This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2013. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

There were 916 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in 2013. One of these tornadoes was the largest ever recorded, which reached a peak width of south of El Reno, Oklahoma (which was also impacted by a deadly EF5 tornado two years prior). In total, 120 fatalities were confirmed worldwide in 2013: 55 in the United States, 36 in Bangladesh, 24 in China, three in Turkey, and two in Brazil.

Despite the high death toll along with several large outbreaks, the year was below average in terms of the number of tornadoes that occurred. This was also the most recent year to have an F5/EF5/IF5 tornado until the Enderlin tornado that occurred on June 20, 2025.

On April 1, Canada began utilizing the Enhanced Fujita scale to rate tornadoes with minor modifications to better suit the region's tornadoes.

Synopsis

Entering 2013, the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) for the three-month period lasting from November 2012 to January 2013 based on sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies was -0.3, denoting cooler than normal SSTs in areas of the Pacific. Throughout early to mid-January in the United States, there was isolated tornado activity, centered primarily in the South. In late January, an unusually strong upper-level trough combined with atmospheric instability produced a widespread tornado outbreak over the Southern United States. The strongest of these tornadoes was an EF3, the first intense tornado confirmed in the U.S. in 2013. In eastern Australia, the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Oswald produced significant flooding in conjunction with tornadoes in late January. A small outbreak on February 10 spawned an EF4 tornado that affected Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

A period of inactivity followed the early weeks of the year. Both March and April had near-record low activity, which was attributed to cold air persisting over much of the continental U.S., preventing any significant severe weather from occurring (and allowing for late-season winter storms).

However, this pattern changed abruptly in mid-May as a significant outbreak struck towns in north-central Texas, followed closely by a much larger outbreak that affected much of the Midwestern and Southern U.S., especially in Oklahoma. On May 20, an EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma.

Another powerful outbreak struck the Midwest and Ark-La-Tex area in the final week of May. The outbreak produced the widest tornado in recorded history, just west of Oklahoma City that hit areas just south and southeast of El Reno on May 31, killing storm chaser Tim Samaras and his two partners and a separate storm chaser while also injuring The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes' Tornado Hunt team.

June and July were both below average for tornadoes, with August and September generally near average for tornadoes. Early October featured a very small outbreak of tornadoes over Nebraska and Iowa; however, two of the tornadoes were violent enough to be rated EF4. Another small outbreak with mostly weak tornadoes ended the month, pushing October activity to near average.

After a lull in activity during the first half of November, a large outbreak occurred on November 17, producing 77 tornadoes and killing seven people, leaving November above average for tornadoes. December was below average for tornadoes, with only 18, causing 2013 to end with a record low tornado count with adjustments made for undercounting tornadoes in earlier years.

Events

United States

Europe

Unlike the United States and Canada, the majority of Europe uses the TORRO scale and the Fujita scale to classify tornadoes. The European Severe Storms Laboratory maintains a database of all severe weather events across the continent. The vast majority of tornadoes go unrated due to a lack of surveys; however, some nations, such as France, provide detailed reports on these events. Of the 57 reported tornadoes during 2013, only 18 have been rated thus far. Totals are derived from this database and considered preliminary.

January January 15 (Australia) Just before 2pm AEST two tornadoes tore through the towns of Jundah and Stonehenge in western Queensland, over 1,100 km west of the state capital Brisbane. Damage was significant in both townships, Jundah had significant damage to 80% of buildings and Stonehenge was without power for 52 hours after the tornadoes hit. The impact of the tornado on Jundah caused all communications networks to go down, power was lost, and the single channel radio networks, microwave networks and battery backups went out. The damage to homes alone was estimated to be at least A$1 million, and about A$600,000 worth of damage was done to Barcoo Shire Council properties. The tornadoes were each rated at F1 on the Fujita scale, with winds recorded at near Jundah.

January 21 (Australia) A tornado impacted the New South Wales town of Ungarie, located over 500 km west of Sydney the town has a population of approximately 350. The damage was significant enough for Disaster Relief Grants to be made available to those affected by the storm. The cost of the damage to public and private infrastructure in and around Ungarie was estimated to be about A$3 million.

