The Museum of Maps

Tornado Tracks in the United States

Historical tracks of recorded tornadoes since 1950.

What does the map show?

Each line connects the recorded start and end points of a tornado. The accumulation of many translucent lines reveals the areas with the highest historical concentration of tracks.

Visualization

The map presents historical tornado tracks as translucent lines. Color represents tornado intensity on the F/EF scale.

Line opacity36%

Basemap

Period

From1950

To2025

Tracks shown through2025

Speed

Month

In the current view

—tracks

—total length

—F/EF4–5

—recorded deaths

Statistics update as the map is moved or zoomed.

Why are there so many in the United States?

Central North America lies open between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians. Warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico often meets cold, dry air from Canada and drier air from the high plateaus to the west. Strong temperature contrasts, abundant moisture, and changes in wind speed and direction with altitude create favorable conditions for powerful supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Legend

F/EF0 F/EF1 F/EF2 F/EF3 F/EF4 F/EF5

The F scale was used until 2007 and was then replaced by the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. The lines are approximate and do not always follow the exact path of damage.

Source and limitations

Data: NOAA / National Weather Service / Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Tornado Database. Older records are less complete, while improvements in observation and reporting affect the number of recorded events.

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