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Tornadoes by state: which states get the most?
Counts of confirmed tornadoes from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center database. Ten-year averages smooth out the big swings from one year to the next.
Data vintage: NOAA Storm Prediction Center Severe Weather Database, final data through 2024 (10-year average 2015–2024). Last checked 2026-10-27 by The CompareTheData team.
Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Jump to sources · Methodology
Key takeaways
- The U.S. averaged 1,288 tornadoes a year from 2015 to 2024; 2024 had 1,791, the most in this period.
- Most tornadoes per year: Texas (123.3), Oklahoma (82.2), Mississippi (74.2) and Illinois (69.2).
- By land area, the densest tornado states are Mississippi (15.8), Louisiana (13.2) and Alabama (12.8) per 10,000 square miles a year.
- Tornadoes killed 482 people in the U.S. over the decade; Tennessee (106), Mississippi (56) and Alabama (53) recorded the most deaths.
Average tornadoes per year by state chart
Tornadoes by state, ranked by 10-year average
Click a column heading to sort. Download this table (CSV).
| Rank | State | Avg per year 2015–2024 | 2024 | 2023 | Avg 1995–2004 | Per 10,000 sq mi | Deaths (10 yrs) | Deaths 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 123.3 | 131 | 78 | 163.6 | 4.7 | 49 | 9 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 82.2 | 151 | 75 | 66.6 | 12.0 | 22 | 8 |
| 3 | Mississippi | 74.2 | 74 | 63 | 38.2 | 15.8 | 56 | 0 |
| 4 | Illinois | 69.2 | 139 | 118 | 64.3 | 12.5 | 18 | 0 |
| 5 | Iowa | 66.6 | 124 | 72 | 54.7 | 11.9 | 14 | 6 |
| 6 | Alabama | 64.9 | 68 | 73 | 40.2 | 12.8 | 53 | 0 |
| 7 | Kansas | 64.4 | 71 | 45 | 81.1 | 7.9 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Louisiana | 57.1 | 95 | 34 | 33.1 | 13.2 | 22 | 2 |
| 9 | Florida | 53.0 | 113 | 54 | 78.3 | 9.9 | 13 | 9 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 47.9 | 30 | 24 | 45.0 | 6.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Georgia | 46.9 | 31 | 55 | 24.4 | 8.1 | 34 | 2 |
| 12 | Missouri | 44.8 | 93 | 21 | 38.4 | 6.5 | 11 | 0 |
| 13 | Colorado | 42.8 | 20 | 88 | 51.6 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 41.9 | 99 | 63 | 62.5 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Ohio | 34.5 | 69 | 60 | 15.3 | 8.4 | 4 | 3 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 33.3 | 47 | 29 | 45.3 | 6.4 | 20 | 5 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 29.8 | 48 | 34 | 20.8 | 7.5 | 18 | 1 |
| 18 | Indiana | 29.2 | 52 | 53 | 22.2 | 8.2 | 4 | 1 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 28.5 | 43 | 22 | 34.1 | 5.9 | 7 | 2 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 27.2 | 48 | 17 | 30.3 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 26.5 | 42 | 20 | 18.3 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 26.3 | 19 | 38 | 27.8 | 6.4 | 106 | 1 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 21.6 | 23 | 24 | 18.0 | 4.8 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | South Dakota | 20.3 | 7 | 18 | 33.2 | 2.7 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | North Dakota | 20.1 | 14 | 7 | 32.4 | 2.9 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Virginia | 15.3 | 12 | 6 | 21.1 | 3.9 | 5 | 0 |
| 27 | Michigan | 11.6 | 17 | 14 | 15.7 | 2.0 | 5 | 1 |
| 28 | New Mexico | 10.6 | 12 | 13 | 8.2 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | New York | 10.5 | 32 | 10 | 8.8 | 2.2 | 2 | 1 |
| 30 | Wyoming | 9.6 | 5 | 21 | 11.6 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | California | 6.7 | 4 | 10 | 10.3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Maryland | 6.7 | 11 | 3 | 12.0 | 6.9 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | Arizona | 5.5 | 7 | 5 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | New Jersey | 4.4 | 1 | 13 | 2.5 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Montana | 4.1 | 4 | 6 | 10.7 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 3.9 | 18 | 0 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Connecticut | 3.1 | 1 | 3 | 1.7 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Massachusetts | 3.1 | 1 | 8 | 1.4 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Oregon | 2.8 | 3 | 4 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Washington | 2.4 | 4 | 3 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Idaho | 1.9 | 1 | 4 | 5.3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Utah | 1.6 | 2 | 0 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Delaware | 1.4 | 1 | 3 | 0.5 | 7.2 | 1 | 0 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | 1.2 | 2 | 1 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Nevada | 1.1 | 0 | 2 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Maine | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 0.7 | 1 | 3 | 0.1 | 6.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Vermont | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 32.7 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Alaska | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
Has tornado activity shifted?
Comparing the latest decade with 1995–2004, average annual counts rose most in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana and fell most in Texas, Florida and Nebraska. Researchers have reported more activity in the mid-South and less in the southern Plains in recent decades, though better detection affects counts of weak tornadoes, so long-term comparisons should be read cautiously.
How to read these numbers
- A tornado that crosses state lines is counted in the state where it touched down.
- Detection of weak (EF0) tornadoes has improved with Doppler radar and storm spotters, which inflates recent counts relative to older years.
- 2025 data had not been finalized in the SPC database when this page was built.
Common questions
Which state has the most tornadoes?
Texas, averaging 123 a year from 2015 to 2024.
What are the tornado alley states?
There is no official definition. The term usually covers the Plains from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska; “Dixie Alley” refers to the mid-South, including Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
Which state has the most tornadoes per square mile?
Mississippi (15.8 per 10,000 sq mi a year).
How many tornadoes happen in the US each year?
About 1,288 a year on average over 2015–2024.
Sources
Figures computed by CompareTheData.com from the official files below; the raw downloads are archived with the build. Where D.C. is included it is ranked alongside the states.
- NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database (1950–2024 actual tornadoes). data through December 2024, downloaded Oct 27, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer (state land area). 2024 file.