2025 tornado tallies: A look at the numbers so far
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Spring tornado season started out with a bang for parts of the Midwest and deep South this year.
From January to early April, the Storm Prediction Center has tallied at least 473 preliminary tornado reports across the United States. That’s well above the historical average of 266 twisters through this point in the season. Some of the hardest-hit states so far include those along the Mississippi River, with the state of Mississippi leading the pack with 92 reported tornadoes. As of April 8, Missouri comes in second with 57 reported tornadoes (all south of Interstate 70), and Illinois is a close third with 55. Other states from the Gulf Coast to the mid-South also have seen elevated numbers this season.
While Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas have seen a relative lull in severe weather over the past one to two weeks, the Mid-Missouri River Valley has a way to go before the peak of tornado season. As climatology tells us, tornado activity tends to shift north through the late spring and early summer, as warm, moist air pushes further inland. Locally, this means May is often the most active month for tornadoes, with early June often remaining active before tornadic activity becomes more common across the northern tier of the U.S. through mid-summer.
Last year’s tornado season is a testament to how quickly severe weather can ramp up as spring progresses. By mid-April of 2024, approximately 300 tornadoes were reported nationally, a near-normal or "average" figure. By mid-June, the number of U.S. tornado reports had exploded to more than 1,000. When 2024 came to a close, the SPC recorded more than 1,700 nationwide tornado reports, making it the second most active year for tornadoes on record in the U.S. States like Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri all tallied more than 100 tornadoes in 2024, most of which took place in mid to late spring.
Jonathan Kurts, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill office, recalls the busyness of last year’s tornado season.
“Compared to past years, it was probably the most active season we've had for severe weather in about a decade or so. We had quite a few tornado warnings issued, quite a few confirmed tornadoes in parts of Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. But most of those were EF-0s and EF-1s. So nothing too significant, thank goodness.”
While St. Joseph and many surrounding communities were spared any major tornadoes last year, it only takes one to turn a community upside down. With the peak of tornado season still on the horizon, weather awareness should remain a top priority over the next few months.
