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US had 300 tornadoes in April, second-most on record: What state had the most?

By Daniel Miller
Published  May 10, 2024 9:37am MST
Severe Weather
FOX TV Digital Team
0e25420b- article

FILE-A view of mesocyclone and green glow from very large hail as a tornadic high precipitation supercell arrives in Hennessey, Oklahoma, United States on May 07, 2024. (Photo by Matt Phelps, Tempest Tours/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tornadoes are some of the worst and unpredictable severe weather events in America, causing widespread damage to areas. 

These natural disasters reached a high level in April with 300 reported in the United States, the second-most on record for a month, per a preliminary analysis from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

Which state had the most tornadoes in April?

Iowa is the state with the highest reported tornado activity in April, with 56 tornadoes reported, followed by Ohio, with 54 reported to date, according to USA Today. 

Other states that saw a spike in tornado activity in April were Nebraska (47), Kansas (38), Oklahoma (38) and Missouri (33). Kentucky and Texas each had 22, the newspaper reported. 

FOX Weather noted that long-term severe weather records show April, May, and June are the three most active months for tornadoes in the nation. 

RELATED: Rare ‘backward-spinning’ tornado detected in Oklahoma twister outbreak

April tornadoes through the years

From 1991 to 2020, an average of 1,333 tornadoes were recorded in the U.S. annually, with over 54% happening between April and June. 

May is one of the most active months for tornadoes, averaging 294 annually, followed by April and June, each with 212 tornadoes on average.

RELATED: How you should prepare for a tornado

Massive tornado damage in Nebraska amid outbreak

FOX Weather's Nicole Valdes joins LiveNOW's Mike Pache from Elkhorn, Nebraska, where tornadoes touched down in recent days, causing widespread damage.

EF-5 tornadoes are among the rarest cyclones on the planet. There have been only 59 EF-5/F-5 twisters since 1950 in the U.S., which equates to an average of less than one EF-5 tornado in America each year.

Multiple tornadoes reaching this intensity level were reported in some years, but FOX Weather notes that all but 10 of the country’s recorded EF-5/F-5 tornadoes took place in April, May, or June.

FOX Weather contributed to this report.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.