Severe weather was exceptionally active across the Southeast, with more than six times the typical number of reports observed during January. Numerous thunderstorm wind gusts ranging from 60 to nearly 90 mph were observed across the southern portion of the region, resulting in 7 fatalities and 8 injuries. Over 70% (63 of 88) of the tornadoes confirmed from December–February occurred during a multi-day severe weather outbreak on January 21st–23rd. Over half (41 of 63) of the tornadoes in this outbreak, including four EF-2s and two EF-3s, occurred in Georgia, which set new state records for the most tornadoes recorded in a single day (27) and two-day period (41). The two EF-3 tornadoes caused 16 fatalities in southern Georgia on the 22nd, which is more than double the number of January tornado fatalities recorded in the state from 1950 to 2016 (6). On December 12th, a man was killed by a lightning strike while standing outside his home near Molino, FL. This is the first December lightning fatality in the United States since 1998.
