Tornadoes are one of the most destructive natural phenomena on the planet. In the United States, they are also one of the most common. There were more than 72,000 tornadoes recorded in the United States from 1950 through 2020, resulting in nearly 6,000 fatalities, tens of thousands of injuries, and property and crop damage in the billions of dollars.

Of course, parts of the United States are far more susceptible to tornadoes than others. Some states have reported fewer than several dozen tornadoes since 1950, and those tornadoes were mostly relatively weak, resulting in limited destruction. Meanwhile, other states have reported thousands of tornadoes over that period — and many of those tornadoes were devastating.

According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there have been 139 tornadoes in Maine from 1950 through 2020 — the 12th fewest among states. These tornadoes directly resulted in one death and 20 injuries.

The most destructive tornado on record in Maine began in Androscoggin County on Thursday, July 14, 1988. The tornado brought winds in excess of 73 mph and caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages, not adjusted for inflation.

All data on the number of unique tornadoes recorded in every state between 1950 and 2020 is from NOAA. Total deaths and injuries are also from NOAA. We only considered those fatalities and injuries that were classified as having resulted directly from the tornado. The monetary value of damages for the most destructive tornado includes damage to both crops and property. These values are rough estimates reported by NOAA and are not adjusted for inflation. Other tornadoes in a given state could have resulted in equal damage, but for the purposes of this story, only one tornado was selected as representative.

Rank	State	Total tornadoes; 1950-2020	Deaths resulting from tornadoes	Injuries resulting from tornadoes
1	Texas	9,425	573	9,194
2	Kansas	4,648	236	2,841
3	Oklahoma	4,471	348	5,299
4	Florida	3,487	171	3,390
5	Nebraska	3,066	56	1,202
6	Iowa	2,976	86	2,272
7	Illinois	2,895	225	4,533
8	Mississippi	2,880	499	6,875
9	Missouri	2,741	399	4,493
10	Alabama	2,686	659	8,257
11	Louisiana	2,436	171	2,867
12	Arkansas	2,289	401	5,421
13	Colorado	2,213	5	276
14	Minnesota	2,150	100	1,980
15	Georgia	2,066	206	4,172
16	South Dakota	1,833	19	475
17	Indiana	1,787	266	4,279
18	North Dakota	1,649	26	362
19	Wisconsin	1,566	96	1,635
20	North Carolina	1,549	129	2,628
21	Tennessee	1,450	374	4,784
22	Ohio	1,300	196	4,657
23	Kentucky	1,213	148	3,066
24	Michigan	1,176	244	3,375
25	South Carolina	1,173	66	1,424
26	Pennsylvania	935	82	1,293
27	Virginia	856	38	943
28	Wyoming	718	4	106
29	New Mexico	627	5	163
30	New York	485	27	317
31	California	461	–	90
32	Montana	418	4	29
33	Maryland	394	9	319
34	Arizona	269	3	152
35	Idaho	216	–	9
36	Massachusetts	184	105	1,562
37	New Jersey	169	1	70
38	West Virginia	159	3	118
39	Maine	139	1	20
40	Utah	133	1	96
41	Washington	127	6	303
42	Oregon	121	–	5
43	Connecticut	117	4	703
44	New Hampshire	107	1	30
45	Nevada	94	–	2
46	Delaware	72	2	76
47	Vermont	46	–	10
48	Hawaii	42	–	6
49	Rhode Island	13	–	23
50	Alaska	3	–	–

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