Tornado season by state

The US averaged about 1,268 tornadoes a year in 1996–2025. Nationally, tornado season peaks from April to June, which brought 53% of them, and May is the busiest month. But each region has its own season: the Southeast peaks in early spring and has a second season in late autumn and winter, the southern Plains peak in May, and the northern Plains and Upper Midwest in June and July. Choose a state for its months, averages, EF-scale mix and the strongest and deadliest tornadoes on record.

Data: NOAA SPC tornado database, years 1996–2025 (records since 1950).

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US tornadoes by month

Every tornado in the US, 1996–2025, counted once, by the month it touched down.

Tornado season in every state

Most tornadoes a year first. "Busiest 3 months" is the run of three months with the most tornadoes and its share of the year. A tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state.

Tornado Alley states

"Tornado Alley" is an informal name with no official boundary. It usually means the southern and central Great Plains, where dry air from the Rockies, warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and strong winds aloft meet in spring. These are the states most often included, with their averages for 1996–2025:

"Dixie Alley" is the name often given to the lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Tornadoes there are a little less frequent than on the Plains but are often deadlier, because more of them come at night, they are often wrapped in rain, the land is wooded and hilly, and more people live in mobile homes.

Winter tornadoes in the Southeast

Tornadoes are not only a spring threat. From November to February the jet stream is at its strongest and sits over the southern US, and when warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico flows north ahead of a cold front, tornadoes can form even in December and January. Nationally, November to February brought 14% of all US tornadoes in 1996–2025. In the Southeast the share is far higher:

Winter tornadoes are dangerous out of proportion to their numbers. Winter storms often move faster than spring ones, so a warning may give only minutes. Short days mean many arrive after dark, and heavy rain can hide the funnel. Have two ways to get warnings, including one that will wake you, and know where you would shelter before a storm day.

Among the deadliest November–February tornadoes in these states since 1950 (deaths in that state):

Questions

When is tornado season in the US?

Across the US, tornadoes are most common from April to June, which brought 53% of the country's tornadoes in 1996–2025; May is the busiest month. But the season moves with the jet stream: the Gulf Coast and Southeast peak in early spring and have a second season from November to February, the southern Plains peak in May, and the northern Plains and Upper Midwest in June and July. Tornadoes have been recorded in every month.

Which states are in Tornado Alley?

Tornado Alley is an informal name, not an official area. It usually means the southern and central Great Plains: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, often with South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri and eastern Colorado. "Dixie Alley" is the name often used for the Southeast, from Arkansas and Louisiana through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, where tornadoes are frequent, often strike at night, and also come in late autumn and winter. In 1996–2025, Texas averaged the most tornadoes a year, about 130.

Do tornadoes happen in winter?

Yes, mostly in the Southeast. Strong winter jet streams and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico can produce tornadoes from November to February, often fast-moving and at night. Share of each state's tornadoes that came in November to February, 1996–2025: Mississippi 36%, Alabama 33%, Louisiana 33%, Georgia 32%.

What is the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?

A tornado watch means conditions are right for tornadoes to form in and near the watch area, which often covers parts of several states for several hours; it is issued by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Stay alert and know where you would shelter. A tornado warning means a tornado has been seen or shown by radar and is a threat to the warned area now; it is issued by the local National Weather Service office for a much smaller area, usually for less than an hour. A warning is the more serious of the two: go to your shelter at once.

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