Tornadoes of 1998

Tornadoes of 1998

Damage from the F5 Birmingham, Alabama tornado
Timespan	January – December 1998
Maximum rated tornado	F5 tornado Birmingham, AL on April 8 Lawrence County, TN on April 16
Tornadoes in U.S.	1,424
Damage (U.S.)	$1.72 billion
Fatalities (U.S.)	130
Fatalities (worldwide)	>130
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1998, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes, however by the 1990s tornado statistics were coming closer to the numbers we see today.

The 1998 tornado season saw record numbers of tornadoes and also the most fatalities since 1974 (surpassed in 2011). A number of tornado events resulted in large loss of life. In February, a series of tornadoes caused 42 fatalities in Florida. In March, a tornado killed 12 in Georgia. In April an F5 tornado killed 32 in the Birmingham, Alabama area (no stranger to killer tornadoes). By year's end, 130 people had been killed in the United States.

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1998 in the United States.

There were 47 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in January.

There were 72 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in February.

A rare February derecho affected parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi with widespread damaging winds and produced 18 tornadoes.

The 1998 Kissimmee tornado outbreak of February 22–23, 1998, was the deadliest tornado event in Florida history. Forty-two people were killed and 260 were injured; seven tornadoes were involved in the event (max rated F3). The previous record for the highest tornado death toll in Florida history was 17 on March 31, 1962.

There were 72 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in March.

On March 7, a large storm system produced 15 tornadoes across the southeast. In addition, heavy rain caused flooding.

The 1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck portions of the southeastern United States on March 20, 1998. Particularly hard hit was the Gainesville, Georgia region where at least 12 people were killed in an early morning F3 tornado. The entire outbreak killed 14 people and produced 12 tornadoes across three states with the town of Stoneville, North Carolina being also hard hit by the storms.

A tornado touched down at approximately 5:25 AM in the town of Mattoon, Illinois. Winds reached around 152 miles per hour and damaged over 90 homes damaged and eight homes and six businesses were destroyed. Tornado Warnings were in effect but had expired at 5:00 AM leaving no warning from tornado sirens or trained spotters in the field. Unusually, the tornado spawned at the back end of a storm instead of the front. At least three people were injured.