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Tornado Alley Map: Where Tornadoes Hit Most, County by County

By Twisters.us · Updated · How we count

Tornado Alley is not an official place, but the data draws it clearly. Here is every U.S. county shaded by how many tornadoes it has had per square mile since 1950.

U.S. map shading each county by tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950; darkest in the southern Plains, the Mississippi and Alabama region, Florida and parts of the Midwest
Tornadoes per 1,000 square miles, 1950 to 2024: under 10 10 to 25 25 to 50 50 to 75 75 to 100 over 100. Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

What the map shows

Tornado Alley usually means the southern and central Plains: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, reaching into South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. Dry air off the Rockies, warm moist air from the Gulf and strong winds aloft meet here every spring.

Dixie Alley is the region from Arkansas and Louisiana across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Tornadoes here are often rain-wrapped, strike at night and come in the cool season too, which helps explain why the South has had so many tornado deaths.

Florida shows up dark as well: it has many tornadoes for its size, mostly weak ones from summer storms and tropical systems.

The most tornado-dense counties

Counties of at least 200 square miles, ranked by tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950:

County Tornadoes Per 1,000 sq mi
Pinellas County, FL 149 425
Galveston County, TX 126 294
Cleveland County, OK 109 196
Oklahoma County, OK 137 191
Tulsa County, OK 98 167
Lafayette Parish, LA 43 160
Adams County, CO 189 159
Lee County, FL 132 146
Johnson County, TX 107 145
Scott County, IA 67 144
New Hanover County, NC 32 144
Hall County, NE 79 144
Smith County, MS 91 143
Harrison County, MS 86 141
Sarasota County, FL 86 141

States with the most tornadoes

State Tornadoes 1950 to 2024 Average a year
Texas 9,481 126
Kansas 4,573 61
Oklahoma 4,403 59
Florida 3,733 50
Nebraska 3,176 42
Iowa 3,031 40
Illinois 3,010 40
Mississippi 2,758 37
Alabama 2,635 35
Missouri 2,602 35
Colorado 2,448 33
Louisiana 2,421 32

Texas leads because it is huge. For tornadoes per square mile, smaller states such as Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa stand out.

Find your county

Look up any county with the tornado history lookup, or open your state.

Sources

Sources last checked 1 November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What states are in Tornado Alley?

Usually Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, often with South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri. There is no official boundary.

Where is Dixie Alley?

Across the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and parts of Georgia and Kentucky.

Which state has the most tornadoes?

Texas, with 9,481 from 1950 to 2024. For its size, Florida and Kansas are among the busiest.

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