Tornado counts are considered preliminary until final publication in the database of the National Centers for Environmental Information.
[1] Based on the 1991–2020 average, about 39 tornadoes are typically recorded across the United States during January, and 36 tornadoes are typically recorded across the United States during February.
[2] These tornadoes are commonly focused across the Southern United States due to their proximity to the unstable air mass and warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico as well as California in association with winter storms.
[3] After a small outbreak at the beginning of January, multiple arctic air intrusions impacted the eastern United States while California, especially the southern part of the state, did not experience many winter storms.
Another small outbreak occurred in early-February, primarily impacting the Mid-South region.