Historical U.S. tornado tracks
U.S. tornado records from 1950–2025, compiled by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Filter the map by year, touchdown state, date, and F/EF rating.
Historical U.S. tornado map
Select a year to view tornado locations and record details.
Data sources and methodology →EXPLORE TORNADO HISTORY
The deadliest tornado days since 1950
The events behind the records. Explore selected dates from the ten deadliest days in the U.S. archive, ranked by reported fatalities through 2025.
1974 Super Outbreak
Explore April 3 during the two-day outbreak, with national records and historical context.
Explore this day2011 Super Outbreak
Explore April 27 during the broader outbreak sequence and its impacts across the Southeast.
Explore this dayJoplin and other U.S. tornadoes
Read about Joplin and explore all U.S. tornado records assigned to May 22.
Explore this dayBROWSE BY STATE
Your state’s tornado history
Explore monthly patterns, F/EF ratings, and records of tornadoes that began in your state.
Browse all 50 states →BROWSE BY YEAR
A year in tornadoes
See how each year unfolded, with monthly counts, state summaries, and selected records.
MAP CONTROLS
Find tornado records
Choose a year
View a full calendar year or select a date. Filter by the state where a tornado began and its F/EF rating.
Select a record
Select a map feature or open the records list to view its rating, path length and width, and reported injuries and fatalities.
Review records by date
Use the timeline or playback to display each date’s records. Playback advances through archive dates; it does not show tornado movement.
DATA INTERPRETATION
What the map shows
Records include reported locations, dates, damage ratings, and path dimensions where available. Lines connect recorded start and end points; they are approximate tracks.
F and EF rating definitionsColor indicates damage rating
F and EF ratings are based on damage assessments. Earlier records retain F labels. Records without a rating appear in gray.
Tracks connect reported locations
Lines do not show the detailed damage path. When a start location is available but the endpoint is missing, the map shows a point.
Reporting has changed over time
Earlier records undercount tornadoes, particularly weaker events. Changes in detection and reporting affect comparisons between decades.
REFERENCE GUIDES
Tornado damage, ratings, and geography
Tornado damage and impacts
Damage to buildings, trees, and infrastructure, and the limits of financial loss estimates.
Read the guide ↗F and EF tornado ratings
How damage surveys inform tornado ratings, and how the two scales differ.
Read the guide ↗Reading tornado tracks
How to interpret map symbols, recorded locations, path dimensions, and dates.
Read the guide ↗Tornado climatology
U.S. tornado geography and the effects of reporting changes on historical counts.
Read the guide ↗TORNADO IMPACTS
Understanding tornado damage
Tornadoes can damage homes, trees, vehicles, utilities, and farmland. F and EF ratings describe evidence of intensity; reported costs and casualties describe different consequences.
Read the tornado damage guideFrom a map record to its context
Inspect a track's rating and reported dimensions, then read how surveyors interpret damage. An endpoint connector cannot show which buildings were affected or establish a property's loss.
How damage surveys inform ratings →FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Coverage and data limitations
Is this a live tornado tracker?
No. This map displays historical records from 1950–2025. It provides no current observations, forecasts, or warnings. For current forecasts and warnings, visit the National Weather Service using the link below.
Why is the map focused on the United States?
The NOAA SPC dataset used here covers U.S. tornado records from 1950 onward. Tornadoes occur in other countries, but those records are outside this dataset’s coverage.
Why do older records say F instead of EF?
The U.S. adopted the Enhanced Fujita scale on February 1, 2007. Older records retain their original Fujita ratings; they have not been reclassified.
Does a longer line mean a stronger tornado?
No. Path length, path width, and damage rating describe different things. Color shows the damage rating. Line thickness and dot size reflect recorded width on a compressed visual scale, not a to-scale damage footprint.