As hurricane season winds down, severe weather season typically ramps up during the month of November.

Today is being observed as Severe Weather Awareness Day across the South as the secondary severe weather season approaches.

Over the years, November has been the 2nd most active month for tornadoes across the state of Mississippi after the month of April.

Since 1990, there have only been 5 years without at least one reported tornado during the month of November. (1990, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008)

Over 80 percent of the counties across the state have confirmed at least 1 tornado during the month of November, since 1990. (59 counties)

Amite, Attala, Bolivar, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tate, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yazoo

November tornadoes have proven to be on occasion violent and deadly.  Two of the deadliest and violent tornado outbreaks since 1990 occurred in 1992 and 2001.

In November of 1992, 15 people were killed and over 265  injured, with 10 F-4 tornadoes confirmed out of 28 total tornadoes. (These tornadoes were confirmed using the old tornado scale, which means winds were estimated between 206- 260 mph)

• A F-3 tornado injured 100 people alone in Covington County
• A F-4 tornado killed 12 and injured 98 across Copiah, Simpson, Rankin, Scott, Leake, Attala, Choctaw 
• 8th deadliest tornado in Mississippi since 1950
• 5th longest tracked tornado in Mississippi  (128 miles)

In November of 2001, 5 people were killed and over 115 injured across the state with 3 F-4 tornadoes confirmed.  (These tornadoes were confirmed using the old tornado scale, which means winds were estimated between 206- 260 mph)

Other notable November Severe Weather Events since 2000:

•  November 10-11, 2002 - Veterans Day Outbreak, MS was on the southern end of the event but still had 7 total tornadoes 
•  November 18, 2003 - A squall line moved across the region producing widespread wind damage
•  November 24, 2004 - Large tornado outbreak, 21 total tornadoes, 1 fatality 
•  November 15, 2006 - Tornado event across southeast MS, 2 F-3 tornadoes

Over the last 18 years and or since 1990, at least 24 people have been killed with over 485 injured during the month of November.

Often the severe weather develops as warm and unstable air surges northward from the Gulf of Mexico and interacts with cold fronts and or upper level disturbances moving through the state, making for an very unstable environment,  leading to severe storms and tornadoes.

(Severe Weather Coverage in November 2001)