Tornado Fatalities in Context: 1995–2018

Abstract

Tornadoes account for the third highest average annual weather-related fatality rate in the United States. Here, tornado fatalities are examined as rates within the context of multiple physical and social factors using tornado-level information including population and housing units within killer tornado damage paths. Fatality rates are further evaluated across annual, monthly, and diurnal categories as well as between fatality locations and across age and sex categories. The geographic distribution of fatalities is then given by season, time of day, and residential structures. Results can be used by emergency managers, meteorologists, and planners to better prepare for high-impact (i.e., fatality) events and used by researchers as quantitative evidence to further investigate the relationship between tornadoes, climate, and society.