Tornadoes in January not common, but not unheard of

Tornadoes not unheard of in January
Updated: Jan. 23, 2018 at 7:37 PM CST
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ARKLATEX (KSLA) - For the second straight year, tornadoes have touched down in the ArkLaTex in January.

Coincidentally, severe weather struck on Jan. 21 of 2017 and 2018.

The images below show the tornado storm reports from Jan. 21, 2017 and 2018.

Each red circle indicates a tornado storm report.

On Jan. 21, 2017, 12 tornadoes touched down in or just outside the ArkLaTex: 2 EF-0 tornadoes, 6 EF-1 tornadoes and 4 EF-2 tornadoes.

One of the EF-2 tornadoes touched down near Plain Dealing, LA.

The tornado even on Jan. 21, 2018 was not a tornado outbreak like the one the year before, but the same storm produced several different tornadoes on its over 200-mile track from east Texas to southwest Arkansas.

Even though the graphic below shows only 2 tornado reports in ArkLaTex on Jan. 21, 2018, the tornado count is up to three.

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service office in Shreveport found evidence of an EF-1 tornado in Little River Co., AR.

On Tuesday, the storm survey team from the NWS office in Shreveport concluded an EF-2 tornado touched down near De Kalb, Texas.

The tornado produced peak winds of 125 mph and did significant damage.

One thing the past two January's have taught us is that severe weather can happen during any month and at any time of day.

Tornadoes have occurred in the ArkLaTex in every month of the year. The graph below shows the number of tornadoes that touched down in the ArkLaTex from 1875 to 1997 in each month.

Even if we look at more recent years, severe weather and tornadoes are still possible throughout the year.

From 2010-2017, the only month that a tornado did not touch down in northwest Louisiana was August, but that does not mean it cannot happen.

Since 2010, April has been the busiest tornado month in northwest Louisiana.

This is another good reminder severe weather is quickly approaching and the time to prepare is now.

You should always have a tornado kit handy in your home and know what you are going to do if a Tornado Warning is issued for your area.

Download the free KSLA Stormtracker 12 weather app to your smartphone.

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