The was a multi-day severe weather and tornado outbreak impacted the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States from February 5–7. A powerful upper-level

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

progressed eastward across the country, intersecting an abundant supply of moist air to produce severe weather. An eastward-propagating

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Norther ...

supported a damaging

squall line A squall line, or more accurately a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), is a line of thunderstorms, often forming along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front (which often are accompa ...

across the Southeast U.S. on February 5–6;

supercell thunderstorm A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...

s ahead of this line also produced numerous tornadoes. One EF1 tornado in the pre-dawn hours of February 6 killed one person in

Demopolis, Alabama Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the time of the 2020 United States census, down from 7,483 at the 2010 census. The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and T ...

. On the morning of February 7, a secondary front progressed across Maryland and Virginia, unexpectedly leading to hundreds of damaging wind reports across

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Five tornadoes were reported in the Washington, D.C., area, the most on record for a wintertime severe weather event. Across the three-day outbreak, 37 tornadoes were confirmed, including several that were strong and long-tracked.

Meteorological synopsis

Rounding out the final day of January, the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight a ...

(SPC) began highlighting the potential for a prolonged period of severe weather across the Southern United States in the extended range forecast. General 15% severe probabilities yielded to a Slight risk across portions of the central Gulf Coast region valid on February 5. This outlook underwent significant expansions northward on February 4, and an Enhanced risk was introduced from extreme northeast Louisiana into northwestern Alabama shortly before the beginning of the tornado outbreak; this area saw the strongest tornadoes. On the morning of February 5, a major upper-level

was progressing eastward across the Central United States, supporting broad southwesterly winds in advance of it. At the surface, a

stationary front A stationary front (or quasi-stationary front) is a weather front or transition zone between two air masses when both air mass is advancing into the other at speeds exceeding 5 knots (about 6 miles per hour or about 9 kilometers per hour) at the g ...

existed from northwestern Alabama into a

low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...

over northern Louisiana, transitioning into a

southwestward into southeastern Texas. Despite high instability and favorable wind shear profiles, storms were initially slow to organize across Mississippi as widespread cloud cover prevented the northward progression of the warm sector and temperatures warmed aloft. This trend was only temporary, however, with an abrupt increase in tornadic activity throughout the afternoon hours. Numerous tornadoes occurred throughout Mississippi into Alabama, including several strong and long-tracked tornadoes. Into the overnight hours, southerly low-level winds continued to provide a moist environment, with dewpoints in the upper 60s °F. Storms intensified along an eastward-progressing cold front over Mississippi, aided by generally parallel wind shear profiles and cooling upper-level temperatures as the trough approached from the west. Ahead of the front, additional supercells formed and produced tornadoes, including an exceptionally long-lived EF2 tornado across

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

, and

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 trunk road, which runs from Darlington to E ...

counties in Mississippi. An EF1 tornado southeast of

, destroyed two manufactured homes, causing one death and one injury. Throughout February 6, an Enhanced risk of severe weather existed across a large section of the Southeastern United States. Overnight severe thunderstorms in Mississippi and Alabama continued to persist and shift eastward throughout the early morning hours. Despite only modest instability across northeastern Georgia into central North Carolina, the presence of a very moist and strongly-sheared environment led to many more tornadoes, including two EF2 tornadoes in North Carolina south of Kings Mountain and east of

Kannapolis Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. Th ...

. The line of strong to severe thunderstorms continued eastward throughout the afternoon of February 6, producing hundreds of damaging wind reports before shifting offshore. The next morning, following a brief reprieve in severe thunderstorm activity, the SPC outlined a Marginal risk across eastern Virginia and central Maryland. Here, a secondary front supported an intensifying line of thunderstorms in a low instability but high wind shear environment. In defiance of forecasts, this band of convection produced hundreds of damaging wind reports across the Mid-Atlantic over the course of four hours. In addition, five tornadoes were confirmed throughout the Washington, DC, area, making this the largest wintertime tornado outbreak on record there.

Confirmed tornadoes

February 5 event

February 6 event

February 7 event

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tornado outbreak of February 5-7, 2020 2020 in Tennessee 2020 in Mississippi 2020 in Alabama 2020 in Georgia (U.S. state) 2020 in South Carolina 2020 in North Carolina 2020 in Maryland Tornadoes in Tennessee Tornadoes in Mississippi Tornadoes in Alabama Tornadoes in Georgia (U.S. state) Tornadoes in South Carolina Tornadoes in North Carolina Tornadoes in Maryland February 2020 events in the United States 2020 natural disasters in the United States Tornadoes of 2020 F2 tornadoes 2020 in Virginia Tornadoes in Virginia