April, May And June Are The Most Active Months For Tornadoes, Including Intense To Violent Ones

The Next Three Months Bring The Most Tornadoes

Tornadoes can strike certain parts of the U.S. at any time of year. But it is no contest that April, May and June stand alone as the most active months to see them.

Certain atmospheric conditions are ideal for the formation of tornadoes. These conditions often come together during these months, bringing the greatest chance of these potentially life-threatening weather events.

Each Month's Risk Area

Below are maps showing each month's tornado risk area. You can see that with each month, we see a large size and a shift north for the greatest chance of tornadoes.

April continues what we started in March. Parts of the Southeast serve as the area with the greatest chance of tornadoes. The area of greatest concern is located in the darkest shades of red, located across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

May brings an expansion of the greatest chance of tornadoes. But it also shifts north. As you can see, the spots that show the greatest chance are in line with the classic tornado alley and also parts of central Illinois.

June continues to increase the threat further north, with the greatest chance of tornadoes occurring across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and even parts of South Dakota.

How serious are these graphics? Are they trustworthy?

Well, let's look at our more recent tornadic history. The U.S. averaged 1,246 tornadoes annually from 2004 to 2023. About 52% of those tornadoes occurred in April, May and June.

The most tornadoes typically happen in May, with an average of 260. This is followed by April and June, which average 202 and 186 tornadoes per year, respectively. Note these are averages. Some recent Aprils have also demonstrated wild ranges, with 356 tornadoes striking the U.S. in April of 2024 but only 78 in 2021.

But, an interesting trend is that recent Marches have been performing well above average.

(MORE: March Tornadoes Recently)

(MORE: March 2026 Recap)

What About Strong Tornadoes?

It isn't just about the number of tornadoes. We also have to consider the intensity of these storms. About 58% of all twisters rated F3/EF3 or stronger (1950-2012) struck in those three months, according to statistics compiled by Dr. Greg Forbes, former severe weather expert at The Weather Channel. This rises to 69% when examining tornadoes F4/EF4 or stronger.

The most violent F5/EF5 rating had been assigned to 59 tornadoes dating back to 1950, with all but 10 of those occurring in April, May or June.

In fact, we had been in a drought of EF5 tornadoes...until last year. A tornado that occurred in June of 2025 was later upgraded to an EF5 after retroactively studying damage in the area. They found that a train car being lobbed 500 yards was enough to classify the June 2025 tornado as an EF5.

(MORE: North Dakota EF5)

All tornadoes pose a threat, but intense twisters account for a higher number of fatalities and damage. About 83% of the deaths from 2019 through 2023 were from tornadoes rated EF3 or stronger, according to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.

Why the shift north?

To explain why there is a northward trend in the greatest risk of tornadoes, we have to look at the atmosphere.

During the warmer months, the jet stream begins to retreat further north. The jet stream provides shear, or changes in wind speed and direction through the atmosphere, which helps to form tornado-producing thunderstorms. As the jet moves further north, you actually see a drop in tornado potential across southern states since one of the main factors that helps tornadoes form is decreasing. In other words, you have plenty of moisture, but you have to have shear and moisture, among other factors, to have tornadoes.

The very reason for the drop in tornadoes in the South is the same reason why the threat for tornadoes increases further north. You have the jet stream further north and more moisture in the atmosphere, which is common later in spring. The more abundant moisture plus the strong jet stream are some of the main contributors to tornado-producing storms.

Now is a good time to review your plan for severe weather this spring and any other times of the year tornadoes might threaten your area.