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Tornadoes in the United States, by state

The national record since 1950 · Tornado

The Storm Prediction Center counts 73,458 tornadoes in the United States from 1950 through 2025, about 1,267 a year since 2000. Texas records the most (9,617), Florida the most per square mile. The deadliest tornado since 1950 is the Joplin tornado of May 22, 2011 (Missouri): 158 deaths along its whole track (SPC).

What is a tornado? How the National Weather Service files it

A violently rotating column of air, extending to or from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, to the ground, and often (but not always) visible as a condensation funnel. For a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and extend to/from the cloud base, and there should be some semblance of ground-based visual effects such as dust/dirt rotational markings/swirls, or structural or vegetative damage or disturbance.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 47

Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).

Tornadoes, 1950 to 2025

Tornadoes per year (SPC, whole tracks).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
Tornadoes
73,4581950 to 2025
A year since 2000
1,267average
Deaths
6,341recorded
Damage, 2025 dollars
$210.7BStorm Events, as filed

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025; damage from NOAA NCEI Storm Events in 2025 dollars. SPC severe weather database.

Which states have the most tornadoes?

By count Texas (9,617), Kansas (4,610), Oklahoma (4,516) lead. Per 10,000 square miles Florida (701), Oklahoma (658), Mississippi (614) lead; large states collect more records by covering more ground.

By count since 1950

  1. Texas 9,617
  2. Kansas 4,610
  3. Oklahoma 4,516
  4. Florida 3,762
  5. Nebraska 3,223
  6. Illinois 3,149
  7. Iowa 3,099
  8. Mississippi 2,883
  9. Alabama 2,721
  10. Missouri 2,707
  11. Louisiana 2,503
  12. Colorado 2,479
  13. Minnesota 2,216
  14. Arkansas 2,146
  15. Georgia 2,014

Per 10,000 square miles

  1. Florida 701
  2. Oklahoma 658
  3. Mississippi 614
  4. Louisiana 579
  5. Illinois 567
  6. Kansas 564
  7. Iowa 555
  8. Alabama 537
  9. Indiana 492
  10. Maryland 438
  11. Nebraska 420
  12. Arkansas 413
  13. South Carolina 407
  14. Delaware 395
  15. Missouri 394

Source: Land area: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles are not ranked per square mile.

Alabama: 537 per 10,000 sq miAlaska: 0.1 per 10,000 sq miArizona: 27 per 10,000 sq miArkansas: 413 per 10,000 sq miCalifornia: 31 per 10,000 sq miColorado: 239 per 10,000 sq miConnecticut: 262 per 10,000 sq miDelaware: 395 per 10,000 sq miFlorida: 701 per 10,000 sq miGeorgia: 349 per 10,000 sq miHawaii: 64 per 10,000 sq miIdaho: 27 per 10,000 sq miIllinois: 567 per 10,000 sq miIndiana: 492 per 10,000 sq miIowa: 555 per 10,000 sq miKansas: 564 per 10,000 sq miKentucky: 319 per 10,000 sq miLouisiana: 579 per 10,000 sq miMaine: 44 per 10,000 sq miMaryland: 438 per 10,000 sq miMassachusetts: 256 per 10,000 sq miMichigan: 203 per 10,000 sq miMinnesota: 278 per 10,000 sq miMississippi: 614 per 10,000 sq miMissouri: 394 per 10,000 sq miMontana: 31 per 10,000 sq miNebraska: 420 per 10,000 sq miNevada: 8.8 per 10,000 sq miNew Hampshire: 113 per 10,000 sq miNew Jersey: 262 per 10,000 sq miNew Mexico: 56 per 10,000 sq miNew York: 114 per 10,000 sq miNorth Carolina: 319 per 10,000 sq miNorth Dakota: 252 per 10,000 sq miOhio: 343 per 10,000 sq miOklahoma: 658 per 10,000 sq miOregon: 14 per 10,000 sq miPennsylvania: 222 per 10,000 sq miRhode Island: 193 per 10,000 sq miSouth Carolina: 407 per 10,000 sq miSouth Dakota: 258 per 10,000 sq miTennessee: 359 per 10,000 sq miTexas: 368 per 10,000 sq miUtah: 17 per 10,000 sq miVermont: 54 per 10,000 sq miVirginia: 211 per 10,000 sq miWashington: 20 per 10,000 sq miWest Virginia: 74 per 10,000 sq miWisconsin: 299 per 10,000 sq miWyoming: 77 per 10,000 sq mi
  • 0.1-54
  • 54-211
  • 211-319
  • 319-420
  • 420+
Tornadoes per 10,000 square miles by state since 1950. Each class holds about a fifth of the states; Alaska and Hawaii are drawn as insets, not to scale.

