December tornado outbreak sweeps South -- bad, but not unprecedented

UPDATE 12/21/2019: Here is the latest map of the tornadoes from the NWS. Most surveys have been completed. I now count 38 tornadoes, with 5 EF-3s and 11 EF-2s.

UPDATE 12/19/2019: According to the NWS PNS I have reviewed, a total of 32 tornadoes have been confirmed. Of those, five were EF-3s, and nine were EF-2s.

ORIGINAL BLOG 12/17/2019: A tornado outbreak swept the South on Monday, with over 70 warnings issued and 33 tornado reports. Three people were killed. More information is available in our wrap-up story.

This severe weather outbreak was centered in the Deep South, which, historically speaking would be exactly where you would expect it. The SPC issued a Moderate Risk for severe weather, something that has happened 10 times since 2002.

As you can see from that "heat map" that combines all those occurrences, the Deep South is where the action typically is. This outbreak was no exception.

Tornadoes are not rare in December, but they don't happen every year. Here are highlights from recent December tornado outbreaks:

• Last year (2018), an unusual severe weather outbreak dropped 29 tornadoes much farther north than you'd typically see, in Illinois (my blog | article)

• In 2015, tornadoes were recorded every day of Christmas week in the Deep South and Midwest, and 15 people were killed (my blog | article)

• The day before Christmas Eve in 2014, twisters were spawned in the Southeast (my blog | article)

• In 2012, 34 tornadoes were reported in the Deep South on Christmas Day and at least one person was killed. (my blog | article)

Below are a few tweets of note that I put out during the storm:

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