The year of 2014 ended up with a higher than average total of 154 fatalities and around 1,347 tornadoes confirmed, with the most reports of any year at nearly 2,100 reports of tornadoes. Out of 154 deaths, fifty were from November, making 2014 the deadliest November year for tornadoes since 2002. Multiple tornado outbreaks were also confirmed with this year as well, and a few were some of the most impressive that some storm chasers have claimed to have ever seen. Several extremely deadly tornadoes also hit outside of the US as well, including a violent outbreak in Nigeria that killed at least 122 people, with at least 93 from two middle-sized towns alone: Iyin and Igede, that happened on February 11th. Parts of southern Aramoko were destroyed by that same single tornado, in which its storm also generated 16 separate tornadoes. However, it is likely that the death toll could be over 500 in Nigeria alone from varied sources, and it is also one of the first tornadoes to ever be filmed in Nigerian history. Another extremely rare and deadly tornado also hit the countryside of Greece in July, which killed 6 and was promptly rated F3, and an almost even rarer tornado-active August set the season ablaze as a hotspot for tornadic activity, with 259 tornadoes in August alone--the highest tornadic activity in any August year. 2014 had the most active November year for tornadoes since 1950, with 159 tornadoes confirmed {exactly 100 less than August}, and it also contained the only January EF4 tornado as well in the continental US for about two years.
Tornado Totals[]
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 1,347 | 559 | 508 | 206 | 59 | 14 | 1 |
For the first time since 2011, the confirmed tornadoes count went above 1,100 tornadoes, and the fatalities went higher than 85, with 254 confirmed fatalities in the US.
January[]
There were at least 33 reported tornadoes in January, 27 were confirmed. All 27 were on the last three days of the month in the US. Regardless, that's still higher than the average.
January 29th[]
Main Article: *Will be Made Later*
An outbreak of 25 tornadoes, with the other two both hitting California on January 31st, stormed across four states, being the Carolinas, Alabama, and Georgia, with only two confirmed tornadoes in North Carolina. One of the 25 tornadoes was a deadly EF4 tornado that raked through the town of Sharon, South Carolina, and caused over half of the twelve confirmed fatalities in this outbreak, and left about 70% of Sharon completely destroyed. Not too far away, a nearly-consecutive EF3 tornado, forming just 5 minutes after the Sharon EF4 dissipated, completely destroyed the entirety of Smyrna, the smallest municipality in South Carolina, leaving four out of only 47 residents injured. The town of Smyrna was considered a lost cause. Out of all 12 fatalities, eight were in South Carolina, all but one from Sharon. Overall, 12 people died, with 200+ injuries, and about $40 million in damage.
February[]
In February, at least 74 tornadoes were reported, 66 confirmed, with four smaller outbreaks involved in varied locations, including a massive outbreak in Nigeria on February 11th.
February 2-3[]
A small tornado outbreak of eleven confirmed tornadoes raked into the two states of Mississippi and Louisiana. Seven of those tornadoes were EF0s, and caused minimal damage. However, at 3:30 PM CST on February 2nd, an EF2 tornado hit the town of Slidell, Louisiana, causing significant damage to multiple suburb areas and catastrophic damage to at least 21 trailer homes. This tornado lasted 18 minutes, tracked 16.4 miles, and was one of two EF2s to hit Louisiana during that day. One fatality in a trailer home was confirmed, with all ten confirmed injuries in trailer homes. About 2 hours later, another tornado from a different storm cell formed just over the city of Mandeville, and was up to 1 mile wide at times. However, it was ranked only as an EF2 with damage being highly limited to wildlife areas and trees along its 9.4-mile path that it carved in just over ten minutes. Two people were injured by the tornado. It is believed that it likely was a possible EF5 at some point, with wind speeds of up to 208 miles per hour. The next day, the only tornado above EF0 on February 3rd, raked through the town of Ellisville, Mississippi. That tornado was rated an EF3, killed two people and left 50 injured. About $10 million of property damage was done in Ellisville alone. In total, 3 people were killed and 65 others were injured.
February 11th {Nigeria}[]
Main Article: 2014 Nigeria Outbreak
An extremely rare and deadly outbreak of at least 16 separate tornadoes in Nigeria caused substantial damage to multiple buildings. At least 131 fatalities were confirmed, but disputes have reported fatality totals of up to 618. However, as of 2019, the official death toll is 122, with at least 750+ people missing, and nearly 2,500 injured.
