Above average Mississippi tornadoes in 2009; top ten most active states in the country

 2009 was one of the calmest years for tornadoes in many years in the United States, but despite that, Mississippi still managed to see above average tornado activity.

The state averages 28 tornadoes per year but in 2009, 45 tornadoes were confirmed in the state. [40 EF-0, EF-1] 4 EF-2] 1 EF-3]

Most of those tornadoes came during the primary severe weather season in Mississippi, which is from March through early May.

April is historically the most active month for tornadoes with 265 confirmed since 1950, but in 2009, the most active month turned out to be May with 15 tornadoes confirmed.

November which is historically the 3rd most active month for tornadoes with 206 confirmed tornadoes since 1950 remained quiet with no reports of tornadoes.

The most significant tornado occurred on March 28th, when a long tracked EF-3 tornado tore a 17.5 mile path across Simpson and Smith Counties, injuring over 25 people and damaging and destroying over 60 homes and businesses. 

Sadly the state recorded its first tornado fatality in 4 years from a relatively rare tornado in the month of October.

Also,  three rare tornadoes were confirmed in Northern Mississippi during the month of July, which is the least active month for tornadoes in the state with only 31 confirmed since 1950.

While 2009 was a above average year, the tornado activity was down significantly  from the previous year when a record number of tornadoes  (109) were confirmed in the state.

2009 marked the 6th year during this past decade when the number of tornadoes were well above average.

Only  2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007 were near or around the average of 28 tornadoes.

Mississippi ranked in the top 10 states for tornadoes in 2009, which is not that significant considering how calm of a year it was overall around the nation.

Below are the top ten states and the number of confirmed tornadoes according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Source: NOAA