50 Tornado Facts

50 tornado facts covering records, history, casualties, and surprising statistics you probably didn't know. Sources: NOAA, NWS Storm Prediction Center, peer-reviewed meteorological research.

Records

1. The highest wind speed ever measured on Earth was 301 mph, in the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore F5 tornado. Details ->

2. The widest tornado ever recorded was 2.6 miles wide - the 2013 El Reno tornado. Details ->

3. The longest continuous tornado path ever confirmed was 219 miles - the 1925 Tri-State tornado. Details ->

4. The most tornadoes in a single day in US history was 216 - April 27, 2011. Details ->

5. The most tornadoes in a single year was 1,817 in 2004.

6. The most tornadoes in a single month was 758 in May 2003.

7. The deadliest single US tornado killed 695 people - the 1925 Tri-State tornado.

8. The deadliest US tornado outbreak killed 335 people on April 3-4, 1974. Details ->

9. The costliest single US tornado was Joplin 2011 at $2.8 billion. Details ->

10. Only 9 tornadoes have ever been rated EF5 (since the scale started in 2007). List ->

Formation and Structure

11. Only about 20% of supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

12. Tornadoes typically last less than 10 minutes.

13. The average tornado forward speed is 30 mph.

14. The average tornado is only 250 feet wide.

15. Tornadoes rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (95% of the time).

16. Tornadoes CAN rotate clockwise (anticyclonic) - about 5% do so.

17. Mesocyclones - the rotating updrafts that produce tornadoes - are typically 2-6 miles wide.

18. Tornado season peaks in April, May, and June in the US.

19. Tornadoes can occur in every US state and every month of the year.

20. The tornado forward speed record is 73 mph, in the Tri-State tornado.

Geography

21. The US has approximately 1,200 tornadoes per year - more than any other country by far.

22. Texas has the most tornadoes of any US state (~140/year).

23. Kansas has the highest tornadoes-per-square-mile ratio.

24. Alabama has had the most modern-era tornado deaths.

25. Bangladesh has the second-highest tornado death rate globally.

26. Argentina's Pampas region has the second-highest tornado frequency globally.

27. Tornadoes have been documented on every continent except Antarctica.

28. The city of Moore, Oklahoma has been struck by 5 significant tornadoes since 1999.

29. Tornado Alley averages 350 tornadoes per year.

30. Dixie Alley averages 200 tornadoes per year - but its tornadoes kill more people.

Damage and Safety

31. About 50% of US tornado deaths occur in mobile homes, despite them housing only ~6% of the population.

32. Head injuries from flying debris are the #1 cause of tornado fatalities.

33. A FEMA-rated safe room fatality rate approaches zero even in EF5 tornadoes.

34. Nighttime tornadoes are 2.5 times more likely to kill than daytime tornadoes.

35. Opening windows to "equalize pressure" is a myth - do not do this.

36. Sheltering under a highway overpass is DANGEROUS - the wind tunnel effect accelerates tornado winds.

37. Green sky before a tornado is real - it indicates a hail-producing supercell.

38. The "freight train" sound of a tornado can be heard up to 2 miles away.

39. Average NWS tornado warning lead time is 13 minutes.

40. Roughly 70% of NWS tornado warnings result in no confirmed tornado (false alarms).

Weird and Wonderful

41. A tornado once carried a house 22 miles - documented after the Tri-State event.

42. Tornadoes have picked up frogs and fish, then dropped them miles away (documented multiple times).

43. Elvis Presley survived the 1936 Tupelo F5 at 15 months old.

44. The "Wizard of Oz" tornado was called a cyclone - a common 1900s Midwestern term for tornado.

45. Tornadoes have crossed the Mississippi River multiple times, including the 1925 Tri-State.

46. The Enhanced Fujita Scale went into effect Feb 1, 2007 - replacing the original Fujita Scale.

47. Ted Fujita, creator of the F-scale, was Japanese-born and researched at the University of Chicago.

48. The word "tornado" was banned from US public forecasts before 1953 to prevent panic.

49. A tornado has struck downtown Salt Lake City (F2 in 1999) - proving no city is safe.

50. The 2011 April 27 outbreak killed more Americans in 24 hours than any day since 1925.

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