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Top 10 U.S. States With the Most Tornadoes

Name the states that had the most tornadoes per year from 1991–2015.
Quiz by LBAbeL17
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Last updated: January 3, 2020
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First submittedJanuary 13, 2017
Times taken47,905
Average score70.0%
Rating4.52
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#
State
146.7
Texas
92.4
Kansas
65.4
Oklahoma
54.6
Florida
54.6
Nebraska
#
State
54.0
Illinois
49.5
Colorado
49.2
Iowa
47.1
Alabama
46.7
Missouri
+16
Level 76
Sep 8, 2017
Would be interesting to see this as a greatest concentration of tornadoes quiz - Texas largely gets to the top because of it size.
+2
Level 32
Jan 11, 2018
If Texas is at the top because of its size, then shouldn't a state like Kansas be at the bottom?
+22
Level 76
Jan 12, 2018
No, because it has a high concentration of tornadoes
+1
Level 49
Feb 21, 2023
Then states like iowa shouldn't even be on this list if it's based "largely on size"
+1
Level 67
Feb 21, 2023
In regards to size: Georgia, the 21st largest state by land area, is the largest state east of the Mississippi River. The only three states west of the Mississippi smaller than Georgia are Iowa, Arkansas, and Hawaii. Yes, Texas leads the way because of its size... and its location. Size isn't everything, as can be attested to by Illinois, Alabama, and Florida
+1
Level 65
Sep 22, 2023
Texas would have about 45 if shrunk to the size of Kansas.
+4
Level 91
Sep 19, 2017
I thought the same thing. For example, Indiana which only averages 24.6 per year averages 66/year/10,000 sq miles, whereas Texas averages 55/year/10,000 sq miles.
+2
Level 57
Oct 16, 2017
I'm so glad that my state (Pennsylvania) isn't on this list. I often consider moving away when I'm done with college, but it seems like the places I would choose are all prone to natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes). I'm fascinated by tornadoes, but they are one of my greatest fears.
+10
Level 58
Oct 16, 2017
I wouldn't worry about natural disasters. Obesity is more likely to kill you than a tornado, no matter where you live.
+16
Level 62
Dec 18, 2017
I wouldn't quite say "no matter where you live". Pretty sure in Venezuela right now pretty much any natural disaster has a higher chance of killing you than obesity.
+1
Level 51
Jan 11, 2018
Not on the top ten (Georgia) but probably pretty close: I've lived in this state for fourteen years, there've been three tornadoes even near me. Two were miles away, and the other had hours of advance warning. I wouldn't be too worried about tornadoes if I were you - at least not in the Southeast. The real danger is hurricanes, which is why I live up in the heights of the state rather than the vulnerable lowlands.
+1
Level 49
Mar 31, 2021
and we just had our first EF4 in nearly a decade
+1
Level 61
Jun 20, 2021
I am proud that Illinois made it on the list. Chicago tests its Tornado Sirens every first Tuesday of the Month. I've had to stay a few hours in the basement once or twice.
+1
Level 53
Feb 20, 2023
what about haiti? there it seems like you have an equal chance to either die of an earthquake or starve
+1
Level 45
Jan 12, 2018
people really dont care much about tornadoes, you could be practically under it and not really worry. Heck, a tornado once carried a BABY ten miles and it never woke up from its sleep.
+1
Level 45
Jan 12, 2018
ive had 4 or 5 tornadoes close to my house
+1
Level 66
Jan 12, 2018
I live in Indiana (not even top 10) and have known three people killed by tornadoes, two different tornadoes at that.
+1
Level 37
Oct 3, 2019
Yes people can die from them and its unfortunate that that happened but in Oklahoma we really dont care about the tornadoes.
+2
Level 70
Jun 18, 2021
I believe God will continue to smite Moore, Oklahoma with more and more tornadoes until they remove Toby Keith's name from their water tower.
+1
Level 43
Jan 12, 2018
I thought Idaho would be on this list.
+1
Level 60
Sep 17, 2020
Too mountainous, for the most part. Also, wind tends to move east, so everything east of the Rockies has cold air move out over warm air, which is what leads to spinning columns of air that become tornadoes.
+6
Level 75
Jan 14, 2018
My state is on this list and we also live on top of an earthquake fault and yet my grandmother lived to be 104. I've been through several smaller tornadoes and I survived to become a gray-haired grandmother in spite of being in a car wreck in your state. Live where you want to live, just learn how to keep yourself as safe as possible and don't panic when things go wrong.
+3
Level 73
May 10, 2018
I don't think there is anyplace in the USA or even the world for that mattter that is completely free from the threat of some kind of disaster whether natural or man made. All you can do is follow the old cliche - plan for the worst and hope for the best.
+1
Level 60
Sep 17, 2020
Tornadoes usually aren't that bad. 99% are F3 or lower, so as long as you are in a basement room with no windows, its not so bad. Yes, there's lots of damage, but people in the midwest of often very helpful to their neighbors. Besides, I've yet to hear a tornado hitting a large city in the midwest, like St. Louis.
+1
Level 55
Dec 7, 2020
Oh, those happen, some examples of them hitting big cities are Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Boulder, Dallas, Austin, Tampa etc.
+1
Level 55
Dec 7, 2020
I live in a pretty densely packed city in Michigan. 84,000 people in 32 square miles. I'm not saying that Tornadoes Cannot hit big or densely populated cities, but that chance is pretty low. Also, the fact that I have the great lakes which decrease instability, I have nothing to worry about.
+1
Level 71
Jun 18, 2021
I live in PA too and kinda agree. I believe everyone else here when they say tornadoes aren't so bad most of the time, but I also do think natural disasters are a legitimate reason to not move somewhere. Like, northern California is beautiful, but I really don't want to have spend several weeks a year breathing some of the worst air in the world while worrying about the constant threat of my home burning down. Similarly, I don't want to spend several months a year stressing about hurricanes, which is a real concern in many parts of the South.

