Tornadoes in the US
Tornadoes are a mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds with a funnel-shaped cloud and immense wind speeds.
Though tornadoes occur in every state, they are most frequent and attain the highest intensities in the southern plains of Central America. This area is known as Tornado Alley, where storms are formed when dry cold air moving south from Canada meets warm moist air traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico.
Tornadoes can form at any time of year, but they mostly occur in the spring and summer months along with thunderstorms. In Central America, weak and strong tornado frequencies are usually between 5 pm - 6 pm and violent tornadoes are between 6 pm - 7 pm.
This visual looks into the number of tornadoes, injuries, and fatalities by state and over time from 1950 to 2018.
Based on the data, it is evident that Texas had the most number of tornadoes each year, about 125 on average between the years 1953 - 1991; Florida, with almost 10 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year, has the most per area. However, most Florida tornadoes are weak and affect extremely small areas. Additionally, fatalities have reduced over time due to improvements in safety awareness and severe-weather warnings.