TORNADOES MAP · REFERENCE
Tornado Guides: Damage, Ratings & Geography
Learn how tornadoes cause damage, how F and EF ratings work, how to read historical tracks, and when and where U.S. tornadoes occur.
Use these guides to interpret historical tornado records: what was damaged, how the event was rated, where it was recorded, and how it fits into regional patterns.
Tornado damage and impacts
Damage to buildings, trees, and infrastructure, and the limits of financial loss estimates.
Read the guide →F and EF tornado ratings
How damage surveys inform tornado ratings, and how the two scales differ.
Read the guide →Reading tornado tracks
How to interpret map symbols, recorded locations, path dimensions, and dates.
Read the guide →Tornado climatology
U.S. tornado geography and the effects of reporting changes on historical counts.
Read the guide →Explore the records behind the guides
The archive covers 1950–2025. Browse tornado history by state and year, or open the interactive map and choose a record.
Sources and editorial approach
Guides link to NOAA and NWS explanations alongside relevant claims. Charts are calculated from the bundled SPC single-track archive. Read the methodology for data definitions and about this independent project.