I'm really not saying there's anything wrong with these places, because there are really nice places in both the South and the West. I'm just not sure I'd feel secure moving to those places in the future.

+1
Level 59
Jun 21, 2021
Yeah, and Pennsylvania has only ever had one F/EF5 tornado, the Newton Falls-Niles-Wheatland tornado of 1985. Given the fact that that's not all that far from me, and that there's been smaller ones within about the same distance in the past decade or so, it's still a threat in my eyes at least in Western Pennsylvania.
+1
Level 55
Aug 1, 2021
A couple of months later, and we got a Tornado. It was the first one that touched down in our city since 1980, it was a weak one though.
+15
Level 74
Oct 27, 2017
came to this quiz thinking it said states with the most tomatoes
+2
Level 80
Jan 11, 2018
so did i.
+1
Level 66
Jan 11, 2018
Yep, I did that today as well.
+1
Level 21
Jan 11, 2018
yep, same
+2
Level 39
Jan 11, 2018
Especially because the picture looks like a tomato
+2
Level 29
Jan 11, 2018
Here is a quiz for you
+3
Level 88
Jan 11, 2018
suprised Florida is the least guessed since they had a big tornado pass last summer, it was all over the news!
+16
Level 37
Jan 11, 2018
That was a hurricane.
+3
Level 40
Jan 11, 2018
Mmmh, isn't a hurricane like a large-scale giant tornado? Think about it
+2
Level 67
Jan 11, 2018
Tornadoes are not the same things as hurricanes, tornadoes are much smaller, concentrated, and are more damaging. Florida is known for waterspouts; weak tornadoes
+2
Level 32
Jan 11, 2018
Also, hurricanes are much rainier than tornadoes
+1
Level 84
Jun 18, 2021
The damage from tornadoes is more intense than from a hurricane, but because it tends to be localized, the economic impact is far less. Hurricanes are a type of huge cyclonic weather system that are ~100 to 2000 km in diameter. The system can last as long as a month, but typically only produce "hurricane-force winds" for a few days, if at all.
+1
Level 62
Jun 20, 2021
Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes.
+3
Level 82
Jan 11, 2018
I would've done better but I thought it said top ten states with the most tomatoes.
+1
Level 67
Jun 18, 2021
Like, just present in the state anywhere? Or grown there?
+1
Level 46
Jun 21, 2021
probably grown
+1
Level 66
Jan 11, 2018
So Florida, Alabama, and the middle of the country. I was actually surprised at Florida since they're more known for hurricanes.
+2
Level 40
Jan 11, 2018
Hurricanes can yield a large amount of tornadoes. Florida also has a lot of strong thunderstorms during the summer, so tornadoes are more prone to form then.

