TORNADOES MAP · HISTORICAL ARCHIVE
Deadliest U.S. Tornado Days Since 1950
Explore the ten deadliest tornado dates in the 1950–2025 U.S. NOAA SPC archive, ranked by reported fatalities, with history and maps.
These dates had the highest reported tornado death tolls in this site’s U.S. archive. Open a date for its historical context, recorded impacts, and tornado map.
The ranking begins in 1950; it is not an all-time or worldwide list. “Worst” is defined here by reported fatalities. Read the ranking method.
| Rank | Date and historical context | Reported fatalities | Tornado tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 27, 20112011 Super Outbreak | 319 | 210 |
| 2 | April 3, 19741974 Super Outbreak | 308 | 128 |
| 3 | April 11, 1965Palm Sunday outbreak | 260 | 45 |
| 4 | March 21, 1952Arkansas and Mid-South tornadoes | 202 | 27 |
| 5 | May 22, 2011Joplin and other U.S. tornadoes | 159 | 48 |
| 6 | June 8, 1953Flint–Beecher and Great Lakes tornadoes | 142 | 12 |
| 7 | May 11, 1953Waco and San Angelo tornadoes | 127 | 5 |
| 8 | February 21, 1971Mississippi Delta outbreak | 121 | 14 |
| 9 | May 25, 1955Blackwell and Udall tornadoes | 102 | 16 |
| 10 | June 9, 1953Worcester and New England tornadoes | 94 | 4 |
What about the 1925 Tri-State tornado?
The March 18, 1925 Tri-State tornado struck Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana before this dataset begins. Its absence is a coverage limit, not evidence that later disasters were deadlier. Read the NWS Tri-State tornado history.
How these dates are ranked
“Worst” here means the largest sum of reported tornado fatalities for a source calendar date in the U.S. archive, 1950–2025. It does not rank financial losses, measured winds, or the number of tornadoes. Equal fatality sums share a rank; tied dates appear chronologically, including any tie at tenth place.
Each whole track counts once, including interstate tornadoes. We group by the recorded start date, preserving the source’s dates and time zones rather than converting them to UTC or a storm-reporting day. A track crossing midnight keeps its whole-track casualties on its start date. A multi-day outbreak can therefore span more than one daily page.
Totals sum available values; a missing value is not a zero. Any missing casualty fields are identified alongside the totals, and a total with no known values is “Unavailable.” Rankings use known fatality sums. Earlier reporting was less complete, especially for weaker tornadoes. Different release versions, geographic coverage, and event definitions can produce different totals in historical accounts.
Source: NOAA SPC 1950–2025 single-track CSV. Latest event date: 2025-12-28. Full data methodology.
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