Some people know of tornadoes only through movies and news reports. But for people in Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley, tornadoes are a common occurrence during certain parts of the year. In states like Texas and Alabama, residents are all too familiar with the need to rush for the shelter of the bathtub in response to a tornado warning.
Those living in areas prone to tornadoes are often willing to accept the occasional danger to live in nicer-weather regions. In fact, many of the states with the most tornadoes are also home to some of the cities with the best weather.
Tornadoes do not typically result in damage, injury, or loss of life. Approximately 1,200 tornadoes form in the United States each year. More than 75% are considered weak, classified as EF-0 to EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Intensity Scale. Only about 5% are on the upper end of the intensity scale, EF-3 to EF-5, and are considered violent. An even smaller percentage reach the maximum level on the scale, EF-5, characterized by wind speed of 200 mph or higher and severe destruction.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed for every state the total number of unique tornadoes recorded between 1950 and the middle of 2018 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. Total crop and property damage, as well as the total injuries and fatalities incurred for every year since 1950 also came from NOAA. Property damage figures are not available for years prior to 1996, and crop damage figures are not available until 2006.
Click here to see the states with the most tornadoes.
50. Alaska
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 4
> Total damage since 1996: Not available
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: Not available
Photo: A tornado is shown tearing through the landscape of northwest Alaska in May of 1999.
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49. Rhode Island
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 11
> Total damage since 1996: $155,000
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: $60,000, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Photo: A thunder storm with lightning is observed over Rhode Island on June 1, 2012.
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48. Hawaii
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 41
> Total damage since 1996: $60,000
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: $60,000, on Sunday, March 24, 2002
Photo: A storm descends on Upcountry Maui. Hawaii’s most destructive tornado occurred in 2002.
47. Vermont
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 45
> Total damage since 1996: $1.3 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: $630,000, on Sunday, May 31, 1998
Photo: Storm clouds appear over sheep grazing in a field in Vermont.
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46. Delaware
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 63
> Total damage since 1996: $1.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 2
> Most destructive tornado on record: $1 million, on Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Photo: Two men inspect a house that an uprooted tree fell on after a tornado spawned by Hurricane Irene touched down on Aug. 28, 2011, in Lewes, Delaware.
45. Nevada
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 92
> Total damage since 1996: $32,000
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: $30,000, on Friday, September 11, 1998
Photo: Dark clouds gather north of Elko, Nevada, in September 2013.
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44. New Hampshire
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 94
> Total damage since 1996: $2.9 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 1
> Most destructive tornado on record: $2.0 million, on Thursday, July 24, 2008
Photo: Storms clouds gather above the historic Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The most destructive tornado in New Hampshire struck on July 24, 1998.
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43. Connecticut
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 102
> Total damage since 1996: $11.6 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 4
> Most destructive tornado on record: $5 million, on Monday, July 1, 2013
Photo: A tornado funnel cloud hovers over Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester Connecticut, on July 27, 2014.
42. Oregon
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 113
> Total damage since 1996: $3.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 6
> Most destructive tornado on record: $1.2 million, on Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Photo: A dust devil is shown kicking up dirt on a farm off a country road in Oregon.
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41. Washington
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 120
> Total damage since 1996: $2.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 6
> Most destructive tornado on record: $525,000, on Thursday, January 10, 2008
Photo: A twister sets down in a field in a rural part of eastern Washington.
40. Utah
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 130
> Total damage since 1996: $175.9 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 1
> Most destructive tornado on record: $170 million, on Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Photo: A tornado blows into downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 11, 1999, touching off an explosion at a power substation.
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39. Maine
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 134
> Total damage since 1996: $394,000
> Total fatalities since 1950: 1
> Most destructive tornado on record: $250,000, on Thursday, November 24, 2005
Photo: An aerial photo shows a swath of damage to trees from a tornado at Eagle Lake, Maine, on May 24, 2009.
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38. West Virginia
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 149
> Total damage since 1996: $14.6 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 3
> Most destructive tornado on record: $5 million, on Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Photo: Storm clouds loom over the autumn foliage of the Dolly Sods Wilderness area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia.
37. New Jersey
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 150
> Total damage since 1996: $12.9 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 1
> Most destructive tornado on record: $4.2 million, on Friday, August 20, 1999
Photo: Lightning strikes New York City in photo taken from New Jersey side of Hudson River. The worst tornado to hit New Jersey caused $4.2 million in damage in August of 1999.
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36. Massachusetts
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 167
> Total damage since 1996: $238.4 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 109
> Most destructive tornado on record: $227.6 million, on Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Photo: An onlooker eyes damage to cars and a building in Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 2, 2011, after deadly tornadoes tore through Massachusetts.
