Tornadoes of 2017
Clockwise from top: Damage to a car dealership in Canton, Texas following an EF3 tornado on April 29; EF3 damage to a church in Albany, Georgia following a tornado on January 22; Radar imagery of the supercell responsible for spawning the EF3 New Orleans tornado on February 7; EF4 damage to a home in Perryville, Missouri following a tornado on February 28. | |
| Timespan | January 2 – December 20 |
|---|---|
| Maximum rated tornado | EF4 tornado
|
| Tornadoes in U.S. | 1,420 |
| Damage (U.S.) | > $5 billion |
| Fatalities (U.S.) | 35 |
| Fatalities (worldwide) | 43 |
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2017. 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 1,522 reports of tornadoes in the United States in 2017, of which 1,420 were confirmed. Worldwide, 43 fatalities were confirmed in 2017; 35 in the United States, five in China, two in Paraguay, and one in Brazil.
The tornado season in 2017 started exceptionally early, having the second most active January since records began in 1950, and one of the most active first quarters in recorded history. 2017 also had four high risk outlooks issued by the Storm Prediction Center, the most since five were issued in 2011 and since the start of the five-category outlook system in 2014. 2017 had the 2nd most active January for confirmed tornadoes, behind January 1999 but ahead of January 2023.