Tornado Central

The U.S. Is Having One of Its Deadliest Tornado Years in a Decade

At a Glance

Tornadoes have killed more than six dozen people so far in 2020.
It's the deadliest year for tornadoes in the U.S. since 2011.
Strong to violent tornadoes have been responsible for many of the deaths.

A series of severe weather outbreaks in April have more than doubled the United States tornado death toll in 2020, making it the deadliest year of twisters in nine years.

Tornadoes in 2020 have claimed 73 lives as of April 24, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. Those have all occurred in eight southern states, with Tennessee and Mississippi having the most.

The number of tornado-related fatalities in each state so far this year.
(Data: NOAA's Storm Prediction Center)

This year's toll surpasses anything we've seen since the horrible 2011 tornado year, when 553 lives were lost.

Tornadoes, on average, have killed 69 people per year from 1989 to 2018, according to NOAA. But that average is skewed somewhat high because of 2011.

Since 1980, the yearly death toll from tornadoes exceeded 70 just seven other times.

Before April 12, there were already 33 deaths related to tornadoes in the U.S. The majority of those were in Tennessee on March 2 and 3, when 25 lives were lost, including 19 who perished in an EF4 twister that struck near Cookeville.

That toll skyrocketed by 40 in an 11-day period from April 12 through 22, mostly because of a major tornado outbreak in the South Easter Sunday into the following Monday morning.

One reason this year has been so deadly is that there have been a number of strong tornadoes, which account for a larger number of tornado fatalities. Nearly 95% of tornado deaths from 2000 to 2019 were from strong (EF2/EF3) or violent tornadoes (EF4/EF5).

Violent (EF4 or EF5) tornadoes were responsible for half the tornado-related deaths in the U.S. from 2000 to 2019.
(Data: NOAA/NWS/SPC; Graphic: Infogram )

All but four of this year's 73 deaths have been from tornadoes rated EF2 to EF4. There have been no EF5 tornadoes so far this year.

Another factor in this year's loss of life is that some of the deadly twisters struck at night. Tornadoes occurring at night are more than twice as likely to be deadly as those during the day, according to a study.

When severe weather threatens, make sure you have multiple ways to receive warning information. This could include a NOAA weather radio, smartphone or television. Check this link for additional tips on what you can do to stay safe.

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