• On Sunday, May 22, a devastating tornado hit the city of Joplin, Mo., leaving an estimated 116 people dead and several hundred others injured. This tied the June 8, 1953, tornado that hit Flint, Mich., as the deadliest single tornado to strike the U.S. since modern tornado recordkeeping began in 1950.
  • The deadliest tornado on record was on March 18, 1925.  This “Tri-State Tornado” (MO, IL, IN) had a 291-mile path, was rated F5 based on a historic assessment, and caused 695 fatalities.
  • Preliminary rating:  Powerful EF-4 tornado with winds from 190-198 mph. Tornado was ¾ of a mile wide.  A final determination on strength will be available Tuesday, May 24, after our Springfield Weather Forecast Office completes the storm survey.

• National Weather Service’s (NWS) preliminary estimate is more than 100 tornadoes have occurred during the month of May 2011.
  • The record number of tornadoes during the month of May was 542 tornadoes set in May 2003.

  • Deadliest Tornado Years in US History (Official NOAA-NWS Record: 1950 – present; Research by Grazulis: 1875-1949)
    Year	Fatalities
    1925	794
    1936	552
    1917	551
    1927	540
    1896	537
    1953	519
    1920	499
    1908	477
    2011	481
    (365 + 116 estimated Joplin fatalities as of May 23)
    1909	404
    1932	394
    1942	384
    1924	376
    1974	366
    1933	362

    The average number of tornadoes for the month of May during the past decade is 298.

  • May is historically the most active month for tornadoes.

2011 Year-to-Date (and record annual) Statistics

• NWS’s preliminary estimate is that there have been approximately 1,000 tornadoes so far this year.
  • The previous yearly record number of tornadoes was set in 2004 with 1,817.
  • The overall yearly average number of tornadoes for the past decade is 1,274.
• The preliminary estimated number of tornado fatalities so far this year is 481.  NWS records indicate that there were 365 tornado fatalities before the Joplin tornado.  Media reports currently indicate 89 fatalities in the Joplin event.
  • The US tornado death toll is the highest ever through the month of May in the NOAA-NWS official record (1950-present).
  • The highest recorded annual death toll from tornadoes in the NOAA-NWS official record (1950-present) was set in 1953 with 519 fatalities.

April 2011

• April 2011 set a new record for the month with 875 tornadoes.
  • The previous record was set in April 1974 with 267 tornadoes.
  • The average number of tornadoes for the month of April during the past decade is 161.
  • The previous record number of tornadoes during any month was 542 tornadoes set in May 2003.
• NWS records indicate 321 people were killed during the April 25-28 tornado outbreak.
• NWS records indicate 361 people were killed during the entire month of April 2011.