The United States is the world’s tornado capital, by a long shot. Each year, the U.S. gets roughly 1,200 tornadoes - about four times more than the rest of the world combined. Most happen between April and June in a region called “Tornado Alley,” which stretches roughly from northern Texas up through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.
What makes the U.S. so tornado-prone is its geography. Warm, moist air flows north from the Gulf of Mexico. Cold, dry air flows south from Canada. The Rocky Mountains add a third dry, fast wind from the west. These three air masses converge in the central plains, creating violent thunderstorms with the rotating updrafts that spawn tornadoes. No other place on Earth has this combination of geography and climate.
Other places do get tornadoes - Argentina, Bangladesh, and Italy all see them regularly. But not in the numbers and intensities the U.S. does. The deadliest tornado in U.S. history was the 1925 Tri-State Tornado, which carved a 219-mile path across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people. Modern weather warnings and storm shelters have dramatically reduced tornado fatalities since then, but a strong tornado is still one of the most dangerous events in nature.
