Violent tornado outbreaks, like the storms that tore through parts of St. Louis and London, Ky., on May 16, have made 2025 seem like an especially active, deadly and destructive year for tornadoes.
The United States has had more reported tornadoes than normal -- more than 960 as of Thursday, according to the National Weather Service's preliminary count.
That's well above the national average of around 660 tornadoes reported by that point over the past 15 years, and it's similar to 2024 -- the second-most active year over that same period.
I'm an atmospheric scientist who studies natural hazards. What stands out about 2025 so far isn't just the number of tornadoes, but how Tornado Alley has encompassed just about everything east of the Rockies, and how tornado season is becoming all year.
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