Tornadoes by the numbers

Millions of people experience the power of tornadoes each year. Tornadoes can cause severe injury, death and damage to structures. Numbers don't tell the whole story about tornadoes, but some illustrate just how big an impact these storms can have.

1,000: The approximate number of tornadoes that occur across the United States in a given year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

97: The approximate number of tornadoes that affect Canada annually, according to the Government of Canada.

166: The speed of wind in miles per hour for a tornado to reach an F-4 category on the Fujita Scale for Tornadoes. Tornadoes exceeding 200 mph are considered F-5 or "Incredible."

530: The number of tornadoes that affected the U.S. in May of 2024. April through June tend to be the months with the highest rates of tornado activity.

9,200: The cost, in millions of dollars, for the costliest U.S. catastrophe involving tornadoes. It occurred during the period of August 8-12, 2020, and involved Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Nebraska; Ohio; South Dakota; Wisconsin; Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Maryland; Virginia; and West Virginia, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

2.6: The size (in miles) of the largest tornado ever recorded, which was the 2013 El Reno tornado, a storm that spread across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

169: The number of 2024 tornadoes that occurred in Texas in 2024. Although many people think of Kansas as the state with the most tornadoes, a misperception that perhaps is due to the 1900 children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the National Weather Service says Texas averages more tornadoes per year than any other state. Kansas comes in second.

131: The record number of tornadoes in Canada, which occurred throughout 2022, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project.