Hurricane Ivan tornado outbreak
The Hurricane Ivan tornado outbreak was a three-day tornado outbreak that was associated with the passage of Hurricane Ivan across the Southern United States starting on September 15, 2004, across the Gulf Coast states of Alabama and Florida as well as southern Georgia before ending in the Middle Atlantic Coast on September 18.
Tracks of the 50 mesocyclones and multiple tornado vortex signatures (denoted by inverted red triangles) identified by the NWS Office in Tallahassee, Florida between 1:00 p.m. on September 15 to 9:00 a.m. on September 16. | |
| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 15–18, 2004 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 120 (Record for a continuous outbreak in September) |
| Max. rating1 | F3 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | 2 days, 14 hours, 17 minutes |
| Fatalities | 7 total |
| Damage | $96.9 million |
Part of Hurricane Ivan and the tornado outbreaks of 2004 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
The outbreak killed 7 people and injured dozens of others across several states from Florida to Pennsylvania. The hurricane itself killed at least 90 people from the US to the eastern Caribbean Islands. Overall it produced 120 tornadoes surpassing the record of 117 that was previously held by Hurricane Beulah during the 1967 Atlantic hurricane season. Ivan also produced 16 more tornadoes than Hurricane Frances which struck most of the same regions (the tornado outbreak) about ten days earlier. The tornado outbreak is also the largest in Virginia history.