Between December 28–29, 2024, a late season

tornado outbreak A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same Synoptic scale meteorology, synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least ...

affected the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

. Multiple tornadoes caused severe damage in the

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

area and in

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...

while additional tornadoes caused damage in other states, including

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Overall, at least four people have been killed; one in the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area, two in

and one in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and 17 more have been injured, two indirectly. In total, 106 tornado warnings were issued during the outbreak and 109 tornadoes were confirmed, making this the second largest December outbreak on record behind only the December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreak, which had 120 tornadoes.

Meteorological synopsis

December 28

A moderate (4/5) risk was issued by the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceani ...

for December 28, as a shortwave trough was expected to move through

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

, with the risk area also extending into

and extreme south bringing the expectation of large hail and multiple tornadoes, some being strong (EF2+). High dewpoints from in conjunction with daytime heating over Texas and Louisiana would lead to high levels of

atmospheric instability Atmospheric instability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is considered to be unstable and as a result local weather is highly variable through distance and time. Atmospheric instability encourages vertical motion, which is directly cor ...

. CAPE values were expected to reach 1500–2000 J/kg. Both a bowing quasi-linear convective system and discrete

supercell 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 (su ...

s were expected to form in the risk area. A high risk had been considered for central Louisiana into central

, but local

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

offices advised against it. As the evening progressed, it was expected to shift into a powerful squall line with the potential to cause intense downburst wind damage in addition to embedded tornadic mesocyclones.

Confirmed tornadoes

December 28 event

December 29 event

Non-tornadic effects

The Memphis Police Department issued a warning about flooded roads on December 28, and shut down portions of

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

as well. In

Millington, Tennessee Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee St ...

, six people required rescue from flooded vehicles. In

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, approximately 11,900 customers lost powers due to the storms.

Aftermath

Casualties

As a result of the event, four people have been confirmed dead as of December 28. The only tornado-related death occurred in

Brazoria County, Texas Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan stat ...

, about 30 miles south of Houston. Additionally, at least six people were injured across the affected areas.

Property damage

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, emergency officials reported that several homes were completely destroyed. Porter Heights saw significant damage, with at least five homes heavily impacted. In

Waller, Texas Waller is a city in Harris and Waller counties in Texas, United States, that is within the metropolitan area. Its population was 2,682 at the 2020 U.S. census. The Waller area is located along U.S. Route 290 ( Northwest Freeway) northwest ...

, a

mobile home park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...

was upended, with flipped cars and extensive damage reported. Damage and injuries were reported near

Bude Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...

, a rural community about 60 miles southwest of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. Photos and videos showed piles of debris from what appeared to be at least one destroyed home. A high-end EF1 struck downtown Athens, Alabama causing lots of damage to businesses and structures in the city with multiple buildings having walls collapse or roofs destroyed.

Power outages

As of the latest reports, over 45,000 power outages were recorded in Texas and about 21,000 in Louisiana. In Franklin County, Mississippi, more than 30% of all utility customers lost power. The storm system disrupted an estimated 5,000 flights and resulted in the cancellation of 700 others.

Notes

References

External links

ABC 33/40 NEWS SEVERE WEATHER ALERT , DECEMBER 28, 2024ABC 33/40 WEATHER ALERT: DECEMBER 28, 2024ABC 33/40 WEATHER UPDATE: DECEMBER 29, 2024
{{Alabama tornado events Tornado 12-26 Tornado 12-26 Tornado 12-26 Tornado 12-26 2024 natural disasters in the United States December 2024 in the United States Tornadoes of 2024 F3, EF3 and IF3 tornadoes Tornadoes in Arkansas Tornadoes in Louisiana Tornadoes in Mississippi Tornadoes in Texas