National comparison · NOAA Storm Events Database

Tornado risk by state

Texas has recorded the most tornado events of any state, with 1,502 events across the NOAA Storm Events Database's recorded history. This ranking covers all 53 states and territories with at least one recorded tornado event.

Compiled by PlainHazard, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 25, 2026

Texas
Most tornado events: 1,502
Texas tornado events: 16,489
Total events nationwide

Texas has recorded the most tornado events of any state (1,502, 9% of the nationwide 16,489)

According to NOAA's Storm Events Database, PlainHazard ranks 53 states and territories by recorded tornado event count. Texas leads the catalog; the top three states together hold 22% of all recorded events. This is a raw event count, not adjusted for land area or population.

1,502 Texas tornado events
9% of U.S. tornado events
22% held by the top 3 states

How concentrated are the events

Texas accounts for 9% of all NOAA-recorded tornado events among the 53 states and territories in this ranking, and the top three states combined, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, account for 22%. This is a raw event count, not adjusted for state land area.

9%
of nationwide tornado events are in Texas alone: 22%
of events concentrated in just the top 3 states: 53
states and territories covered in this ranking

A raw event count is not a per-square-mile risk measure; see the per-state detail pages for context.

What this ranking measures

NOAA's Storm Events Database records individual tornado events by state and year. This page sums the recorded event count for each state and ranks the highest totals first. It is a count of past recorded events, not a forecast and not a normalized per-capita or per-area risk measure — a large state can rank higher simply from more land area and more NOAA-monitored events, independent of any single location's actual exposure.

Top 12 states by tornado events

Each row links to the state profile, crawlable ranking, not an image-only chart

1

Texas 1.5K tornado events
2

Mississippi 1.1K tornado events
3

Oklahoma 1.1K tornado events
4

Illinois 958 tornado events
5

Alabama 896 tornado events
6

Iowa 831 tornado events
7

Kansas 734 tornado events
8

Louisiana 712 tornado events
9

Missouri 647 tornado events
10

Georgia 637 tornado events
11

Minnesota 591 tornado events
12

Florida 588 tornado events

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

The bar to make this top-12 list

Distribution of tornado event counts across ranked states

588 Top 23% higher than 77% of 53 states

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

Full tornado-risk-by-state ranking

States with the most recorded tornado events rank first. The last column shows recorded tornado fatalities.

#	State	Tornado Events	Fatalities
1	TexasTX	1,502	49
2	MississippiMS	1,097	68
3	OklahomaOK	1,077	23
4	IllinoisIL	958	15
5	AlabamaAL	896	57
6	IowaIA	831	15
7	KansasKS	734	0
8	LouisianaLA	712	23
9	MissouriMO	647	31
10	GeorgiaGA	637	37
11	MinnesotaMN	591	1
12	FloridaFL	588	12
13	NebraskaNE	513	0
14	ColoradoCO	471	0
15	ArkansasAR	466	15
16	OhioOH	429	5
17	TennesseeTN	421	63
18	KentuckyKY	414	98
19	IndianaIN	405	8
20	WisconsinWI	351	1
21	North CarolinaNC	339	9
22	South CarolinaSC	320	9
23	North DakotaND	298	4
24	PennsylvaniaPA	265	1
25	South DakotaSD	228	1
26	VirginiaVA	182	5
27	MichiganMI	163	5
28	New MexicoNM	122	0
29	New YorkNY	114	5
30	WyomingWY	110	0
31	MarylandMD	82	2
32	CaliforniaCA	73	0
33	ArizonaAZ	63	0
34	New JerseyNJ	55	0
35	West VirginiaWV	45	0
36	MontanaMT	41	0
37	MassachusettsMA	39	0
38	ConnecticutCT	31	0
39	OregonOR	29	0
40	WashingtonWA	24	0
41	IdahoID	21	0
42	UtahUT	21	0
43	DelawareDE	18	1
44	New HampshireNH	14	0
45	MaineME	11	0
46	NevadaNV	11	0
47	Puerto RicoPR	9	0
48	Rhode IslandRI	9	0
49	VermontVT	5	0
50	District of ColumbiaDC	4	0
51	AlaskaAK	1	0
52	HawaiiHI	1	0
53	U.S. Virgin IslandsVI	1	0

What to do with this ranking

Texas accounts for 9% of NOAA-recorded tornado events (1,502); the top three states hold 22% of the 16,489 catalog total.

Open Texas's state profile for county-level tornado exposure context. Texas profile
See the national Tornado hazard page for year and geography tables behind this ranking. Tornado hazard record
Read how NOAA storm-event counts differ from FEMA declarations before citing either. Disaster-data guide

Tornado event counts are raw NOAA reports, not land-area or population-adjusted risk, and not a forecast. For current threats follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database Tornado event records Recorded events depend on NOAA's monitoring and reporting coverage, which has expanded over time. Earlier decades may undercount events relative to more recent years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US state has the most tornado events?

Texas has the most NOAA-recorded tornado events of any state, 1,502 on record -- 9% of the 16,489 total tornado events across all states tracked.

Are tornadoes concentrated in a few states?

Yes. The top three states, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, together account for 22% of all recorded tornado events, reflecting the well-documented US "Tornado Alley" pattern of central-plains states seeing disproportionately frequent tornado activity.

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking sums NOAA Storm Events Database tornado records by state. It labels the aggregation rather than presenting it as a forecast or a per-capita risk measure. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.