Tornadoes in the United States
Tornadoes are more common in the United States than in any other country. The United States receives more than 1,200 tornadoes annually—four times the amount seen in Europe. Violent tornadoes—those rated EF4 or EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale—occur more often in the United States than in any other country.
Most tornadoes in the United States occur east of the Rocky Mountains. The Great Plains, the Midwest, the Mississippi Valley and the southern United States are all areas that are vulnerable to tornadoes. They are relatively rare west of the Rockies and are also less frequent in the northeastern states. Tornado Alley is a colloquial term for an area particularly prone to tornadoes. There is no officially defined 'Tornado Alley' - at its broadest this area stretches from Texas to Canada with its core centered on Oklahoma, Kansas and northern Texas. Another highly significant region - colloquially known as Dixie Alley - is the southern United States and particularly the northern and central parts of Alabama and Mississippi. Florida is one of the most tornado prone states. However, Florida tornadoes only rarely approach the strength of those that occur elsewhere.
Although favorable conditions for tornadoes in the United States can occur at any time, they are most common in spring and least common in winter. Because spring is a transitional period for the climate, there are more chances of cooler air meeting with warmer air, resulting in more thunderstorms. Tornadoes can also be spawned by landfalling tropical cyclones, which usually occur in late summer and autumn. In the United States, thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes usually form when the temperature is at its highest, typically from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Although the period in which most tornadoes strike ("tornado season") is March through August, tornadoes - including violent tornadoes and major tornado outbreaks - have been documented in the United States during every month of the year. Two examples of this are when a series of tornadoes hit the state of Indiana on November 22, 1992, and injured at least nine people. Another notable non-season tornado was on December 9, 1991, where a tornado struck the area of McLean County, Illinois. Even though the tornado was during a winter month, it blew 20 railroad cars off their tracks, and hauled a camper over 100 yards (91 m).
During the winter months of the year, tornadoes have been known to hit the Southern United States and Southeastern United States the most, but have hit other areas as well. One notable recent example of a winter tornado outbreak was the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak on February 5 and February 6, 2008. 84 tornadoes occurred over the course of the outbreak. The storm system produced several destructive tornadoes in heavily populated areas, most notably in the Memphis metropolitan area, in Jackson, Tennessee, and the northeastern end of the Nashville metropolitan area. At least 57 people were killed across four states and 18 counties, with hundreds of others injured. The outbreak was the deadliest of the modern NEXRAD doppler radar era, until the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak killed over 348 people (324 of which were tornado-related). It was the deadliest single outbreak since the May 31, 1985 outbreak, which killed 76 across Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well claiming 12 victims in Ontario, Canada. It was also the deadliest outbreak in both Tennessee and Kentucky since the Super Outbreak.
Usually, tornadoes hit specific areas of the United States in specific seasons. During the winter months, tornadoes are usually spotted in the Southern area of the country, as well as states near the Gulf of Mexico. This is due to cold air moving southward reaching its southern limit of expansion, and stopping over the Gulf Coast. As spring comes, hot air progressively moves back into the Gulf Coast. This pushes the mass of colder air forward out of the Gulf States and into the Southeastern states, where tornado frequency is highest in April.
As spring passes and summer begins, the mass of warm moist air moves northwest into the Great Plains and Midwestern states. During the months of May and June, tornado activity is as its peak in the southern Great Plains. The air mass then moves northward into the Northern Great Plains and the Great Lakes area, causing a tornado activity peak in these areas during the summer months. During the late summer and early fall months, tornado activity in the United States tapers off. This is due to the relatively small difference between the temperature at the boundary of the hot air mass and the cool air mass at that time and an extension of the Bermuda High sitting over parts of the United States. Though there may be some thunderstorms, they don't often become severe enough to spawn tornadoes.
