Tornado Tracker

The banner at the top of the tracker shows every active tornado warning and tornado watch in the United States, live from the National Weather Service, and refreshes every minute. Warnings are drawn as red polygons on the map; a tornado emergency, the most serious level, is purple. Search your city or use your location to check whether you are inside a warning. LK Forge does not issue warnings: always follow the NWS, NOAA Weather Radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts and local officials.

A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form in and near the watch area, usually over several hours and many counties: stay alert and review your shelter plan. A tornado warning means a tornado has been seen or indicated by radar in a specific storm-based area: take shelter immediately. A tornado emergency is a rare warning for a confirmed, large, destructive tornado threatening a populated area.

The Storm Prediction Center's tornado outlook gives the probability of a tornado occurring within 25 miles of any point in the shaded area during the outlook period. Values range from 2% to 60% or more; 10% and above signals a significant tornado day. A black hatched area means there is a 10% or greater chance of strong tornadoes rated EF2 or higher. Switch between Day 1 (today) and Day 2 (tomorrow) above the map.

The reports are the Storm Prediction Center's preliminary local storm reports, gathered from trained spotters, emergency managers, law enforcement and the public. They appear within minutes of a tornado but are unconfirmed: some turn out to be duplicates or non-tornadic wind damage, and official EF ratings usually come days later from National Weather Service damage surveys. Each SPC report day runs from 12:00 UTC (7 am CDT) to 12:00 UTC the next day.

The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes a year, more than any other country. Tornado Alley in the southern and central Plains peaks in May and June, while the Southeast, sometimes called Dixie Alley, sees many tornadoes in late winter and spring and more often at night. Tornadoes can happen in any month and in every state.

No — this tracker only covers the United States. The warnings come from the US National Weather Service and the outlooks and reports from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, which cover the contiguous United States. The radar layer is global, but for tornado warnings elsewhere follow your national weather service and see the global weather radar.