Tornadoes Make Headlines, But Damaging Straight-Line Winds Are Far More Common And Can Be Deadly

Straight-Line Winds Just As Lethal As Tornadoes

Tornadoes often dominate headlines when severe weather strikes, but damaging straight-line winds should be taken just as seriously since they contribute to multiple deaths and injuries each year, in addition to property damage.

M​ore Than 17,000 Reports Each Year

By far the most common form of severe weather in the United States is from strong and/or damaging straight-line winds not associated with tornadoes.

To illustrate this, the map below shows all of the wind damage and severe wind gust reports tallied by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in 2024. No state is immune to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts, but the concentration of reports is highest east of the Rockies, where moisture to fuel thunderstorm development is most abundant.

Thunderstorms can produce a severe wind report if there's a measured gust of 58 mph or greater, or if there are reports of damage to structures, trees or power lines caused by straight-line winds.

L​ast year's preliminary total of these reports was 16,751, which is right around the average of the past five years (2020 to 2024) of over 17,000.

Why So Dangerous And What Causes Them?

These winds can be strong enough to down tree limbs or knock out power at a minimum, or may be strong enough to down entire trees onto homes, buildings, cars or whatever is in their way. Sometimes the outcome from those downed trees can cause injury or be deadly.

As an example, just over three dozen people were killed in the U.S. because of high winds generated by thunderstorms in the first 11 months of 2024, according to NOAA's storm database. Another 135 people suffered injuries.

(​MORE: Falling Trees – An Underreported, Deadly Danger)

T​he most widespread damaging winds are often produced by squall lines, which are thunderstorms arranged in a line, often from north to south. They can be hundreds of miles long but are usually only about 10 to 20 miles wide. A derecho is an extreme form of a squall line that can have wind gusts upward of 100 mph.

B​ut individual thunderstorms like supercells or pop-up afternoon storms that we often see in the South during summer can also deliver damaging straight-line winds.

How To Tell Straight-Line Winds Caused Damage

In the example below, the downed trees are all pointing in the same direction, an indication of the winds blowing in a straight line. That's where the name straight-line winds comes from since the winds are unidirectional when blowing outward from a thunderstorm.

T​ornadoes display a damage signature where debris lies at angles because of curving inflow winds.

H​ow To Stay Safe

As with any severe weather situation, planning ahead and staying informed are key.

F​irst, know where you'll seek safe shelter if a National Weather Service severe thunderstorm warning is issued.

If you have large trees around your home, you will want to seek shelter on the lowest floor, preferably in the basement.

Those in mobile or manufactured homes should find either a sturdy building or community shelter ahead of time and know how to reach it quickly. The strongest straight-line winds can heavily damage or blow over a mobile home.

Have multiple ways of receiving NWS warnings, including by smartphone and from NOAA weather radio. These are two sources that can also wake you if a warning is issued while you're sleeping. Make sure each is charged fully before the storms arrive.

Move to shelter immediately when a warning is issued, including both severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.

Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.