February 14-15[]
Main Article: Mid-February 2014 Tornado Outbreak
An outbreak of thirty-five tornadoes touched down in 7 states, including four EF3s and 6 EF2s, killed 18 people and left over 250 others injured, alongside over $250 million in property damage. This included two potential EF5s as well, although both were later rated EF3.
February 25[]
Five tornadoes struck Abbeville County, SC in just three hours. One particularly destructive tornado hit the Lake Secession area, forming as a waterspout in Secession Lake and quickly growing powerful once it hit land. Several boat houses, lake houses, and at least a hundred trees were damaged, with multiple trees destroyed. It then suddenly banked left, a now northwesterly turn just like the tornadoes near York County did not even a month earlier, putting several more lakeside residences in peril. It reached EF3 strength, killing one person and injuring eight in Lake Secession, all of whom were in the populated areas of town, specifically near Lake Secession Road. The other tornadoes were ranked EF0.
February 27[]
A system of two tornadoes hit Montclair, New Jersey within just an hour. The first tornado tore into lesser-populated areas of the city, alongside small portions of Glen Ridge, killing nobody but injuring at least thirty. It was ranked only as an EF0, but the second tornado, an EF3, killed 7 and injured 94, while causing nearly $100 million in damages from destroying 166 homes and leaving at least 600 damaged in a path just over six miles long.
March[]
There were at least 159 reported tornadoes in March, with just 66 tornadoes confirmed, which was roughly around the average as of 2013.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 66 | 27 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
March 10[]
Multi-vortex tornado forming 6 miles west of Pontiac, IL, eventually would be rated an EF3.
Throughout most of Illinois and some parts of Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky, a tornado outbreak of thirty tornadoes raked across one of the four states in the span of just over 6 hours, from 11:05 AM CST to 5:20 PM CST. Two tornadoes were killer tornadoes, both rated EF3 and in Illinois, hit the towns of Pontiac, where three people were killed, and the other tornado hit Pinckneyville, where 7 people were killed--all of which from a single manufactured home which was completely flattened. Overall, at least 67 people were injured from the outbreak, with 56 from the two EF3s {22 in Pinckneyville and 34 in Pontiac}, with about fifty homes completely destroyed and 266 homes damaged in the path of these tornadoes. Fortunately, no other fatalities took place, and
March 14[]
A small but deadly tornado tracked 6 miles through the north-northwest parts of Sylvan Shores, Florida, and also hit small parts of extreme western Sebring, in the early morning hours of March 14th. The Tropical Harbor Estates subdivision of mobile homes in particular was hit the worst in the tornado's path despite being just over one-third of a mile in the tornado's path. It is widely believed the tornado was a waterspout over Lake Clay and was already powerful when it hit land. In Sylvan Shores, almost four dozen trailer homes were completely destroyed, with another dozen damaged horribly. Three people were killed in the area, with 14 injuries in Sylvan Shores. In addition, eleven well-built homes and structures were damaged badly. Two other people were injured in the very outskirts of Sebring, and the twister eventually died out just over 2.5 miles away from the Sebring International Raceway. Overall, over $4.9 million in damage was confirmed, with 3 deaths, all from trailer homes, and 16 injuries in total. It was ranked as a low-end EF2.
March 17[]
A significant tornado outbreak was confirmed throughout Florida, with 27 tornadoes within just eleven hours. Although ten were rated EF0 with eight tornadoes each ranked EF1 and EF2, there was one very damaging but very short-lived EF3 over the suburbs of Nocatee, Florida, where 41 homes were destroyed, 168 damaged, in a path only about 1/8 of a mile wide and just over two miles long. Within just that length and width, 115 people were injured. Fortunately, despite the high injury total, nobody was killed in the entire outbreak, but 157 people were injured--all but 42 in Nocatee, and approximately $45 million in property damage was confirmed. A long-tracked EF2 tornado formed about 3 miles to the northwest of Myakka City, mainly trailing over farmland and trees, although taking a path almost parallel to State Route 64. It caused significant damage to about a dozen homes in Zolfo Springs, where it injured 9 people. It hit Avon Park, where it affected roughly 150 homes and left 22 people injured before dying out about 10 minutes later after traveling for nearly 75 miles and lasting over 90 minutes. Thirty-one people were injured. Damage to property along SR-64 was confirmed to be EF1-EF2 damage.
