A Look At the 2023 Tornado Numbers

Looks like we’re finishing just above average.

It is unlikely that we see many, if any, additional tornado reports in 2023. So, with that, let’s break down the stats.

• We are currently at 1423 tornadoes, which is slightly above average for the yearly count.

• This year's bulk of the activity was based in the Southeast and Mid-South, part of a longer-term trend of increasing tornado frequency in that region.

• Still, the Plains were also very busy, which will remain the case with seasonal variability in local regions.

• That variability in action is easily seen in Central Kansas, where there were 0 tornado watches this year. That is an exceptionally rare occurrence.

• La Niña tends to shift tornado seasons east, which you can see on the map.

There were a lot of hail reports and severe weather events on the Plains overall; you can see this outlined in the severe thunderstorm watch density map below.

Month to Month

The season had an interesting flow this y…