National 3D county map of United States tornado history
76 Years Of U.S. Tornadoes Tornado History

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Tornado History

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Period 1
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1950–2026

Full-period scale stays fixed while the timeline changes.

Tiles © Esri

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Date Time County State Recorded Rating Deaths Injuries Width Path
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76 Years Of Evidence

Tornado Trends

Seven findings from the record, each held to a published-research standard before it earned a place here.

Method: Theil-Sen trend estimates on this app's own NOAA record — 72,954 tornadoes, 1950–2026 — reviewed against Gensini & Brooks 2018, Spatial Trends In United States Tornado Frequency. Counts restricted to significant (EF1+) storms where reporting bias matters. One further finding — tornado season creeping into winter — was held out because the record cannot yet prove it.
Tornado Guide

Understand The Map And Tornado Ratings

This tool lives at tornado.jbf.com.

This map tells two stories at once. Column height shows the amount of one measure; color shows a second measure. Tornado strength is a separate filter based on the official rating recorded for each storm.

HeightHow Much?

Tornadoes, deaths, injuries, or another selected measure.

ColorWhat Pattern?

A second measure using one fixed, shared scale.

StrengthWhat Rating?

The strongest surveyed damage along each tornado path.

Using The Map

A Simple Three-Step Workflow

  1. Choose the years and strength.Use the left panel or start with a guided finding.
  2. Choose what height and color mean.Pick both measures yourself or use Surprise Me.
  3. Select a county or open Storm Details.The right panel summarizes counties; the bottom table lists the individual storms behind the map.

Rating A Tornado

Damage Evidence, Not A Direct Wind Reading

Survey teams examine what was damaged and how well it was built.

They compare structures and trees with standard damage indicators and degrees of damage, estimate the three-second wind gust needed to cause that damage, and assign the tornado’s highest supported rating.

  • Deaths, injuries, path length, path width, and dollar losses do not determine the rating.
  • The rating describes the most intense damage found anywhere along the path—not the tornado’s average strength.
  • A powerful tornado crossing open land may receive a low or unknown rating when there is not enough suitable damage evidence.

F To EF

A Short History Of The Scale

The Fujita Scale

Dr. T. Theodore “Ted” Fujita introduced the F Scale to classify tornado intensity from F0 to F5 using observed damage to estimate wind speed.

Engineering Review

Meteorologists and wind engineers began refining the scale to account more carefully for building type, construction quality, trees, and other damage indicators.

The Enhanced Fujita Scale

The National Weather Service put the EF Scale into operation. “Enhanced” refers to the improved damage-assessment process—not a stronger kind of tornado.

How this map handles the change: Storms before February 1, 2007 retain their recorded F rating; later storms use EF. The strength controls group both systems by their recorded 0–5 category, and Storm Details shows the correct F or EF prefix for each event.

The Rating Scale

What The Categories Mean

The wind ranges below are modern EF Scale estimates. Original F Scale wind ranges were different, and historical tornadoes are not retroactively rerated.

Rating Class EF Wind Estimate Typical Survey Evidence
F/EF0Weak · Light65–85 mphLimited roof or siding damage; branches broken.
F/EF1Weak · Moderate86–110 mphRoof covering loss; mobile homes overturned; trees snapped.
F/EF2Strong · Significant111–135 mphRoofs removed from well-built homes; weak structures destroyed.
F/EF3Strong · Severe136–165 mphSevere damage to well-built homes; some upper stories destroyed.
F/EF4Violent · Devastating166–200 mphWell-built homes lose roofs and most walls; vehicles thrown.
F/EF5Violent · IncredibleOver 200 mphStrong-frame homes swept away; extraordinary structural damage.
UnknownNot ClassifiedNot EstimatedToo little information or suitable damage evidence to assign a rating.

“Violent tornado” is a technical grouping: F/EF4 or F/EF5. It does not mean “a tornado that caused a death,” and a deadly tornado can have a lower rating.

Reading The Record

Compare Historical Periods Carefully

  • Older decades contain fewer reports of weak tornadoes because observation, communication, and documentation improved over time.
  • F and EF ratings are comparable categories, but their wind estimates and survey methods are not identical.
  • County totals use the tornado’s touchdown location. A long track can cross other counties that are not counted here.
  • Calculated rates and averages require the selected minimum number of tornadoes; totals do not.
About The Data
Finalized Record
1950–2025
Partial Record
2026 through April 29
County Assignment
Touchdown Location
Unknown Ratings
Pending
Outside County Map
Pending

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center and NCEI Storm Events. Older records contain fewer reports of weak tornadoes.

Official References National Weather Service: Enhanced Fujita Scale National Weather Service: How Damage Surveys Work
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