by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – According to preliminary data from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), April 2024 recorded an unprecedented number of tornadoes, making it the second-highest number in history with 300 reported incidents.
This figure significantly exceeds the monthly average of 182 tornado touchdowns typically observed in April. The record was set in 2011 when a staggering 757 tornadoes were documented.
Last month, an unusual surge of tornado activity swept through Nebraska and Iowa, states that typically see fewer tornadoes in April compared to the usual hotspots of Mississippi, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In the final week of April, a series of violent thunderstorms wreaked havoc across the central United States, culminating in a devastating outbreak of over 100 tornadoes between April 26th and 30th.
This intense activity marked a significant spike in severe weather incidents, with tornadoes touching down on 18 different days throughout the month, according to the National Weather Service.
The period was notably brutal, with at least six fatalities linked to the tornadoes, all occurring in the month’s tumultuous final days.
Among the most severe incidents, long-track, intense tornadoes struck eastern Nebraska and western Iowa on April 26, with nineteen tornadoes confirmed around the Omaha area alone.
Five of these were rated EF3, marking the strongest tornadoes to hit the region since June 2014.
The following night, on April 27, the first violent tornado of the year, rated EF4, devastated areas southeast of Ardmore near Marietta, Oklahoma.
This was the first EF4 tornado in Oklahoma since May 9, 2016, and the first confirmed EF4 or stronger twister nationwide in over a year.
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