(LOOTPRESS) – In some parts of the country, tornado season usually starts in April and lasts until July or even later. That said, tornadoes can happen in any month. And while Tornado Alley, an area in the central US, is the usual hotbed of tornado activity, tornado territory is shifting to the South.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded 1,341 tornadoes in 2022, with 31% occurring in Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. These states, along with Louisiana, are part of “Dixie Alley,” an emerging area of tornado activity similar to Tornado Alley. (Researchers are still investigating causes for the changes.)
- Mississippi has averaged 115 tornadoes annually for the past five years.
- Tornadoes caused 25 deaths and 315 injuries in 2022. Iowa lost seven people to tornadoes, the most of any state.
- Tornadoes also destroyed around $700 million in property and crops, with Iowa and Louisiana sustaining the most property damage. On March 5, 2022, Iowa tornadoes destroyed $223 million in property. On December 14, five tornadoes in Southeast Louisiana destroyed $150 million in property.
- One June tornado near the Nebraska village of Lushton caused nearly all the reported crop damage nationwide, destroying millions of dollars in acres of crops and grain bins.
See more about the destruction tornadoes caused in 2022, then see how many tornadoes occurred in your state over the past five years.