March 29[]
The city of Defuniak Springs, Florida was hit by the last tornado of the month, which was rated an EF3. Although killing nobody, at least 11 others injured in a path just over four miles long. Twenty-three homes were destroyed, another 101 damaged, with approximately $22 million of property damage from the tornado.
April[]
This was one of the least active April months on record, with only 118 tornadoes reported, eighty-six confirmed, with a record-low of strong April (EF2+ tornadoes) confirmed as well.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 86 | 44 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
April 12th[]
Main Article: Smyrna Tornadoes of 2014
A deadly EF3 nighttime tornado striking the city of Smyrna killed 12 people in a 7.7-mile path just over 1/3 of a mile wide, and left over $150 million of property damage alongside 206 injuries. Over 200 homes were destroyed, at least 750 more damaged. Additionally, an extremely short-lived satellite anticyclonic EF2 left three people dead and fifty injured in the same community, with its path just over one-third of a mile to the northwest of the original EF3's path.
April 16[]
Twin waterspouts off of Anna Maria Island.
A widespread outbreak of 65 tornadoes, including 3 rated EF2s, with 30 EF1s and 32 EF0s, left 2 people dead, both of which in the town of Cortez, FL when a deadly EF2 tore into multiple apartment buildings with no warning. Nineteen people were injured in Cortez as well. Shortly after this incident, two short-lived EF2s could be seen on the ground simultaneously near Calera, Alabama. Although no fatalities were claimed by either of them, perhaps due to the path length being less than one mile in length, nine people were injured in Calera. Additionally, an instance of two tornadic waterspouts off of Anna Maria, both of which making landfall, was well-documented, but fortunately, both were rated as EF1, with minimal damage, and no injuries or fatalities.
In total, 32 people were injured by this tornado outbreak.
April 30[]
A waterspout caused significant damages to Port Manatee, FL, just after 2 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Thirty people were injured, but nobody was killed. However, about $30 million of damage was confirmed, even though the tornado was rated only as a low-end EF1. Fifteen other tornadoes tore through the Gulf Coast of a few other states that day, including one short-lived EF2 that left one death and five injuries in Gautier, Mississippi.
May[]
In total, 259 tornadoes were reported, 255 confirmed. Several tornado outbreaks, including two particularly deadly tornado outbreaks on May 10 and 18, would cause a fair bulk of the fatalities from 2014 tornadoes.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 254 | 114 | 66 | 46 | 28 | 3 | 1 |
May 6[]
EF3/EF4 damage to a lone building near Avoca, Iowa
A widespread tornado outbreak of 47 tornadoes, including one deadly EF4 and four EF3s, took place on the afternoon of Tuesday May 6th, 2014. Out of the 47 tornadoes, 34 were in Iowa, and ten were in Nebraska. Only 2 deadly tornadoes occurred on this day. Between the hours of 2 and 9 PM Central Daylight Time, the tornado outbreak managed to have caused more than $550 million in damages across affected areas, and included two especially notable tornadoes. One in particular was a very long-tracked EF4 that tracked from Greenfield, Iowa, all the way crossing the Nebraska-Iowa state borderlines to Snyder, Nebraska, a full 129 miles over the span of just over 2.5 hours. That tornado killed seven people and left 88 injured. A destructive satellite EF3 tornado formed alongside the EF4, traveled 28.7 miles, leaving 30 people injured and roughly $25 million in damage. Just over 30 minutes after the original EF-4 died out, the same supercell produced a second very long-tracked tornado, this time forming over Herman, and traveling from there to Stanton, then to Norfolk, Nebraska, then dying out after over 100 minutes and traveling almost 85 miles. This tornado killed one person and left 17 injured. Combined, the other tornadoes caused 106 injuries, including a short-lived EF-3 not far from Council Bluffs, Iowa, that left 42 people injured. It dissipated just over half of a mile outside of Omaha, sparing the city completely by pure luck.
In total, 12 people were killed from two long-tracked killer tornadoes, with 273 injuries confirmed.
May 10[]
Main Article: May 10, 2014 Tornado Outbreak
A large and deadly tornado outbreak formed at least 77 tornadoes within the span of only a day, killing 22 people and leaving over 500 others injured. All of the deaths were from a large tornado family that caused severe damage to multiple areas of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and southern parts of North Carolina, including a very long-tracked EF3 that killed 13 people, consequently becoming the 2nd costliest and the overall deadliest tornado of the year.
