235 miles (LA-MS, 22-Mar-1953)


2012 Tornadoes Rated EF4.............................4 (Fewest since 2 in 2009)


Record Annual Number................................36 in 1974


2012 Tornadoes Rated EF5 (200+mph)...................0 (Fewest since 0 in 2010)


Record Annual Number of EF5 Tornadoes................7 in 1974


2012 Estimated Property and Crop Losses...........~1.6 billion USD


2011 Estimated Property and Crop Losses..........~10.0 billion USD (Ranked 1st)

Greatest Losses from Single Tornado...............~2.8 billion USD (Joplin, MO)


Statistics compiled by Gregory.Carbin.at.noaa.gov, NOAA/NWS/Storm Prediction Center,

www.spc.

Dramatic tornado survival story

Reporter: Paige Quiggins 

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. (WYMT) - It is a tale of survival after many people experienced the devastation of Mother Nature just more than seven months ago.
In the small town of West Liberty, one four legged family member was the talk of the town.
Veterinarians and his owner said they have never seen anything like it and have no explanation for the outcome other than equine divine intervention.
“After what we went through every day is a blessing to us,” said David Green.
Green and his family look upon their land in Morgan County with hope after devastation.
“A tornado or nothing else is going to keep us from living here,” Green said.
He and his family are rebuilding their homes after the Mar. 2 tornado. They said their extended family would be included when they came back.
“He is my horse and I love him,” said 8-year-old Colten Conley, a grandson of Green’s.
“We think of them of them as family and we don't want any harm to come to them,” said Green.
After a tornado destroyed David and Barbara Green’s home, the walls were left still standing...
“I didn’t think we were going to survive the tornado,” said Green.”
“Then, after it was over, I had went to the front door to try to get us out of the home because I was afraid a wall would cave in on us or something and my wife said look, there's a horse in the kitchen! I said now is not the time to be joking around.”
Their gelding, “Chief,” had been picked up by the twister and placed in the kitchen.
The family and the vet said that after all the devastation they went through they believe there is a reason why a story like this came to be.
“I think that is where the Lord wanted him put,” said Dr. David Fugate of West Liberty Veterinary Clinic.
“I think the Lord is why myself and my wife are still alive and weren't injured in the tornado also,” said Green.
Some called it a miracle.
“He was not dropped, he had to have been eased onto the floor of that kitchen,” said Fugate.
Fugate said he never expected to see anything like it.
“I can't explain how the wind and the force and the wind can pick up a 1,100 pound horse and set it inside a house without breaking one of its limbs, a fracture or a terrible laceration except the good Lord wanted it that way,” said Fugate.
They said “Chief,” also known as “Twister,” helped them on the road to recovery.
“He is lucky to be alive,” said Conley.
Fugate said the story was uplifting and he enjoyed telling the Palamino's story to others.
“It’s one of the good ones,” said Fugate.
“He has been kind of a source of inspiration for me.”
The family said they hope to ride “Chief” again one day

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How a Tornado saved Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812

Notes from a Veteran

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News and information at The Veterans Site

How a Tornado saved Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812

 by Dan Doyle, Vietnam Veteran

Sometimes strange, unaccountable things happen, and because of them, the course of history is changed. This is the story of a natural disaster that helped stop a potential tragedy that would certainly have changed the course of history in ways that we don't even want to think of, certainly not as Americans.

The time was August 24, 1814. The place was Washington, D.C. and it was the second year of an on again-off again war between the young American democracy and its old nemesis, Britain. This second war with Britain began in 1812 as the result of Britain's failure to honor its treaty obligations from the end of the Revolutionary War, where they had agreed to give up certain western territories in the Americas, along with the original thirteen colonies. They had not yet done so. They were also engaging in naval terrorism by taking some American merchant ships and illegally conscripting their crews to fight on British ships. The British had recently defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar and were now able to send more battle seasoned troops to do battle with the upstart Americans.

Previously, the war had been a series of minor engagements. In 1814 the British sailed up Chesapeake Bay with a large naval fleet and marines to attack Baltimore and Washington, D.C. To the south, British forces proceeded to Blandensburg, Maryland where they overwhelmed the American volunteers. This left the route to Washington, D.C. wide open. President James Madison was present at the battle to witness the U.S. military in combat. He retreated to Virginia, just outside of the Capitol. His wife, Dolly Madison, supervised the abandonment of the White House, saving everyone, as well as Gilbert's famous full length portrait of George Washington in the process.

August 24, 1814 was one of those very hot, humid, dog-days of late summer that are still quite common in D.C. today. The temperature hovered around 100 degrees when the British forces entered the city. Off in the distance, the skies were growing angry and dark with an impending thunder storm.

British forces found the White House dining room set for a formal dinner and sat down to devour the hastily abandoned meal themselves. After sating their hunger they proceeded to set fire to the White House. British troops also set fire to the then unfinished Capitol Building, and several other government edifices, as well as some military targets. While they were engaged in these efforts, the force and power of a violent thunderstorm rushed down upon the city with its terrible thunder, lightning, and torrential rains. This was a particularly fierce storm, more mean than the common thunderstorms of August.

Then a monstrous tornado descended suddenly from the tumultuous skies. It is said that it was one of the most destructive tornado events in history up to that time. Some say it may have actually been two tornados. The raging funnel tore through the city. It ripped huge trees up by their roots tumbling them across roads. It lifted entire buildings off of their foundations and set them down yards away. It also tossed some of the British heavy cannons up into the air like tin toys. One officer, who refused to dismount his horse, was unceremoniously, along with his horse, lifted up and violently dashed to the ground. It is said that more British soldiers were killed that day by that storm than by the American military forces. The rains that came with the storm were so heavy that they doused the flames that the British had set in many of the Capitol buildings.

The British had hoped that the destruction of the Capitol would demoralize the Americans. Instead, the American populace was outraged and thousands of men volunteered to help defend Baltimore against the further British invasion efforts. The Americans successfully repelled every British attack for the remainder of the war.

The final battle of that war took place near New Orleans on January 8, 1815. There, General Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson led a ragtag force of some 4,000 volunteers against some 8-9,000, well-trained British troops under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane. At the end of the battle, the Americans reported the loss of 13 killed, 58 wounded, and 30 captured. For the British, the losses were far greater. They reported 291 killed, 1,262 wounded, and 484 captured/missing. It was the most one-sided land victory of the war.

I believe we have to be reminded of our history now and then. America came close to losing everything it holds dear on that August day in 1814. Though Mother Nature was involved, it was the indomitable American love of freedom and the voluntary, willing sacrifice of everyday Americans serving in the military that would eventually save the nation once again. This is the same spirit that our fighting men and women live out of today. We have always risen to the challenge in the past. We must always be ready to do so, now, and in the future.

2012 National Weather Service Storm-based Warnings