Clockwise from top: EF3 damage in Marshalltown, Iowa cause by an intense tornado; Severe damage to an apartment complex in Gatineau, Quebec from a high-end EF3 tornado; Radar imagery of the supercell responsible for spawning the Gatineau tornado; A poorly-anchored home that was swept away by an EF3 tornado; A pickup truck that was thrown 300 yards by an EF3 tornado. | |
| Timespan | January 1 – December 31 |
|---|---|
| Maximum rated tornado | EF4 tornado |
| Tornadoes in U.S. | 1,121 |
| Damage (U.S.) | $672 million |
| Fatalities (U.S.) | 10 (record low) |
| Fatalities (worldwide) | 17 |
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2018. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Brazil, Bangladesh and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail. There were 1,169 preliminary filtered reported tornadoes[1] and 1,121 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in 2018. Worldwide, 17 tornado-related deaths were confirmed; 10 in the United States,[2] four in Brazil, two in Indonesia, and one in Canada.
The United States saw near-average numbers of tornadoes, but near-record low numbers of strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes. 2018 was the only year since reliable record-keeping began in the 1950s in which no officially-rated violent (EF4-EF5) tornadoes occurred in the United States. 2018 also had the lowest number of tornado-related fatalities on record in the United States.[3] In contrast to the United States, Canada experienced above-average numbers of strong tornadoes, including the only officially-rated violent tornado of the year.
- ^ "Annual Severe Weather Report Summary 2018". Storm Prediction Center. 2018.
- ^ "Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
- ^ Lada, Brian. "2018 was one of the least active years on record for US tornadoes; No twister rated EF4 or higher". AccuWeather. Retrieved 1 January 2019.