35. Idaho
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 213
> Total damage since 1996: $4.4 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 0
> Most destructive tornado on record: $2.2 million, on Monday, February 14, 2000
Photo: A tilting tornado is spotted across the Idaho landscape.
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34. Arizona
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 246
> Total damage since 1996: $2.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 3
> Most destructive tornado on record: $1 million, on Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Photo: Ominous clouds gather near Tucson, Arizona, in June of 2014.
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33. Maryland
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 363
> Total damage since 1996: $260 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 8
> Most destructive tornado on record: $124 million, on Sunday, April 28, 2002
Photo: A line of thunderstorms passes through Maryland on Sept. 8, 2012, that would later create tornadoes in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
32. Montana
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 423
> Total damage since 1996: $40.8 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 5
> Most destructive tornado on record: $32.5 million, on Friday, July 2, 2010
Photo: People photograph flattened trees from tornado in McCone County in Montana, where there was tornadic activity in 2010.
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31. California
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 435
> Total damage since 1996: $35.3 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: Not available
> Most destructive tornado on record: $18 million, on Thursday, August 6, 2015
Photo: A tornado stoked by wildfires moves across a ridge at sunset on May 13, 2002, near Rancho Santa Margarita, California.
30. New York
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 444
> Total damage since 1996: $214.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 30
> Most destructive tornado on record: $70.6 million, on Sunday, May 31, 1998
Photo: A woman walks by downed branches on a street in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York, following a tornado that killed one person on Sept. 17, 2010.
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29. New Mexico
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 592
> Total damage since 1996: $26 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 4
> Most destructive tornado on record: $19 million, on Friday, March 23, 2007
Photo: Rain shafts appear as a supercell thunderstorm develops on May 9, 2017, near Clovis in eastern New Mexico.
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28. Wyoming
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 674
> Total damage since 1996: $7.4 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 4
> Most destructive tornado on record: $5 million, on Friday, August 12, 2005
Photo: A tornado is seen near La Grande, Wyoming, on June 5, 2009, and moved east through Wyoming.
27. Virginia
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 724
> Total damage since 1996: $253.3 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 37
> Most destructive tornado on record: $53.8 million, on Friday, September 17, 2004
Photo: A tree lays on a house in Waverly, Virginia, after a tornado barreled through the eastern Virginia town in February of 2016.
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26. Pennsylvania
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 809
> Total damage since 1996: $174.7 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 83
> Most destructive tornado on record: $45.7 million, on Monday, July 21, 2003
Photo: Storm and conical clouds appear over Wings Field Airport in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 2014.
25. South Carolina
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,001
> Total damage since 1996: $78.9 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 78
> Most destructive tornado on record: $8 million, on Friday, July 6, 2001
Photo: Tornado damage in Hampton, South Carolina, in the wake of Tropical Storm Bill in June of 2015.
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24. Kentucky
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,002
> Total damage since 1996: $926 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 228
> Most destructive tornado on record: $101 million, on Tuesday, May 28, 1996
Photo: An F4 tornado, the strongest on the Fujita scale, bears down on a middle school in Madisonville in western Kentucky in November 2005.
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23. Michigan
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,038
> Total damage since 1996: $367 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 241
> Most destructive tornado on record: $90 million, on Wednesday, July 2, 1997
Photo: An aerial shot of some of the heaviest damage to buildings in Dexter, Michigan, after a powerful twister ravaged the area on March 15, 2012.
22. Ohio
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,106
> Total damage since 1996: $566.1 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 260
> Most destructive tornado on record: $102.4 million, on Saturday, June 5, 2010
Photo: A damaged home in Millbury, Ohio, partially stands after a tornado hit the region in June 2010.
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21. Tennessee
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,225
> Total damage since 1996: $1.24 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 374
> Most destructive tornado on record: $101 million, on Thursday, April 16, 1998
Photo: Destroyed cars litter a parking lot in Jackson, Tennessee, on Feb. 6, 2008, after tornadoes swept through five southern states.
20. North Carolina
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,306
> Total damage since 1996: $758.3 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 128
> Most destructive tornado on record: $172.1 million, on Saturday, April 16, 2011
Photo: Jenn Zezza (L) steps over debris from the remains of a Raleigh, North Carolina, home destroyed by a tornado on April 16, 2011. Tornadoes killed 43 people in North Carolina.
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19. Wisconsin
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,372
> Total damage since 1996: $387.9 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 102
> Most destructive tornado on record: $39.5 million, on Thursday, July 18, 1996
Photo: An F4-strength tornado sweeps over Oakfield, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1996.
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18. Indiana
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,495
> Total damage since 1996: $578.1 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 310
> Most destructive tornado on record: $103 million, on Friday, September 20, 2002
Photo: Madeline Evans walks past the ruins of a school bus in Henryville, Ind., on March 3, 2012, after the town was slammed by a tornado.
