US Tornado Pace Most In 14 Years, Including A Potential Record March

Yahoo

23-04-2025

America's tornadoes so far this year are on a pace not seen in 14 years, and may have set a new all-time record for one spring month with the typically most active month of the year still ahead.
Through April 22, there have been 603 reports of tornadoes so far in 2025, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.
These aren't necessarily the number of actual tornadoes, which is usually solidified after a review of data months later, but rather combinations of reports and those confirmed by the National Weather Service.
That pace is higher than all but one other year - 2011 - in the past 15 years, according to the SPC. April 2011 smashed the record tornado count for any month (758), due to the late-month Super Outbreak and another multi-day mid-month outbreak in the South.
After a somewhat lower than average first two months, tornado counts ramped up quickly in March.
The SPC has a preliminary estimate of 300 reports of tornadoes in March. In a detailed analysis, we estimate at least 223 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in March. That's at least double the March average of 104 tornadoes over a 20-year period from 2004-2023.
Once the tally is confirmed a few months from now, we'll know if 2025 will have smashed the March record of 234 tornadoes in 2022.
Three outbreaks contributed to this, particularly a mid-month rash of 113 tornadoes primarily in the South and Mississippi Valley, including three rated EF4.
While there have been some lulls in severe weather, April's tornado count is already above the average through the first three weeks.
We estimate at least 218 tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service so far in April. That's already above the 20-year average of 202 tornadoes.
Two outbreaks contributed almost all of these twisters. From April 2-7, 150 tornadoes tore through parts of the South and Midwest. Then in the days before and during the Easter holiday weekend, another 60 tornadoes were spawned across the Plains and Midwest.
Last April had the second most twisters (356) of any April since 1950, behind the record from 2011, according to the SPC.
Indiana has already tallied 45 confirmed tornadoes this year. That's more than double the average of any full year, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. It's also the fastest the Hoosier State has tallied at least 40 tornadoes in any year since 1950, according to WTHR-TV meteorologist Sean Ash.
Incredibly, Gibson County in southwest Indiana, was hit by tornadoes on three separate days within less than a month's time on March 15, April 2 and April 10.
Mississippi has already tallied 67 tornadoes in 2025 through April 6, less than 20 tornadoes shy of what happened last year in the Magnolia State.
And in a more weird realm, South Dakota had its first winter tornado in at least 75 years on February 24.
Spring is typically the most active time of year for tornadoes in the U.S.
This spring, however, we've seen a persistent pattern in which a U-shaped southward plunge of the jet stream has punched out of the West into the Plains, South and Midwest.
In this pattern, warm and humid air to fuel thunderstorms streams north from the Gulf. These different wind directions and speeds with height known as wind shear help support severe thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes.
One other factor in play is the better detection and documentation of weaker (EF0 or EF1) tornadoes in recent decades compared to, say, the mid 20th century known as tornado inflation. Technology such as dual-polarization Doppler radar, social media and drones for aerial video of areas inaccessible to storm survey crews means weaker tornado counts are higher than, say, the 1970s.
(MORE: 2024 Had Second Most US Tornadoes On Record)
You may have noticed the red bar graph shown earlier indicates May is typically the month with the most tornadoes.
Last May had 530 tornadoes across the U.S., more than double the average and just shy of the May record from 2003 (542 tornadoes).
It's too soon to tell if that will repeat itself this year.
But if the weather pattern we described above sets up again in May, more outbreaks of severe weather including tornadoes in the Plains and Midwest could occur in May 2025.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.