Tornado myths, tips and facts to keep you safe

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Created by powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can devastate a community and cause fatalities in seconds.

There are on average 1,000 tornadoes per year in the United States. Although tornadoes can occur at any time of the day, most occur between the hours of 3 and 9 p.m. According to NOAA, tornadoes on average cause 70 to 75 fatalities, 1,500 injuries and $1.1 billion in property damage every year in the United States.

WHAT CAUSES TORNADOES?

Thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from “super cells,” which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation. Tornadoes in the winter and early spring are often associated with strong frontal systems that form in the central states and move east. While tornadoes can appear from any direction, most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east.

Return to top