May 18-25[]
Main Article: May 18-25, 2014 Tornado Outbreak Sequence
There were seven fatalities with 52+ injuries after a tornado outbreak occurred around within a 50-mile radius of Atlanta, GA, with some areas near where a killer EF3 struck just eight days prior. There were 54 reported tornadoes, with thirty confirmed, including the sole EF5 of the year over Arcade, GA; this would also be the only confirmed EF5 in Georgia history, and one of the easternmost F5/EF5s on record in the US.
A large tornado outbreak sequence formed 161 tornadoes within two separate outbreaks with a day separating the two outbreaks. Despite this, only two people were killed, both from separate tornadoes in the two outbreaks, including an EF4 that caused severe damage to most of St. John, Kansas on May 21st.
June[]
The month of June was a fairly calm month when it came to tornadoes, with only 57 tornadoes reported, with 40 confirmed. For the first time in the whole year, there were no tornado-related fatalities for an entire month.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| 40 | 17 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
June 6[]
Paris, TX EF2 damage
A small widespread tornado outbreak consisting of 17 tornadoes struck mainly the plains of Oklahoma and Texas, consisting of 15 weak tornadoes. However, there were two EF2s on June 6th. The first EF2 of the day happened at around 11:15 AM CDT, over the city of Paris, Texas. Considerable damage was confirmed in mainly the northern parts. The worst damage area in Paris was low-end EF2 damage near US Business 271 and Martin Luther King Jr Drive. The tornado died out at 11:22 AM CDT, after leaving about 250 homes directly affected. Twelve people were injured in Paris, TX, and fortunately, nobody was killed. About $10 million in damage was confirmed in its short path of about 4.5 miles in length. The second EF2 was a bit stronger, and had a significantly longer path than the first one. The tornado first formed about 3 miles west of downtown McAlester at around 1:00 PM CDT, mainly as a small rope EF0 tornado. It struck a mobile home park, slowly intensifying as it progressively got larger and stronger.
McAlester tornado at peak width just outside of town.
It eventually turned into a large stovepipe tornado nearly 1/4 of a mile wide, and although over 250 mobile homes were affected, only seven people were injured with nobody killed to many people's amazement, considering the fact a small area of low-end EF2 damage was seen towards the end of the trailer park. Minutes later, it crossed over the Indian Nation Turnpike after weakening slightly to EF1 rating, catching two motorists off-guard. This was where it started fluctuating between EF1 and EF2 strength for several minutes. Luckily, both motorists managed to leave unscathed, and surprisingly, neither automobile was totaled. This was also where the tornado was beginning to quickly take a much more northeast turn, and at that point it was still getting larger. Just outside of town, it reached it's peak width of about 3/8 of a mile wide. The tornado then reached EF2 strength for a second time shortly after it entered McAlester's city limits, leaving a large number of homes with significant damage. About 250 homes were directly affected, alongside at least 6 businesses near US Highway 69. The tornado weakened some right at this area, but left about $20 million in damage in McAlester alone. A large wooden home was swept away from its foundation on South 17th Street, but surveyors quickly figured out that it was already severely damaged by a tree after a lightning strike. While that would've granted an EF3/EF4 rating, all of the other homes in that area sustained a huge general EF2 damage area. Not only was the home very poorly anchored, using nails instead of anchor bolts, but its foundation containing the basement was also on the verge of collapse. Plus, only about 40% of the owner's belongings were taken out of the house, granting an extremely high-end EF2 rating. Nineteen people were injured in McAlester.
It finally reached EF2 strength for its third and final time over the northwest part of Krebs, a community just northeast of suburb McAlester. The tornado caused significant damage to at least 75 homes in Krebs, with about 100 homes sustaining minor damage. While the tornado shrunk to about 1/5 of a mile wide at that point, it was just as if not even stronger than what it was when it reached McAlester. Twelve homes were destroyed [all of which were constructed or anchored poorly]. A man was thought to have been killed by the tornado here after he was crushed by debris. However, autopsy on his body stated that he died very unexpectedly of a heart attack just minutes before the tornado hit his neighbourhood on NW 6th Avenue. Seven people were injured here. Finally, after being on the ground for 22 minutes, the tornado died out, with one indirect fatality and 33 injuries, about $35 million in damage confirmed along a 17-mile path.