Tornado Frequency and Distribution

How information is presented is incredibly important to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. Nowadays more than ever. This infographic demonstrates how different ways of presenting the information can change the story.

The initial chart shows what appears to be an increase in tornadic activity per year in the US. Reading the caption to the left puts things in perspective by reminding people that the US population has more than doubled during the time period studied thus leading to increased reporting.

The first map makes it appear that Texas is not the state you want to live in if you want to avoid tornadoes since it sees more than double the number of tornadoes than even the second highest ranking state of Kansas. While this is true, Texas also happens to be just over 3.26 times larger than Kansas and thus there is more area for a tornado to potentially touch down within its borders.

A more accurate representation of the tornadic distribution across the US is to break down the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Suddenly, Texas doesn’t look so bad anymore but Florida, Oklahoma, and Kansas do. While those three states see less tornadoes per year than Texas, what they do see is concentrated over a much smaller area.

The final chart looks at the distribution of tornado magnitude but is presented in a unique way by styling the chart in the shape of a tornado.