Tornadoes of 1971

Tornadoes of 1971
Timespan January - December 1971
Maximum rated tornado

F5 tornado

Tornadoes in U.S. 889[1]
Damage (U.S.) >$1 billion
Fatalities (U.S.) 159
Fatalities (worldwide) >159

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1971, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.

Synopsis

Numbers for 1971 were above average for the 1950–1970 period, having a total of 889 confirmed tornadoes. Several very deadly tornadoes occurred, bringing the death total up to 159 people for the yearly total. Over 2700 people were injured by the end of 1971.

Events

United States yearly total

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
188 380 239 71 10 1 889

January

19 tornadoes were reported in the United States in January.[2]

January 15

A tornado killed one person outside of Americus, Georgia.[3]

January 28

Two tornadoes touched down in Hawaii. One of which was an F2 tornado that struck several buildings north of Kailua-Kona, injuring four. The other tornado, an F1, struck Wahiawa, damaging few buildings.[4]

February

83 tornadoes were reported in the United States in February.[5]

February 21–22

A deadly tornado outbreak struck portions of the Lower Mississippi River Valley and the Southeastern United States on February 21–22, 1971. The two-day outbreak produced at least 19 tornadoes, and probably several more, mostly brief events in rural areas;[6][7] killed 123 people across three states; and "virtually leveled" entire communities in the state of Mississippi.[8] Three violent, long-lived tornadoes—two of which may have been tornado families[9]—in western Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana caused most of the deaths along 300 miles (483 km) of path.[7] One of the tornadoes attained F5 intensity in Louisiana, the only such event on record in the state.[10][11] The outbreak also generated strong tornadoes from Texas to Ohio and North Carolina. The entire outbreak is the second deadliest ever in February, behind only the Enigma tornado outbreak in 1884 and ahead of the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak. February 21 was the fourth-deadliest day for tornadoes in Mississippi on record.[7] At one point, the National Weather Service WSR-57[12] radar in Jackson, Mississippi, reported four hook echoes, often indicative of tornado-producing supercells, simultaneously.[7]

March

40 tornadoes were reported in March in the United States.[13]

April

75 tornadoes were reported in the United States in April.[14]

April 27

A tornado outbreak caused 10 deaths across Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. Two F4 tornadoes were reported in Kentucky.

May

166 tornadoes were reported in the United States in May.[15]

May 5–7

Several deadly tornadoes touched down across the Great Plains.

June

199 tornadoes were reported in June in the United States.[16]

July

100 tornadoes were reported in the United States in July.[17]

August

50 tornadoes were reported in the United States in August.[18]

September

47 tornadoes were reported in the United States in September.[19]

October

38 tornadoes were reported in the United States in October.[20]

November

16 tornadoes were reported in the United States in November.[21]

December

56 tornadoes were reported in the United States in December.[22]

See also

References

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