Why Does the U.S. Have More Tornadoes Than Anywhere Else on Earth?

Discussion of the geography of tornadoes and why the U.S. is the country that sees the largest number of tornadoes in the world. I go over the physical factors that are different in the U.S. compared to other regions and what makes the central parts of North America unique.

Link to Muir Way maps for 12% off. Use coupon code GeographyKing

Album displayed:
Kansas - "Point of Know Return" (1977)

0:00 Intro
1:07 Tornado Basics
1:59 Tornadoes in the U.S.
4:47 Asia
5:49 Europe
6:33 South America
7:16 Africa
7:50 Australia
8:11 North America
8:41 Outro

[jermsmason]

the US gets 4 times more tornadoes each year than the rest of the world combined. The US averages 1, 200 tornadoes a year, Canada is in second place at 100 a year.

[Y.d.o.b.o.n]

Theres a reason they call you the king. 10/10 video, as always.

[oof]

0:51 "I promise you I wouldn't endorse something if they weren't really really good."

If only all YouTubers could be like this guy.

[johnnielson]

Thanks Kyle, that is one your best segments ever.

Southern Idaho is not tornado country, but my late father vividly remembered a tornado there in the 1930s. He recalled a small piece of lumber impaled a horse in the middle of the neck and that straw and twigs were driven into and sticking out of the sides of a telephone pole. Losing a well-trained working horse was a big deal for a ranch family.

[KHike]

This guy is so informative, I love listening to him while I work

[chrisd]

i, for one, would love more videos like this .. maybe the geographic reasons behind snow belts or how geography affects lake effect/sea effect snow. great video as always.

[NDHFilms]

The Kansas LP in the background is fitting for this episode’s topic.

[gunsandhoses]

My favorite force of nature! I did not expect to get a video mixing my two favorites, weather and geography!
Thanks Kyle!

[benmcreynolds]

Wow that tornado tracks map is fascinating! Great video. It's actually insane how much active weather disasters we have here in the US. It seems so unique compared to any other country

[larryroyovitz]

I live 10 miles from the only F5 tornado to happen in Canada. 2007's Elie Manitoba F5. We don't get as many tornados in Canada, but we are the country that gets the second most in the world. If you're interested in the Canadian F5, there's some great youtube videos of it. It was a very photogenic tornado. Even though it completely destroyed several houses, no on was killed. A lot of that is owed to the fact that basements are very common in Canada.

[peterroberts]

Shout out to Ryan Hall, y'all for all of his excellent coverage. Severe weather season has been nuts this year

[The_Cptn_Louk]

Hallo my friend from Greece. Iv learned so much throughout your videos over the last years for the United States. Valuable information for real travelers

[birbluv]

Thank you, Kyle! This video has taught me a lot and kept my mind temporarily off the pain from my stomach surgery yesterday. No other video has helped me so much. Maybe it’s your voice, the always-interesting maps, and your matter-of-fact explanations, with no drama.

[diaphanouswaffle]

Thank you, super interesting ! I love maps, geography, topography, meteorology, etc.-how these things intersect-so this video was my jam. More like this, please :)

[bm]

The geography that allows for tornadoes is also the blessing that allows the US to be a rich country. You can load up grain or coal in Montana or Pittsburg and float up to 2500 miles to New Orleans. This was super important before rail and highways.

[MrTryxxter]

I'm in the UK where even small tornadoes are very rare and have often wondered why the US seemed to have so many. But never thought of looking deeper into it. So thank you for the 9 minute explanation. I'll be using this info to impress family and friends now 😀

[elizabethorsillo]

How fitting that you release a video about tornadoes when today is a big anniversary day for tornado activity. It was May 31, 1985 (I was 14 at the time) when I major tornado outbreak struck western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, southern New York and southern Ontario…a part of the country that usually doesn’t get that kind of weather. One of the tornadoes was an F5, and the only one to ever hit Pennsylvania (it was just to the west of where I live). Exactly ten years later, my area was hit by a “microburst.” Most everyone believed it was a tornado, but the National Weather Service declared it a microburst, so the federal government didn’t have to give any aid to the storm victims.

[owen]

Im from Australia, i was obsessed with this exact topic a few years back. Great topic to discuss as its a common area of curiosity

[SandrA-hrzk]

Pecos Hank went storm chasing in South America earlier this year. Very cool video if you want to see what happens south of the equator.

[margefoyle]

I am so happy when you have a video where actually teach some Geography in a basic sense.
As a geography major, I get very frustrated when people think Geography = toponymy. So I appreciate people accurately indicating a little more about what Geography entails. (I know you do this on all your travel and comparison and states videos, but I'm not sure people really understand that.)