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Tornadoes -- Who's Most at Risk?
April 1, 2022 at 12:08 AM EDT
By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
The peak of severe storm season is quickly approaching as the calendar moves into April. Let’s look at the climatology of tornadoes and who’s at highest risk.
Source: spc.noaa.gov
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Story Image: A tornado near Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1964. (NOAA Photo Library)
- Late March-April: Severe storms become much more frequent heading into April and the Deep South and southern Plains are the main targets. Through the next few weeks, the highest risk for tornadoes will slowly shift west from Mississippi and Alabama to cities like Dallas and Oklahoma City.
- May: The month with the most tornadoes based on climatology is May and the Central U.S. and ‘Tornado Alley’ are the main targets. Across the southern Plains, the ‘dry-line,’ or a front separating much drier air from moist, Gulf of Mexico air, often yields tornadic thunderstorms. Warmer air makes it further north during May, also elevating the risk for tornadoes across the Midwest and for cities like Chicago.
- June: Tornadoes become less frequent in June, but it can still be an active severe weather month. The first month of meteorological summer usually brings a tornado threat across the northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Northeast.
- July and August: Continuing June’s theme, the northern tier and Central U.S. are most likely to see tornadoes during the rest of summer. Though the threat of tornadoes decreases throughout the summer, cities including Denver, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., need to keep an eye on the sky for tornadic storms.
- Autumn-Winter: While autumn and winter are much quieter in terms of tornadoes, there is the threat of a quick spin-up each month. The Deep South from eastern Texas to western Georgia remains the favored area for tornadoes through this entire period.
Source: spc.noaa.gov
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Story Image: A tornado near Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1964. (NOAA Photo Library)