2008 10th deadliest tornado year as 125 die in twisters

January 4, 10:34 AMDenver Weather ExaminerTony Hake

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A house completely destroyed by an EF4 tornado
during the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak (Courtesy
of NWS Huntsville, Alabama).

According to the Storm Prediction Center's latest estimates, 125 people were killed by tornadoes in 2008 ranking it as the 10th deadliest year for tornadoes.  That is the highest number of tornado related deaths since 1998 when 130 people were killed and far exceeds the average of 55 fatalities per year.  Of those, there was one fatality in Colorado from the Windsor tornado when a man was killed at an RV park from that twister.

Delving a bit further into the statistics (below), we see a few interesting things:

Of the 125 deaths, 115 of them occurred despite the fact the National Weather Service had issued a Tornado Watch.  Of the remaining 10 fatalities, 7 occurred while under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.  This highlights the fact that despite the appropriate warnings being issued the majority of the time, many folks fail to take appropriate precautions to save themselves. 

President George W. Bush toured tornado-ravaged
Middle Tennessee areas on February 8, 2008 after the
Super Tuesday outbreak.  (Courtesy the White House)

Similarly, of the 125 fatalities, 56 were by people sheltered in mobile homes.  3 people were outdoors and 14 were in vehicles.  That is a total of 73 fatalities that could very well have been prevented had the victims sought / been able to seek appropriate shelter.  As has been said repeatedly, mobile homes, vehicles and outdoors are the absolute worst places to be when a tornado strikes. 

2008 was notable also because of the timing of the tornadoes.  What is now called the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak occurred on February 5 and 6 across much of the southern United States when 87 twisters were reported over the period.  The severe outbreak occurred well outside what is normally considered 'tornado season' from May to June.  57 deaths were recorded from this single event, the deadliest tornado outbreak since 76 people were killed in 1985 in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

This map from the Storm Prediction Center shows the
location of tornado reports during 2008.

Where did these deadly twisters occur?  In 2008, Tennessee had the unfortunate status of being the state with the most fatalities with 31.  In all, 16 states had deadly tornadoes.  The total count by state:

Tennessee:  31
Arkansas:  21
Missouri:  19
Iowa:  12
Kentucky:  7
Alabama:  6
Oklahoma:  6
Georgia:  5
Indiana:  4
Kansas:  4
Louisiana:  3
North Carolina:  3
Colorado:  1
Florida:  1
Minnesota:  1
New Hampshire:  1 

TORNADOES AND RELATED DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1987-2008

* 2008 total number of tornadoes are final through October 31.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Storm Prediction Center, National Weather Service.