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 720 mi (1,160 km) 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 65 mph (105 km/h) by 06:00 UTC on August 25; a few hours later, Isaac moved ashore near Cajobabo, Guantánamo, Cuba with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h). 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 80 mph (130 km/h) prior to making two landfalls, one at the Southwest Pass over the Mississippi River and the second near Port Fourchon, Louisiana.