America’s tornado hot spots shifted once again last year, stretching largely across the South and Midwest, a new AccuWeather assessment found.
The findings build on previous observations showing “Tornado Alley” – the Plains-centered region that has long been known as tornado central – has moved eastward in recent decades due to regional climate change — but also underscore just how unique each season can be, according to the media forecasting company’s meteorologists.
While Texas took the top spot for the second consecutive year with 162 twisters, for example, normally high-ranking Florida was not even listed.
Many of the Sunshine State’s 34 tornadoes in 2024 were tied to landfalling hurricanes. But no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. this year.
“While recent research has demonstrated a potential shift of where tornadoes are most frequent over the long term, it’s important to remember each year presents a unique weather pattern that can favor tornadoes in different areas,” AccuWeather Severe Weather Expert Dan DePodwin explained in a statement shared with The Independent.
And 2025 was distinctive.
A remarkable season – even with fewer twisters
Although there were 352 fewer tornadoes reported last year compared to 2024, there were still more than the annual historical average, with 1,558 in total. There were also more fatalities, with 68 in 2025 and 54 in 2024.
The majority of last year’s tornadoes were reported in a narrow area east of the Mississippi River, according to AccuWeather.
Illinois came in second with 146 tornadoes, on the heels of a record year in 2024, and Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and North Dakota rounded out the list.
While North Dakota had only 72 tornadoes, its northeast city of Grand Forks was the site of the strongest tornado to hit the U.S. since 2013. The deadly June 20 tornado was an EF5, or the highest level of the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado damage.
More than a mile wide and containing winds of over 210 miles per hour, it killed three people near Enderlin, ripped up trees and threw train cars.
Florida wasn’t the only state to drop off the list, and Tornado Alley states Iowa and Nebraska saw far fewer numbers in 2025 than in 2024.
“This reflected an overall decrease in tornadoes on the East Coast last year versus 2024 and an increase in the South,” AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell wrote.
The climate connection
Although researchers are still working to learn how climate change affects tornadoes – as well as how tornadoes form – last year was one of the top three warmest years on record.
Scientists know that warmer air can hold more of the moisture that helps form tornado-producing storms. Changes in the wind can either strengthen or weaken tornado conditions.
Still, the number of observed tornadoes increasing over the past 50 years is largely because of strides made in radar technology and better documentation, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Climate Expert Brett Anderson said.
However, the eastward shift, he believes, is due to warming in the Gulf of America. Record ocean temperatures there have helped supercharge hurricanes in past years, including wind speeds. And storm systems there have created more tornadoes in the the southeastern U.S.
“Researchers are still working to pinpoint possible links and effects that climate change is having on tornadoes in America,” Anderson said. “One thing is clear: extreme weather and billion-dollar disasters are happening more frequently as our climate continues to warm.”
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