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U.S. had 300 tornadoes in April, second-most on record

The twisters, some intense and deadly, swarmed the central states and formed as far north as Alaska.

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May 3, 2024 at 11:20 a.m. EDT
A series of massive tornadoes moved through the central U.S. on April 26, destroying communities in Iowa and Nebraska. (Video: The Washington Post)
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Following a chaotic swarm of twisting storms in its final week, April’s tornado count in the United States climbed to at least 300, the second-highest in the month on record.

Although April is often a busy time for tornadoes, the 300-plus twisters this year dwarfed the average of 182 and trails only the unbelievable total of 757 in April 2011 in modern records, according to a preliminary analysis by the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.