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However, tornadoes are capable of both much shorter and much longer damage paths: one tornado was reported to have a damage path only 7 feet (2.1 m) long, while the record-holding tornado for path length—the Tri-State Tornado, which affected parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925—was on the ground continuously for 219 ...
December and January are "the lowest months" for tornado formation, National Weather Service meteorologist Nate McGinnis said. January tornadoes, in particular, are so rare that Ohio recorded its ...
A man walks past tornado damage in Sulphur, Okla., Sunday, April 28, 2024, after severe storms hit the area the night before.
But "weak" is a relative term for tornadoes, as even these can cause significant damage. F0 and F1 tornadoes are typically short-lived; since 1980, almost 75 percent of tornadoes rated weak stayed on the ground for 1 mile (1.6 km) or less. [17] In this time, though, they can cause both damage and fatalities.
On average, there are around 294 tornadoes throughout the United States during May, and as many as 543 tornadoes have been reported in May alone (in 2003). The months with the fewest tornadoes are usually December and January, although major tornado outbreaks can and sometimes do occur even in those months.
Tornadoes can occur anywhere in the U.S., according to the National Weather Service.Tornadoes are “most common in the central plains east of the Rocky Mountains and west of the Appalachians.”
While most tornadoes attain winds of less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers), the wind speeds in the most intense tornadoes can reach 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), are more than two miles (3 km) in diameter, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).
Once it touches the ground, wind speeds pick up, forming a tornado. Once wind speeds get fast enough, these tornadoes can grab anything, from a roof off a home, to a car in a driveway.