This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2011. Extremely destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the U.S., Bangladesh and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
There were 1,692 tornadoes confirmed in the U.S. in 2011. 2011 was an exceptionally destructive and deadly year for tornadoes; worldwide, at least 571 people perished due to tornadoes: 12 in Bangladesh, two in South Africa, one in New Zealand, one in the Philippines, one in Russia, one in Canada and 553 in the United States (compared to 564 U.S. deaths in the prior ten years combined).[4] Due mostly to several extremely large tornado outbreaks in the middle and end of April and in late May, the year finished well above average in almost every category, with six EF5 tornadoes and nearly enough total tornado reports to eclipse the mark of 1,817 tornadoes recorded in 2004, the current record year for total number of tornadoes.
553 confirmed fatalities is also the second-most tornadic deaths in a single year for tornadoes in US history, behind only 1925 in terms of fatalities attributed to tornadic activity. This total is due in large part to the 324 tornadic deaths that occurred during the 2011 Super Outbreak across the Southeastern United States and the 158 tornadic deaths in the 2011 Joplin tornado.