Tornadoes Are More Powerful Than We Realize

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2023 just set a preliminary record for the most tornadoes to strike the United States in the first three months of any year, according to updated statistics released by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) on Tuesday.

H​ere's a breakdown of some notables from this record start.

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A​t Least 410 Tornadoes Struck In January, February And March

The preliminary 410 twisters in January, February and March topped the previous record for that period of 398 set in 2017.

Reliable tornado records date to 1950, but a majority of the most tornadic starts to the year have been since 1999, as the table below shows. That's partially due to a better ability to detect and confirm tornadoes, particularly weaker tornadoes, in the modern era.

Tragic Start To The Year

T​he large number of strong tornadoes so far this year has contributed to a tragically high death toll.

A total of 63 people were killed by tornadoes between Jan. 12 and April 5, according to the SPC. All but one of those deaths were from tornadoes rated EF2 or stronger.

T​hat's more than the annual average of 49 tornado deaths from 2012-2021, and is nearly triple last year's toll of 23.

A M​ajority Of The Tornadoes Hit Two Regions

The red dots on the map below show that the South unsurprisingly had the highest concentration of tornado reports in the first three months. It's the region most favored to see tornadoes early in the year.

Most of the tornado reports in the Midwest were in March, especially on the month's final day (more on that below).

A few tornadoes were also reported as far west as California, and as far east as the mid-Atlantic.

More Than Double The Average

T​he 410 preliminary tornadoes in the year's first three months are about 250% above the average for this time of year. The usual average for that time period is 163 twisters in the 20 years spanning 2002-2021. However, that number is highly variable year-to-year.

The Most Tornadic Day So Far

O​ne hundred and twenty-two tornadoes have been confirmed for what's called the March 31 convective day by SPC. In this case, that's the 24-hour period from 8 a.m. EDT on March 31 to 8 a.m. EDT the following morning.

This is the fourth most tornadoes on record for any 24-hour convective day on record, SPC said.

The Most Intense Tornadoes Of Them All

Two tornadoes in late March were rated EF4, or violent, which makes them the most intense so far this year.

O​ne of those killed 16 people in Mississippi on the evening of March 24. The other hit Keota, Iowa, on March 31.

M​ore than seven dozen additional tornadoes were rated strong (EF2 or EF3) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale in January, February and March.

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