tornado: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 31, 2026

News •

Turkey tornado kills 4 at Antalya construction site • Oct. 27, 2026, 2:39 PM ET (The Weather Channel)

'Zeus was angry:' Arizona surveys damage from at least 3 rare tornadoes • Oct. 22, 2026, 4:46 PM ET (AP)

Photos and Videos

Map of the contiguous United States shaded to show the average annual frequency of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles from 1950 to 1995. The highest frequencies, indicated by red and orange, are concentrated in Tornado Alley, stretching from northern Texas through Oklahoma and Kansas to Nebraska, with lower frequencies in surrounding regions.

number and intensity of tornadoes in the U.S. per month

Diagram of a thunderstorm showing a towering cumulonimbus cloud with labeled features including warm updrafts rising, cool downdrafts falling, precipitation at the base, and an anvil-shaped top spreading near the tropopause. Colored arrows indicate the movement of warm and cool air within the storm. A faint scale on the right marks cloud height in kilometers.

A large tornado touches down in a grassy field under dark clouds, with a National Severe Storms Laboratory field command vehicle parked on the roadside in the foreground.

F1 tornado damage

F3 tornado damage

F5 tornado damage

Illustration of a tornadic thunderstorm showing a large thundercloud with labeled wind patterns at different levels, a central updraft, and a tornado forming beneath a wall cloud. The right side details the tornado structure, including the condensation funnel, debris fountain, and airflow directions.

cyclone: damage

Learn about the disastrous and deadly power of tornadoes

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Why does the United States have more tornadoes than other countries?

A cartoon tornado in a field populated by a farmhouse and other small buildings.

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Topics

mesocyclone tornado outbreak waterspout How Do Tornadoes Form?Why Does the United States Have More Tornadoes than Any Other Country?How fast does a tornado travel?severe local storm tornado warning Fujita Scale thunderstorm tropical storm Windstorm Cyclone Ice storm Haboob Blizzard Squall 20 Deadliest Storms in History

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Key People

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Tetsuya Fujita

Japanese-American meteorologist

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