17. North Dakota
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,565
> Total damage since 1996: $112.6 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 38
> Most destructive tornado on record: $50 million, on Sunday, August 26, 2007
Photo: Tornadoes struck the northern North Dakota town of Rolla in July of 2008.
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16. Georgia
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,668
> Total damage since 1996: $1.47 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 236
> Most destructive tornado on record: $310.3 million, on Sunday, January 22, 2017
Photo: Michael Wesley talks on cellphone as he recovers belongings from his car damaged from a tornado in March of 2008 in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
15. South Dakota
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,798
> Total damage since 1996: $69.7 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 18
> Most destructive tornado on record: $18 million, on Saturday, May 30, 1998
Photo: A tornado, one of 10 spawned from a massive storm, is spotted on June 16, 2010, near the northern South Dakota town of Dupree.
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14. Minnesota
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,837
> Total damage since 1996: $688.5 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 99
> Most destructive tornado on record: $166.6 million, on Sunday, May 22, 2011
Photo: Utility technician Scott Blixt checks on a downed power line following a tornado on Aug. 9, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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13. Arkansas
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 1,841
> Total damage since 1996: $1.52 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 411
> Most destructive tornado on record: $223.5 million, on Sunday, April 27, 2014
Photo: Mark Wade, a resident of Vilonia, Arkansas, looks over the debris after the area was hit by a tornado on April 29, 2014.
12. Louisiana
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,031
> Total damage since 1996: $704.7 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 227
> Most destructive tornado on record: $386 million, on Saturday, April 24, 2010
Photo: A police officer walks through a damaged gas station in the eastern part of New Orleans, Louisiana, after a tornado touched down on Feb. 7, 2017.
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11. Alabama
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,161
> Total damage since 1996: $7.1 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 793
> Most destructive tornado on record: $2.45 billion, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Photo: An overturned car is part of devastating aftermath of tornado outbreak in Alabama in 2011 that killed 300 people.
10. Colorado
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,176
> Total damage since 1996: $178.7 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 5
> Most destructive tornado on record: $147 million, on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Photo: A tornado funnel cloud is about to touch down near Eads, Colorado, southeast of Denver, on April 15, 2016.
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9. Mississippi
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,198
> Total damage since 1996: $2.49 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 672
> Most destructive tornado on record: $501 million, on Monday, April 4, 2011
Photo: Aftermath of damage to homes in Petal, Mississippi, from a twister on Jan. 21, 2017, that killed four people in the southern part of the state.
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8. Missouri
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,319
> Total damage since 1996: $3.81 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 428
> Most destructive tornado on record: $2.8 billion, on Sunday, May 22, 2011
Photo: Sheared-off trees that collected debris from a school in Joplin, Missouri, bear witness to a 200-mph tornado on May 22, 2011.
7. Illinois
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,495
> Total damage since 1996: $1.56 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 232
> Most destructive tornado on record: $935.23 million, on Sunday, November 17, 2013
Photo: Lightning generated from a tornadic supercell strikes outside of Joliet, Illinois, on June 22, 2015.
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6. Iowa
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,558
> Total damage since 1996: $1.39 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 89
> Most destructive tornado on record: $750 million, on Friday, July 23, 2010
Photo: Galen Zumbach looks over what remains of his house in Creston, Iowa, after the town was hit by a tornado on April 15, 2012.
5. Nebraska
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 2,882
> Total damage since 1996: $369.8 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 60
> Most destructive tornado on record: $160.2 million, on Saturday, May 22, 2004
Photo: Photo of damage from the tornado that struck Hallam, Nebraska, on May 22, 2004. The F4 -level twister was the most destructive in state history.
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4. Florida
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 3,359
> Total damage since 1996: $977.6 million
> Total fatalities since 1950: 165
> Most destructive tornado on record: $205 million, on Monday, February 2, 1998
Photo: A tornado turns into a waterspout east of downtown Miami in 1997.
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3. Oklahoma
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 3,848
> Total damage since 1996: $4.15 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 474
> Most destructive tornado on record: $2 billion, on Monday, May 20, 2013
Photo: One of several tornadoes is observed in central Oklahoma on May 3, 1999.
2. Kansas
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 4,254
> Total damage since 1996: $1.43 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 297
> Most destructive tornado on record: $500 million, on Saturday, April 14, 2012
Photo: A tornado south of Dodge City, Kansas, was seen moving north on May 24, 2016, as part of a system of 30 tornadoes active in five states.
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1. Texas
> Total unique tornadoes (1950 – August 2018): 8,782
> Total damage since 1996: $2.38 billion
> Total fatalities since 1950: 639
> Most destructive tornado on record: $400 million, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Photo: A tornado is observed in June of 1995 south of Dimmitt, Texas.
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