2026 Tornado Count and Updates

The Midwest accounts for roughly HALF of the confirmed tornado tracks in the United States for 2026. What’s even more crazy is that roughly 35% of those tracks are all in the state of Illinois.

So far in 2026, there have been more than 210 preliminary tornado reports nationwide, and Illinois alone accounts for 210 preliminary reports, with 170 of those already confirmed. This means Illinois by itself rivals or exceeds the tornado totals of many entire seasons in other states, and it continues to lead the nation by a wide margin in 2026. Illinois leads the nation with the most EF 3+ tornadoes.

2026 Tornado Count By State – Top 10 States So Far

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

2026 Confirmed Tornado Totals (U.S.)

As of April 24, 2026, there have been 451 confirmed tornadoes across the United States.

The monthly breakdown highlights how the activity has ramped up significantly as we entered the spring:

April: Extremely active, featuring the massive April 17–18 Outbreak (80 confirmed) and the most recent April 22–24 Outbreak which included the Enid EF4.

January: 21 confirmed (Below average)

February: 49 confirmed (Above average)

March: Very above average, driven by three major outbreaks.

• LIVE Tornado HQ Warnings🌪️⚠️

2026 Tornado Count MAP as of March 20, 2026.

The 2026 tornado season is off to a fast, violent and heartbreaking start. Preliminary data show an above‑normal pace of tornado reports through early March, with dozens of tornadoes already logged and the official count still rising as damage surveys are completed.

• 2026 Storm Prediction Center Outlook Change Cheat Sheet
• Track Severe Weather NOW!

Tornado Warning Event Count By State: Wisconsin Beating out Alabama

For the first time since 2004, the state of Alabama has gone through the entire month of April without a single tornado warning. April 2026 also marks the record low number of severe thunderstorm warnings since Iowa State records begin in 2002. [@GumryWX] Compare this to Wisconsin for 2026.

Compare to Wisconsin

Alabama tornado warnings for April 2026 compared to previous years.

Some of the most devastating impacts so far have hit Oklahoma and Michigan. In Oklahoma, an EF2 tornado near Fairview killed a mother and daughter along U.S. Highway 60, followed by additional tornadoes near Beggs and northern Tulsa that tore through homes, damaged a middle school, and left thousands without power. In southern Michigan, early‑March tornadoes around Union Lake and Edwardsburg destroyed neighborhoods, killing at least four people – including a 12‑year‑old boy – and injuring more than a dozen others.

March 2026 violent tornado that took the lives of a Mother and Daughter in Oklahoma.

Storm surveys have indicated SIX tornadoes occurred in central Illinois from the Sunday (March 15) storms. The NWS Lincoln, Illinois is working with NWS St. Louis
to finalize data of the tornado that went from Montgomery into Christian Counties (since it spans 2 NWS coverage areas).

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT RESULTS FROM MARCH 15, 2026
BONNERTOWN: The survey team found damage consistent with an EF-1 tornado in Bonnertown, TN. This tornado touched down just across the state line in Lexington, AL. before crossing into Lawrence County, and finally lifting in Giles County just near Minor Hill.
MT. PLEASANT/COLUMBIA: The survey team found damage consistent with an EF-1 tornado in Mt. Pleasant/Columbia. This tornado began along Highway 43 in Mt. Pleasant and traveled a little more than 16 miles before lifting just before reaching Spring Hill.

Tornado Count for Georgia

Summary of tornadoes in 2026 for the NWS Atlanta area of north and central Georgia (as of March 18, 2026): Total number of tornadoes: 13

Tornado count by EF-Scale rating in Georgia: EF-0: 7 EF-1: 5 EF-2: 1 EF-3: 0 EF-4: 0 EF-5: 0.

Tornado Count in Oklahoma

Tornado count in Oklahoma for 2026.

Tornado Warnings in Kansas City- Wow!

The number of severe storm plus tornado warnings for the Kansas City area is in a league of its own (year to date as of April 27, 2026.)

2026 Spring Tornado & Severe Weather Forecast

Against that backdrop, the new 2026 Spring Tornado & Severe Weather Forecast from Weather Track US paints a different picture than the hyper‑active springs of 2024 and 2025. Instead of a broad, coast‑to‑coast outbreak pattern, their outlook favors a front‑loaded season: more opportunities for severe weather in March and early April, followed by a tendency toward quieter conditions in many areas by May.

Their forecast leans on analog years such as 2023, 2009, 2001, 1985, 1976, and 1951 – springs that featured a transitioning or persistent La Niña with a negative PDO and similar upper‑air patterns. These years suggest that:

• March has the best chance to run above average for tornado and severe‑storm activity, especially from the southern/eastern Plains into the Midwest and Mid‑South, thanks to a strong western trough, warmer‑than‑average air, and above‑normal precipitation.
• Late April into May may see more western ridging and troughing across central/eastern Canada and the U.S., a setup that tends to suppress the number of classic Plains and Dixie Alley severe‑weather days, even though a few significant systems can still break through.
• The baseline expectation is below‑average May activity across much of the Southeast and northern Plains, with only scattered, lower‑confidence opportunities for more active periods if the ridge breaks down or an early northwest‑flow pattern develops.

Weather Track US still highlights a corridor from parts of the Plains into the Mississippi Valley where overall spring activity could end up above average, weighted heavily toward March and early April, while much of the East Coast and Southeast may finish near or below average despite the inevitable “boom or bust” local events.

Other seasonal perspectives broadly agree on this theme. A 2026 tornado‑season forecast from Convective Chronicles points to neutral‑leaning ENSO and warming Pacific waters favoring enhanced early‑season tornado risk from the southern Plains into the Mid‑South before the focus shifts toward more typical Plains targets later in spring. And recent research on seasonal tornado prediction underscores that large‑scale climate patterns like the AO and PNA can nudge a season toward more or fewer outbreaks, but even in a “quiet” pattern, one major outbreak can define the year for a community.

Bottom line: 2026 may not rival the extreme tornado counts of 2024–2025 on a national scale, but the year has already proven that it only takes one nocturnal wedge in Oklahoma or a rare early‑March tornado in Michigan to turn a “near‑normal” season into a life‑changing disaster for the people in its path. Now is the time to review your severe‑weather plan, double‑check where you’ll shelter, and make sure you can receive warnings day or night.