This Tornado Season On Track To Be One Of The Most Active In History

April, May, and June typically bring the most tornadoes per month each year in the U.S. but 2024 has been extremely active. In April over 300 tornadoes touched down in the month alone. The trend continued as multiple tornadoes touched down across the Plains throughout May, and it's not over yet.

By this time in the year, we usually see 605 tornadoes year to date. As we close out the month of May, we have 859 tornadoes reported so far in 2024, making it the most active tornado season since 2017, when over 1,400 tornadoes touched down throughout the year.

Many towns have been hit by severe storms this year, leaving residents with the task of picking up the remnants left behind from the storm's path. We've had three EF-4s so far this year in Greenfield, IA, Barnsdall, OK, and Marietta, OK. For context, according to the Storm Prediction Center data, from 1992-2022 (30 years) there were 190 recorded EF-4 tornadoes, averaging about 6 per year. From 2012-2022 there were 42 EF-4 tornadoes, averaging about 4 per year.

June usually shakes out to be our second-most active month with tornado touchdowns. We'll have to wait and see if it brings the average of 200+ tornadoes or not, but the severe chances aren't slowing down as we finish off May.