Tornadoes may be formed out of season, especially during the months of hurricane season in the Gulf Coast states and Southeastern states. Because these areas are prone to hurricanes, they may be struck with tornadoes that are spawned from hurricanes. Tornadoes are most likely to form in the right-front quadrant of the hurricane, but can also form in rain bands associated with the storm. This is caused by the large amount of vertical wind shear to the right of the storm. Tornadoes are also spawned from U.S. hurricanes due to the moistness of the air at the landfall of the storm, which makes conditions favorable for a supercell storm to develop within the hurricane.
Average annual tornado reports in the United States.
Tornadoes have been documented in every U.S. state (not including the non-state territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico) at least once since 1950, although some regions and states are hit by tornadoes far more than others. For example, the average number of tornadoes to hit the states of Alaska, Rhode Island, and Vermont is less than one, while the state of Oklahoma receives an average of 52 tornadoes per year, and the state of Texas is hit with 126 tornadoes in an average year. The state with the most tornadoes per unit area is Florida, though most are weak tornadoes of EF0 or EF1 intensity. A number of Florida's tornadoes occur along the edge of hurricanes that strike the state. The state with the highest number of strong tornadoes per unit area is Oklahoma. States such as Oklahoma and Kansas have much lower population densities than Florida, so tornadoes may go unreported.
Midwest
The Midwestern states are very prone to tornado activity, as it is part of "Tornado Alley." States included in the area that are hit by tornadoes the most are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. The Midwestern States are often hit by tornadoes during the late spring and early summer months, especially the months of May and June. This is due to the aforementioned air mass moving northward into the Midwest and combining with another air mass that move southward from Canada. This creates unstable air, creating the potential for storms to strike the most during these months. The frequency begins to decrease in the middle of the summer, as the air mass mover northward into the Great Lakes states.
A Doppler On Wheels unit observing a tornado near Attica, Kansas.
A very notable recent storm that his hit this area was the Greensburg tornado, in the May 2007 Tornado Outbreak. The tornado apparently strengthened as it neared Greensburg, and at 9:38 pm CDT (0238 UTC), storm chasers reported that it had grown to over 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) in diameter. Several satellite tornadoes were observed as the very large wedge approached the town of Greensburg. It was an estimated 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in diameter and was later confirmed to have been an EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (the highest possible rating). Based on the damage produced, winds inside the tornado were estimated to have been in excess of 205 mph (330 km/h).
Nebraska is fifth overall for sheer numbers of tornadoes, while Indiana has had 88 violent tornado reports from the 1950–2006 period, more than any state except Oklahoma. Iowa reported 83, almost as many as Texas. The deadliest tornado in US history, the Tri-State Tornado, struck Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in March 1925. St. Louis, Missouri and neighboring East St. Louis, Illinois have been hit more than once by violent tornadoes, the most notorious of which was the St. Louis Tornado of May 1896. The New Richmond Tornado of May 1899 and the Flint, Michigan tornado of June 1953 also rank amongst the deadliest tornadoes in US history. The region was badly hit by the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak in April 1965 and by the Super Outbreak of April 1974. According to NCDC figures for the 1950 to 2006 period, Nebraska reported 2,440 tornadoes followed by Iowa (2,185), Illinois (2,086), Missouri (1,922), South Dakota (1,487), Minnesota (1,477), Indiana (1,327), North Dakota (1,216), Wisconsin (1,185), Michigan (981), and Ohio (916).
South
The Southern United States has suffered more tornado fatalities than any other part of the country. Some areas experience repeated damaging tornado events, such as the Tennessee Valley in northern Alabama. The state of Alabama is tied for the most reported F5 tornadoes. For the period 1950 to 2006, three hundred and fifty eight people were killed by tornadoes in Alabama, ranking the state third nationwide behind Texas (521) and neighboring Mississippi (404). Fourth is Arkansas (336) and fifth is Tennessee with 271 fatalities.
Tornado disasters to affect the southern USA include the Great Natchez Tornado of May 1840 - second deadliest on record in the US, behind only the Tri-State Tornado. Other outbreaks included the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak of April 1936, the 1908 Southeast tornado outbreak of April 1908 and the Candlestick Park Tornado of 1966. Alabama and Kentucky were very badly affected by the Super Outbreak of 1974. The 2008 Super