Severe weather can happen in any season, including December.
Although it is rare for Ohio, there have only been six tornadoes confirmed during the month of December.
According to the tornado data from the Storm Event database, two of the tornadoes occurred in 1973. Four out of six tornadoes in Ohio have happened in the last two decades.
Over the past 71 years, there’s been about a 7% chance of a tornado in Ohio during the month of December. Five of those years have recorded tornadoes. See the full list below.
Yet, the average number of tornadoes in December is zero. The average number of tornadoes per year (1991-2020) is 19 in Ohio.
The most recent hit Hardin County as an EF-1 tornado early on Dec. 11, with peak winds of 110 mph.
This rare tornado in Ohio was just one from the Dec. 10-11 outbreak, where at least 70 tornadoes have been confirmed so far.
Not only was this severe weather outbreak unusual for the time of year, but also historic for the length of one of the storms. The National Weather Service has confirmed that one supercell thunderstorm traveled 350 miles, stretching from Arkansas into Kentucky.
The long-track EF-4 tornado had peak winds of 190 mph reported in western Kentucky.
Conditions from Kentucky through the Ohio Valley were very abnormal, beginning with unseasonably warm, saturated air early Saturday morning. In fact, some places in Ohio saw temperatures in the mid-60s before sunrise with dew points in the upper 50s to lower 60s.
On top of that, strong, gusty winds along a powerful cold front were able to help set up an unstable atmosphere through much of the Midwest and the Southeast.
Regardless, tornadoes in Ohio are still rare. However, with factors like climate change and different weather patterns, we potentially could see the frequency increase in Ohio.
That’s why it is always important to stay aware of the weather no matter what month it is.