January 26–27 (Australia)

On the Australia Day weekend, up to nine tornadoes were spawned across the state of Queensland by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald. The first tornado struck the coastal town of Bargara, east of the city of Bundaberg, at 1pm on January 26, injuring 17 people and damaging 150 properties. The second tornado struck the town of Burnett Heads at 3:30 pm, and then a third at Coonarr. Bungadoo, a town southwest of Bundaberg, was also struck by a tornado after 4pm, and Burnett Heads was hit again at 6:20 pm Radar imagery showed a possible sixth tornado 30 km west of Maryborough. In a separate incident, a small tornado was spotted over Canberra on January 26. In the early hours of January 27, a tornado struck Burrum Heads south of Bundaberg, whilst radar imagery showed "possible tornado activity" on Bribie Island. The ninth tornado was reported at Mooloolaba, which swept through a housing estate, uprooting trees and causing minor damage. As a result of the tornadoes, the entirety of Southeast Queensland, including Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, was placed under a tornado watch for January 27.

With five confirmed and another four suspected tornadoes, this was the largest tornado event on record in Australia.

January 29–30 (United States)

As an intense upper-level trough moved across the interior United States, an extremely warm air mass spread eastward ahead of the storm, resulting in slight atmospheric instability in the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys. The warm air mass was followed by a strong cold front, causing temperatures to fall below freezing. With increased instability in the region, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) formed and moved across the area ahead of the cold front, producing numerous tornadoes and wind-related damage. Over a two-day period from January 29 to January 30, 962 tornado, hail, and strong wind reports were received by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). Of these, 83 were tornado-related reports. The strongest of these tornadoes occurred on January 30 and affected areas of Bartow and Gordon Counties in Georgia. The high-end EF3 killed one person in Adairsville, ending a record 220‑day streak without a tornado-related fatality in the United States, with the last death occurring due to an EF2 tornado associated with Tropical Storm Debby in Florida in June 2012. The 66 confirmed tornadoes was the third most ever recorded to occur in January. The outbreak was the largest January-tornado outbreak in Middle Tennessee, which confirmed 22 tornadoes.

February February 10 (United States)

As a large and powerful area of low pressure moved across the northern Plains, powerful severe thunderstorms developed across a trailing cold front. These storms, located across Louisiana and Mississippi primarily, prompted many tornado warnings, with eight tornadoes touching down. One of the supercells produced four tornadoes with the first one being rated EF2. The second tornado was the one that struck Hattiesburg. Shortly after 5:00 pm CST (2300 UTC), the "large and extremely dangerous tornado" was confirmed southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; this wedge tornado, documented by locals and storm chasers, moved through the city after prompting a tornado emergency for the surrounding locations. Severe to locally catastrophic damage was reported in Hattiesburg and the nearby city of Petal, leaving 71 people injured. The tornado was initially rated an EF3, but was later upgraded to an EF4. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant issued a State of emergency for Forrest, Lamar, Lawrence, and Marion Counties due to the impact of the severe storms and tornadoes in those counties.

February 21 (United States)

On February 21, a deep upper-level trough moved across the Central Plains, resulting in a small tornado event that produced six tornadoes. An EF1 tornado north of Pineland, Texas, killed a 74-year-old woman when a tree fell on her mobile home.

February 24 (Australia) Several tornadoes struck the New South Wales coast during the overnight period of February 23–24. Five tornadoes were investigated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology on the south coast, initial analysis indicated an EF1 tornado struck Kiama leaving a damage path 4 km long, Jamberoo was hit by an EF0 tornado with a trail of damage 8 km long, and Gerroa to Nowra was struck by an EF2 tornado that left a damage path 16 km long and 200–300 metres wide at its greatest. The tornado that swept through the town of Kiama caused extensive damage to around 75 homes in the area. Further north in Sydney a funnel cloud was reported at Kirribilli just after midnight accompanied by winds to 135 km/h recorded at Sydney Harbour. There was major damage to the roof of the Sydney Flying Squadron, the local Westpac bank, and the surrounding area. Major damage also occurred in Chifley, Malabar and Moore Park where part of the roof of Fox Studios was removed.

March March 18 (United States)

A strong upper level system with a moist south to southeast flow produced severe weather, including several tornadoes that injured 13 people altogether, across the Southern United States, especially Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. An EF1 tornado near Boaz, Alabama destroyed two mobile homes and overturned another, injuring three people. An EF2 tornado struck Kilpatrick, Alabama causing significant damage to several mobile homes and destroying two others, injuring seven people. Another EF2 caused severe to outbuildings and chicken houses near Rainsville. Near Greenville, South Carolina, an EF2 tornado caused considerable damage to homes and barns. Hail associated with the severe weather event was the mostly costliest hailstorm to impact Jackson, Mississippi as of 2015, while high wind gusts also associated with the severe weather event caused at least 100,000 power outages across Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

March 20–21 (China)