It’s been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.
A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.
Recommended Videos
Stacker used data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Florida that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.
The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren’t all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country’s tornadoes. It’s a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.
Find every episode of Talk To Tom on YouTube:
As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.
The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.
Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Florida.
Felix Mizioznikov // Shutterstock
#50. Glades County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.24 per 100 square miles)
- #1,604 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#49. Alachua County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.26 per 100 square miles)
- #1,581 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#48. Hernando County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.27 per 100 square miles)
- #1,570 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#47. Collier County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (1.30 per 100 square miles)
- #1,552 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#46. Jefferson County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.34 per 100 square miles)
- #1,525 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#45. Putnam County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.37 per 100 square miles)
- #1,503 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#44. Calhoun County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.41 per 100 square miles)
- #1,475 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
Canva
#43. Gulf County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.42 per 100 square miles)
- #1,469 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#42. Citrus County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.55 per 100 square miles)
- #1,393 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
#41. Liberty County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.56 per 100 square miles)
- #1,391 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
Canva
#40. Madison County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.58 per 100 square miles)
- #1,371 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
Brittx // Shutterstock
#39. Seminole County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.62 per 100 square miles)
- #1,340 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#38. Nassau County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.70 per 100 square miles)
- #1,282 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Songquan Deng // Shutterstock
#37. Orange County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (1.77 per 100 square miles)
- #1,231 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#36. Lake County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (1.81 per 100 square miles)
- #1,197 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#35. Gadsden County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.94 per 100 square miles)
- #1,106 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
jenniferlee4828 // Shutterstock
#34. Hardee County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.04 per 100 square miles)
- #1,029 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#33. Polk County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (2.06 per 100 square miles)
- #1,015 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Susan C. Brown // Shutterstock
#32. Holmes County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.09 per 100 square miles)
- #994 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#31. Suwannee County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.18 per 100 square miles)
- #941 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#30. Martin County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.21 per 100 square miles)
- #926 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#29. Leon County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.25 per 100 square miles)
- #889 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
Canva
#28. Volusia County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #871 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#27. Santa Rosa County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #869 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#26. Indian River County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.39 per 100 square miles)
- #799 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#25. Jackson County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.40 per 100 square miles)
- #790 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Terry Kelly // Shutterstock
#24. Washington County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.40 per 100 square miles)
- #785 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#23. Wakulla County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.47 per 100 square miles)
- #739 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
Canva
#22. Miami-Dade County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (2.48 per 100 square miles)
- #737 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
Canva
#21. Walton County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (2.60 per 100 square miles)
- #681 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 6
Canva
#20. Okaloosa County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (2.69 per 100 square miles)
- #635 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#19. Monroe County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (2.75 per 100 square miles)
- #613 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#18. Hillsborough County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (2.84 per 100 square miles)
- #570 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#17. Flagler County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.88 per 100 square miles)
- #555 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Victoria1988 // Shutterstock
#16. Bradford County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (3.06 per 100 square miles)
- #475 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#15. Duval County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.15 per 100 square miles)
- #442 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Creative Couple Media // Shutterstock
#14. Sarasota County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.24 per 100 square miles)
- #401 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#13. St. Lucie County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.32 per 100 square miles)
- #373 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#12. Pasco County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.48 per 100 square miles)
- #332 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#11. Manatee County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.50 per 100 square miles)
- #324 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#10. Escambia County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (3.50 per 100 square miles)
- #323 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#9. Franklin County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.55 per 100 square miles)
- #313 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#8. Bay County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (3.82 per 100 square miles)
- #262 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2
Canva
#7. Broward County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 47 (3.88 per 100 square miles)
- #251 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3
Canva
#6. Palm Beach County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 78 (3.96 per 100 square miles)
- #240 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3
Zhukova Valentyna // Shutterstock
#5. Brevard County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 42 (4.14 per 100 square miles)
- #207 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
Canva
#4. Charlotte County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (4.41 per 100 square miles)
- #169 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1
Nadezda Murmakova // Shutterstock
#3. Lee County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (5.10 per 100 square miles)
- #101 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#2. St. Johns County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (5.33 per 100 square miles)
- #86 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
Canva
#1. Pinellas County
- Tornadoes since 2000: 33 (12.05 per 100 square miles)
- #2 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below: