Tuesday's severe weather brought tornadoes and damaging winds across the South. Hardest hit was Mississippi and Alabama with reports of nine tornadoes.
Tornadoes in February may sound strange, but they're not that uncommon, especially in the South.
During the month of February, severe weather season is just beginning to pick up.
The average number of tornadoes across the country is low, but the number of them begin to climb in the South where warmer, more unstable air is more readily available when a front passes through — similar to what happened yesterday.
On average, the most-likely states to see a tornado in February are Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The chances of a tornado occurring goes up during El Niño years when stormy weather is more likely across the entire South.
Since this El Niño is expected to continue through the late spring, these severe weather days are only likely to increase, and that's reason enough to keep the Storm Shield App on your smartphone. That way, you'll be the first to know when the next tornado warning is issued where you live.