I had the opportunity to see a funnel cloud forming last October (I believe) near my home in central Florida. It was scary but so impressive!

+1
Level 64
Jan 11, 2018
The Texas panhandle gets frontal systems and you’ll notice that North, Central, and the northern part of South Texas have periods of time when cold fronts come into warm areas during the Spring, especially. In addition to all of this, tornados are “spin-offs” of tropical storms/depressions that land along the Texas Bight or enter the state from systems that cross over from Mexico or Louisiana.
+1
Level 67
Sep 15, 2021
Which part of Texas is the Texas panhandle? I see 2 or 3 spots that could be considered a panhandle..
+3
Level 72
Jan 11, 2018
A tornado recently hit Alabama and caused billions of dollars in improvements.
+2
Level 43
Jan 11, 2018
I see what you did there :)
+1
Level 46
Jun 21, 2021
woah there tiger
+2
Level 30
Jan 12, 2018
Hmm... Florida.
+1
Level 8
Jan 13, 2018
The reason Texas has the most tornados is because it draws warm air from the Gulf of Mexico and draws a lot of cold stream from nearby mountains.
+1
Level 67
Jun 18, 2021
...and because it is bigger than France.
+1
Level 16
Jan 17, 2018
Oklahoma- where I live- is so prone for tornadoes us down here, and I kid you not, all of us have a safe room. Don't move here unless you can go underground.
+1
Level 37
Nov 13, 2018
There are 4 different tornado alleys. I live in Cincinnati ohio and we're in hoosier alley, a tornado alley that produces a lot of tornados that are typically weak ones. Then there's the typical tornado alley, Dixie alley, and Carolina alley.
+1
Level 70
Dec 25, 2019
Maybe another 30 seconds?
+1
Level 40
Mar 13, 2021
I didnt realized it was USA states.

I was putting a lot of countries and no one was appearing on the list and i was like ''What?''

+1
Level 16
Apr 16, 2021
First try with 22 seconds remaining
+1
Level 63
Apr 29, 2021
3 seconds left
+1
Level 57
Jun 18, 2021
I can tell you in Florida, Tornadoes really aren't that scary. They normally are just little slow moving twisters that last for like a minute.
+1
Level 62
Feb 27, 2024
Slow moving tornadoes are much more damaging than fast moving ones. Florida having particularly slow moving tornadoes is false.

What you say regarding the average tornado in Florida not being on the ground for long is true. It is also true for literally every state in the country. Most tornadoes only touch down on the ground for a minute. It's also true that many tornadoes can be long track in Florida, and can travel several counties.

This whole mindset of "tornadoes aren't dangerous in Florida" is a direct result of hurricanes. Hurricanes overall are absolutely more impactful than tornadoes or tornado outbreaks, however there are several examples of devastating tornado outbreaks in Florida, especially during the winter months. Taking these threats seriously is vital to minimizing casualties and property damage.

And while hurricanes may often create tornadoes themselves, the majority of tornadoes in Florida are during the winter months, and not from hurricanes.

+1
Level 62
Jun 18, 2021
I was expecting Mississippi and Georgia to make the list. I know the deep south has been getting more tornadoes the past few decades, but looks like only Alabama made the top 10.
+1
Level 62
Jun 20, 2021
I've never seen a tornado in person in the 3 years I've been in Texas. (Close calls with 2019 Richardson and 2020 Arlington.)
+1
Level 40
Feb 21, 2023
Florida in place of Arkansas?