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Tornadoes: Background and Forecasting
Updated May 3, 2022
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, particularly in the United States, which reports
approximately 1,200 tornadoes per year. Tornadoes occur across the United States but form frequently 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).
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 touched ground overnight and traveled from Arkansas toward the Great Lakes
between December 10 and 11, 2021. Peak winds of one long-track tornado reached approximately 190
miles per hour. Aspects of the event were rare, such as its timing, distance traveled, and geographic
location.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11826

CRS INSIGHT
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