Tornado Count In 2025 Raises Eyebrows And Concerns

While we've had several tornadoes across Oklahoma so far this year, there is a claim that 2025 is on par to set a new historical record for twisters across the country.

In a time where we have unlimited knowledge in our pockets, does that claim stand up to a little Google scrutiny?

Here is where 2025 stands so far. 

As of May 23rd - the data is always slow to get out - there had been 973 preliminary reports of tornadoes nationwide. That's year to date, and a heavy mix of reported and radar-detected events that have yet to be confirmed.

It seems like a staggering amount, but it includes everything tornado-related. Waterspouts on the ocean, best estimates by those looking at the radar, and a lot of those little dust-up EF0 and EF1's. I'm sure the number will rise a little higher to account for the last four days as well, but we won't have accurate numbers until they're confirmed and released.

You can't deny it, that's an impressive number. We generally think, and I'm guessing it's everyone, about tornadoes in the sense of what happened near us. Locally. On a state level or within nearby communities.

While Oklahoma hasn't had the most or the largest tornadoes of 2025 so far, there's still more than enough Tornado Season left on the calendar to play catch-up. Still, as impressive as that 973 naders is, it's way off the pace for a record year.

Like I said, we're nearing the end of Tornado Season and we're just over halfway to a new all-time record set back in 2004.

1. 2004 - 1817 confirmed tornadoes.

2. 2024 - 1759 (thanks to those wild December naders)

3. 2011 - 1691 twisters.

2011 was the year of the Super Outbreak. April 2011 holds the monthly record by a long shot. 814 tornadoic events were reported or detected via radar, of which 758 confirmed tornadoes struck the US across the Plains, Midwest, and South, mostly stemming from one huge three-day storm.

Then again, 2025 is already outpacing 2004. By the end of May in 2004, only 694 tornadoes had occurred year to date.

All the same, second place 2024 was standing at 1034 twisters by now.

Does this mean we're on par to break a record?

Nobody knows. It's the weather. If our recent history of what was to be several red alarm days forecasted to produce large, violent, long-track tornadoes serves as an example, the weather simply can't be predicted that accurately.

If science can't detail what's to come in the next few hours, how can it realistically predict what's going to happen over the next seven months?

Odds are it's just another sensational piece of self-marketing on a slow news day so that internet outlets can get their clicks in.

Could it happen? Absolutely... but until Vegas offers favorable odds, don't bet on it.