Tornado Destroys Kentucky Town

Five tornadoes rated EF4 have struck the U.S. so far in 2025 after two more were confirmed following the most recent siege of severe weather in mid-May. Tornadoes in the violent category like these makeup less than 1% of twisters this century, so how does this year's number stack up compared to the average?

Big Picture

-Defining Violent Tornadoes: While all tornadoes are dangerous, meteorologists reserve "violent" for those with the two highest ratings on the Enhanced-Fujita scale - EF4 or EF5. That's because these strongest tornadoes are capable of devastating damage, such as crushing and throwing vehicles, leveling well-built homes, even sweeping foundations clean. These select few tornadoes are estimated to have peak winds of 166 mph or higher.

-This Year's EF4 Tornadoes: Two of them struck northern Arkansas on the night of March 14. The following day, EF4 damage was found from a tornado that tracked from Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, to Covington County, Mississippi. May 16 had two EF4s, one south of Marion, Illinois, and another that devastated parts of Pulaski and Laurel counties in southeast Kentucky.

-More Than The 10-Year Average: There have been anywhere from zero to six EF4-rated tornadoes each year from 2015 through 2024, so this year is on the higher end of that range for the past decade. The average over that time is about 3 per year, which is 2 fewer than we've seen in 2025.

Deeper Dive

-Two Outlier Years: Looking farther back in time to when the Enhanced Fujita scale was implemented in early 2007, there have been as been as many as 23 violent tornadoes in 2011 and 13 in 2010. Those two outlier years skew the average higher to about 5 to 6 EF4 tornadoes per year since 2007.

-Violent Tornadoes Are Overwhelmingly Deadlier: From 2007 through 2024, this tiny fraction of tornadoes was responsible for more than half of all U.S. tornado deaths. 828 people were killed by EF4 or EF5 tornadoes in that time compared to 649 for all tornadoes rated EF0 to EF3, combined.

-Top States: It should come as no surprise where violent tornadoes occur most often. From 1950 through 2024, the conventional Plains "Tornado Alley" states of Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa and Kansas had the largest number of violent tornadoes. Elevated violent tornado counts also extend eastward into the Ohio Valley and a southern corridor that includes Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

More To Know

-No EF5s In More Than A Decade: The last one to reach this rating hit Moore, Oklahoma, in the Oklahoma City metro area on May 20, 2013.

-Why So Long?: A recent study found that may be due as much to the more stringent engineering criteria of the Enhanced Fujita scale compared to the pre-2007 Fujita scale. In essence, it appears a destroyed building had to be built beyond standard construction codes to be rated EF5 today.

-An Example This Year: The photo below shows a two-story home built in 2003 that was completely swept away by a tornado that struck south of Marion, Illinois, May 16, 2025. Given nothing is left, it might make you immediately think it should be an EF5.

The National Weather Service storm survey stated, "The extreme tree stubbing combined with the typical construction methods of the home support a peak wind speed rating of 190 mph". Since the home had typical construction methods, the damage was just short of what can be rated as an EF5, which contains winds greater than 200 mph.

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.

Senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman contributed to this report.