Tornado Stats

Tornadoes and tornado deaths, sorted by Fujita class Click on image for full size (18K JPEG) Most of the world's tornadoes happen in the United States. These tornadoes are around Tornado Alley. There are about 750 tornadoes each year in the U.S. An average of about 100 people are killed each year by tornadoes. The fewest tornadoes cause the most damage. Violent tornadoes are very rare but they are the most destructive. Scientists now can make better forecasts because they have better equipment. This way they can warn people about tornadoes so not as many will die. They can't stop tornadoes, so the tornadoes will still cause a lot of damage. The charts to the left show how fewest tornadoes can cause the most destruction. Click on the picture for a better explanation.

Tornado Stats

Tornadoes and tornado deaths, sorted by Fujita class Click on image for full size (*18K JPEG) Most of the world's tornadoes happen in the United States. The area where most of them occur is know as Tornado Alley. There are about 750 tornadoes each year in the U.S. and about 100 people each year are killed by tornadoes. Most tornadoes only last a few minutes and travel a few miles, but some have been know to last longer and travel over 100 miles. Tornadoes are divided into groups according to how strong they are. The most violent ones don't happen very often but they cause the most destruction and loss of life. Scientists can give the public earlier warnings because of new technologies that improve forecasts. In most cases people can seek shelter before a tornado strikes. This has led to a decrease in the number of deaths caused by tornadoes. But, since they can't stop them, the tornadoes will still cause a lot of damage.

Tornado Stats

Tornadoes and tornado deaths, sorted by Fujita class Click on image for full size (18K JPG) Most of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States. The area where most of them develop is called Tornado Alley. About 750 tornadoes strike the U.S. each year and about 100 people are killed by these storms. Most only last a few minutes and travel only a few miles, but some can last much longer and travel over 100 miles. Some really severe thunderstorms can spawn more than one tornado. These are know as tornado families. They can form one after another or they can form in a line. Some really strong tornadoes even break into smaller ones. Tornadoes are divided into groups according to how strong their winds are. Violent tornadoes don't happen very often, but they cause the most destruction and loss of life. Meteorologists have new equipment and new knowledge that allows them to forecast tornadoes earlier. With an earlier forecast, they can issue warnings and tell the public to take shelter. This had helped lower the death toll due to tornadoes. But, scientists don't know how to stop tornadoes so they can't easily reduce the damage caused my them.

Last modified May 17, 2007 by Jennifer Bergman.
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