2012 Hurricane Isaac tornado outbreak
The passage of Hurricane Isaac generated a long-lived, nine-day tornado outbreak that affected the Central and Eastern United States from August 27 to September 4, 2012. The hurricane produced a total of 34 tornadoes, with the strongest being two EF2 tornadoes in Mississippi and Arkansas. There were 19 tornado watches were issued for Isaac over eight days and 171 tornado warnings were issued across 12 states, with 77 of them in Mississippi. Event summary A tropical wave emerged off the western coast of Africa into the Atlantic Ocean on August 16. After acquiring a well-defined center of circulation and deep atmospheric convection, the disturbance was deemed organized enough to be declared a tropical depression by 06:00 UTC on August 21 while located about east of the Lesser Antilles. Twelve hours later, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Isaac. Steered swiftly westward across the eastern Caribbean Sea by a subtropical ridge, the cyclone steadily intensified prior to making landfall near Jacmel, Haiti with winds of by 06:00 UTC on August 25; a few hours later, Isaac moved ashore near Cajobabo, Guantánamo, Cuba with winds of . After moving through the Straits of Florida and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the system initially struggled to organize as its wind field expanded. By 12:00 UTC on August 28, however, data from an aircraft reconnaissance flight supported designating Isaac as a Category 1 hurricane. The cyclone attained peak winds of prior to making two landfalls, one at the Southwest Pass over the Mississippi River and the second near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Once inland, Isaac steadily weakened and dissipated over Missouri early on September 1. On August 22, the Storm Prediction Center noted the potential for severe weather to evolve in association with Isaac; however, considerable model uncertainty precluded the addition of a threat area. Three days later, a severe threat area was outlined across southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and northern Florida as the outer bands of the hurricane were forecast to rotate into the region. Confirmed tornadoes August 27 event August 29 event August 30 event August 31 event September 1 event September 3 event September 4 event See also List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks Footnotes References External links Hurricane Isaac Advisory Archive Hurricane Isaac Advisory Graphics Archive Tornda Tornadoes of 2012 Tornadoes in Florida Tornadoes in Alabama Tornadoes in Illinois Tornadoes in Delaware Tornadoes in New Jersey 2012 natural disasters in the United States August 2012 events in the United States September 2012 events in the United States F2 tornadoes