Severe Weather & Tornadoes
Real-time severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service, storm reports from the Storm Prediction Center, and a complete historical tornado database spanning 1950 to 2023.
Live Sources
NWS Alerts (Real-time)
Active tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, watches, and all NWS advisories updated every 60 seconds. Covers the entire United States with georeferenced alert polygons.
- Tornado Warnings & Watches
- Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
- Flash Flood, Hurricane, Blizzard warnings
- All NWS advisories and special statements
SPC Storm Reports (5-minute updates)
Today’s and yesterday’s confirmed storm reports from the Storm Prediction Center — direct reports from storm spotters, law enforcement, and emergency managers:
- Tornado reports — confirmed touchdowns with EF scale
- Hail reports — diameter in inches
- Wind reports — measured gusts in knots
SPC Convective Outlook (Hourly)
Day 1, 2, and 3 convective outlooks from SPC. Risk categories from NONE through HIGH:
| Level | Category | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | NONE | No severe thunderstorms expected |
| 1 | TSTM | General thunderstorm risk |
| 2 | MRGL | Marginal risk of severe storms |
| 3 | SLGT | Slight risk — scattered severe |
| 4 | ENH | Enhanced risk — numerous severe |
| 5 | MDT | Moderate risk — widespread severe |
| 6 | HIGH | High risk — rare, widespread destructive |
Historical Database
SPC Tornado Archive (1950–2023)
A complete record of every confirmed tornado in the United States since 1950:
- 70,022 tornadoes over 73 years
- Track coordinates (start/end lat/lon)
- Enhanced Fujita scale (EF0–EF5)
- Casualties (6,221 fatalities, 98,372 injuries)
- Track dimensions (length in miles, width in yards)
- Damage estimates
Distribution by Decade
| Decade | Tornadoes | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4,793 | Baseline |
| 1960s | 6,811 | +42% |
| 1970s | 8,579 | +79% |
| 1980s | 8,195 | +71% |
| 1990s | 12,137 | +153% |
| 2000s | 12,721 | +165% |
| 2010s | 11,926 | +149% |
| 2020s* | 4,860 | (partial) |
Note: Increase partly reflects improved detection (Doppler radar, storm spotting networks).
EF Scale Distribution
| Scale | Count | Pct | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EF0 | 32,218 | 46% | Light damage (65–85 mph) |
| EF1 | 23,782 | 34% | Moderate damage (86–110 mph) |
| EF2 | 9,767 | 14% | Considerable damage (111–135 mph) |
| EF3 | 2,585 | 3.7% | Severe damage (136–165 mph) |
| EF4 | 587 | 0.8% | Devastating damage (166–200 mph) |
| EF5 | 59 | 0.08% | Incredible destruction (200+ mph) |
Research Applications
This data enables several analyses in our Lab:
- Tornado climatology — spatial/temporal patterns, Tornado Alley shifts
- EF scale trends — are tornadoes getting stronger or are we detecting more?
- Solar-tornado correlation — test whether geomagnetic activity influences severe weather outbreaks
- Compound events — tornado outbreaks coinciding with other environmental anomalies
API Access
GET /api/v1/observations?metric=spc_tornado&limit=50
GET /api/v1/observations?metric=nws_tornado_warning&limit=50
GET /api/v1/observations?metric=spc_day1_convective&limit=10Data Sources
| Source | URL | Auth |
|---|---|---|
| NWS Alerts API | api.weather.gov | User-Agent only |
| SPC Storm Reports | spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/ | None |
| SPC Convective Outlook | spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/ | None |
| SPC Tornado Archive | spc.noaa.gov/wcm/ | None |