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Research Service
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Tornadoes: Background and Forecasting
December 13, 2021
Background
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes affect communities across the United States every year, causing
fatalities, destroying property and crops, and disrupting businesses. Tornadoes are narrow, violently
rotating columns of air that extend from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground, sometimes producing
winds that exceed 300 miles per hour. Tornadoes have been reported on all continents except Antarctica;
however, they occur most commonly in North America and particularly in the United States, which
reports approximately 1,200 tornadoes per year. Tornadoes occur across the United States but form most
commonly in three regions, shifting seasonally: (1) southern Plains (e.g., Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas), (2)
Gulf Coast, and (3) northern Plains and upper Midwest (e.g., North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa,
Minnesota). Depending on geographic location, tornadoes occur mostly during spring and summer
(Figure 1) and usually during the late afternoon or early evening. However, tornadoes can occur at any
time. For example, a deadly storm system with several reported tornadoes, including a significant long
track tornado, touched ground overnight in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and
Tennessee between December 10 and 11, 2021. Preliminary estimates report that peak winds of the long-
track tornado reached between 158 and 206 miles per hour. Aspects of the event were rare, such as its
timing, potential track length, and geographic location.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11826

CRS INSIGHT
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Committees of Congress -

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