Every state

Tornado risk by state: FEMA's model

The record above counts what happened. FEMA's National Risk Index estimates what each state can expect to lose to tornadoes in an average year, from history, exposure and vulnerability: Texas carries the largest expected annual loss ($2.4B), then Illinois and Florida.

  1. Texas $2.4B
  2. Illinois $876M
  3. Florida $530M
  4. Michigan $474M
  5. Missouri $450M
  6. Georgia $433M
  7. Alabama $427M
  8. Tennessee $423M
  9. Indiana $422M
  10. Oklahoma $370M
  11. Ohio $366M
  12. Iowa $354M
  13. Minnesota $348M
  14. North Carolina $342M
  15. Kansas $342M

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), county expected annual loss summed by state; a model, not a count. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

When is tornado season?

Tornadoes by month, nationally. The busiest month is May.

The values, month by month

Jan 2,259 · Feb 2,508 · Mar 6,405 · Apr 12,666 · May 17,732 · Jun 13,957 · Jul 7,552 · Aug 5,381 · Sep 3,873 · Oct 3,226 · Nov 3,302 · Dec 2,447 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1950.

The deadliest tornadoes since 1950

Tornadoes with the most deaths, whole tracks, 1950-2025
DateTornado, states and countiesRatingPathKilled
2011-05-22Joplin · Missouri: Newton, JasperEF521.62 mi158
1953-06-08Flint · Michigan: Genesee, LapeerF518.9 mi116
1953-05-11Waco · Texas: McLennanF520.9 mi114
1953-06-09Worcester · Massachusetts: WorcesterF434.9 mi94
1955-05-25Udall · Kansas, Oklahoma: Kay, Sumner, CowleyF556.4 mi80
2011-04-27Hackleburg/Phil Campbell · Alabama, Tennessee: Franklin, Lawrence, MorganEF5132 mi72
2011-04-27Tuscaloosa to Birmingham · Alabama: Greene, Tuscaloosa, JeffersonEF480.68 mi64
1971-02-21Oxford · Mississippi, Tennessee: Issaquena, Sharkey, Humphreys, LefloreF4202.1 mi58
1966-03-03Jackson · Alabama, Mississippi: Hinds, Rankin, Scott, LeakeF5202.5 mi58
2021-12-10Mayfield to Hartford · Kentucky, Tennessee: Obion, Fulton, Hickman, GravesEF4168.53 mi57

The deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history, back to 1840 on SPC's list.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, whole tracks; names from SPC's lists, else the incorporated places nearest the track's start and end (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer). SPC severe weather database.

The costliest tornadoes since 1993

The 8 most damaging records since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-05-22 TornadoCentral City, Jasper County, MO EF5 8.8 mi x 1,600 yd 161 1,150 $3.7B
2013-05-20 TornadoMoore, Cleveland County, OK EF5 12 mi x 1,900 yd 24 207 $2.5B
2011-04-27 TornadoRalph, Tuscaloosa County, AL EF4 41.79 mi x 1,760 yd 52 800 $2.0B
2019-10-20 TornadoGribble, Dallas County, TX EF3 15.76 mi x 1,300 yd 0 0 $1.8B
2025-05-16 TornadoTower Grove, St. Louis (city), MO EF0 6.61 mi x 1,750 yd 4 38 $1.6B
2011-04-27 TornadoLawngate, Limestone County, AL EF4 18.86 mi x 1,320 yd 4 75 $1.3B
2020-03-03 TornadoScottsboro, Davidson County, TN EF3 21.49 mi x 1,150 yd 2 170 $1.2B
2013-11-17 TornadoMarquette Hgts, Tazewell County, IL EF4 14.16 mi x 880 yd 3 121 $1.2B

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 9, 1953 (tornado, Worcester County, 90 killed); April 10, 1979 (tornado, Wichita County, 42 killed); April 3, 1974 (tornado, Greene County, 36 killed); August 28, 1990 (tornado, Will County, 29 killed); May 11, 1970 (tornado, Lubbock County, 26 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

What the record files under tornadoes

NOAA event types in this group
Event typeRecordsYearsKilledDamage
Tornado81,3081950-20266,410$210.7B

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, event types as defined in NWS Instruction 10-1605.

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