Tornado climatology of the contiguous United States

Technical Report · Thu May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5713396

Ramsdell, J V; Andrews, G L

The characteristics of tornadoes that were reported in the contiguous United States for the period from January 1, 1954, through December 31, 1983, have been computed from data in the National Severe Storms Forecast Center tornado data base. The characteristics summarized in this report include frequency and locations of tornadoes, and their lengths, widths, and areas. Tornado strike and intensity probabilities have been estimated on a regional basis, and these estimates have been used to compute wind speeds with 10/sup -5/, 10/sup -6/, and 10/sup -7/ yr/sup -1/ probabilities of occurrence. The 10/sup -7/ yr/sup -1/ wind speeds range from below 200 mph in the western United States to about 330 mph in the vicinity of Kansas and Nebraska. The appendices contain extensive tabulations of tornado statistics. Variations of the characteristics within the contiguous United States are presented in the summaries. Separate tabulations are provided for the contiguous United States, for each state, for each 5/sup 0/ and 1/sup 0/ latitude and longitude box, and for the eastern and western United States.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5713396
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-4461; PNL-5697; ON: TI86005189
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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