Tornado Season Looks Different Now: Is Your State on the List?

The term “Tornado Alley,” coined in the early 1950s by two U.S. Air Force meteorologists, refers to a geographic region of the United States where tornadoes are thought to be most common. While there is ongoing debate over the precise borders of Tornado Alley, the term was originally applied to a corridor that cuts through parts of eight states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and the Dakotas–places where warm air out of the Gulf collides with cooler air off of the Rockies, conditions that make tornadoes more likely. 

But while the Tornado Alley is a term commonly used by the media, it is not officially recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to NOAA, the Tornado Alley moniker is somewhat misleading, as the likelihood of tornadoes developing in certain parts of the country varies by time of year. Additionally, in recent decades, tornado activity–both in terms of concentration and frequency–appears to have shifted hundreds of miles east of the parts of the Great Plains and Midwest considered to be the core of Tornado Alley. 

Indeed, an analysis of documented tornado activity shows that certain states not typically lumped in with the Tornado Alley cohort have more tornadoes on a per-square mile basis than many states that are. 

Using data compiled by NOAA, Climate Crisis 247 identified the states with the most tornado activity. We ranked all states in the Lower 48 on the number of tornadoes on record since 1950, per 100 square miles of land area. Calculations were made using land area metrics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Supplemental data on tornado-related fatalities and injuries are also from NOAA. Notably, of the ten states on this list, only three are within the original Tornado Alley regional designation. 

10. Arkansas

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 4.9 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 2,565
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 413 deaths; 5,569 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $3.6 billion ($1,402,222 per tornado)

9. Indiana

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 5.9 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 2,106
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 276 deaths; 4,383 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $2.9 billion ($1,358,406 per tornado)

8. Kansas

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 6.1 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 4,976
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 239 deaths; 2,860 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $3.4 billion ($675,355 per tornado)

7. Iowa

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 6.3 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 3,501
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 100 deaths; 2,341 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $2.9 billion ($839,349 per tornado)

6. Alabama

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 6.3 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 3,207
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 692 deaths; 8,468 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $6.4 billion ($1,989,016 per tornado)

5. Louisiana

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 6.5 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 2,801
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 180 deaths; 2,958 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $1.9 billion ($674,680 per tornado)

4. Illinois

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 6.6 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 3,658
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 236 deaths; 4,656 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $12.2 billion ($3,339,497 per tornado)

3. Florida

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 7.1 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 3,821
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 207 deaths; 3,448 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $4.3 billion ($1,119,039 per tornado)

2. Oklahoma

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 7.4 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 5,081
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 364 deaths; 5,501 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $5.9 billion ($1,165,052 per tornado)

1. Mississippi

• Documented tornadoes since 1950: 7.5 tornadoes per 100 sq. mi. of land area
• Total documented tornadoes since 1950: 3,532
• Fatalities and injuries linked to tornadoes since 1950: 537 deaths; 7,200 injured persons
• Total property damage caused by tornadoes since 1950: $2.8 billion ($795,440 per tornado)

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• States With the Deadliest Tornadoes Since 1950