Unlikely tornado busts February record

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Who would have guessed that a lonely tornado over a southern California oil field would ruin a perfectly good severe weather record? Probably no one. But that is exactly what happened last month.

Up until February 28, not a single tornado had been reported for the month over the entire country. Record-keeping began in 1950, and since then we have never had a tornado-free February. That record stands. 

On March 1, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) received and subsequently confirmed, a weak EF0 tornado over an oil field near Bakersfield, California on the afternoon of February 27. So the final tally ends up being one tornado. This is still the lowest number of tornadoes for the month since 1950.

An average February has 28 tornadoes over the entire country. Last year the February tornado count was slightly above average, and the record-breaking year of 2008 included 147 tornadoes for the month.

According to the National Weather Service, a low number of tornadoes in February often leads to a low number of tornadoes for the year, but not always. This year, the extreme cold over most of the country, and especially the deep South, produced an atmosphere very unfavorable for tornadoes. Only one tornado has been reported over Georgia so far this year. It occurred near the Florida state line in Charlton County on January 21. No tornadoes have been reported so far this year in South Carolina.

The final tornado count for 2009 was well below the 3-year average and nearly half the number of tornadoes reported in 2008.