We were interested in learning a bit about the tornado climatology as reported in the SELS Final Storm Log. To establish the climatology, we chose to search for tornado reports that wereOver 1600 SAO stations/identifiers were considered. Instead of counting total tornadoes, only tornado days are considered. This eliminates problems with multiple counts of the same tornado. If a city has more than one SAO site that made the top ten list, only one entry is made for that city and the identifier associated with the highest count is listed.
- rated F0-F5 and were within 25 km of SAO sites
- rated F2-F5 and were within 50 km of SAO sites
For the period of 1950-1994 and for different ranges of F-ratings, the top ten locations and number of tornado days in the SELS Final Storm Log are:
| SAO site 25-km radius |
Tornado days 1950-94 F0-F5 |
SAO site 50-km radius |
Tornado days 1950-94 F2-F5 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg, FL (PIE) | 105 | Oklahoma City, OK (OKC) | 46 | |
| Tampa, FL (MCF) | 88 | Fort Worth, TX (FWH) | 41 | |
| Houston, TX (EFD) | 75 | Dallas, TX (NBE) | 39 | |
| Bartow, FL (BOW) | 71 | Indianapolis, IN (IND) | 37 | |
| Denver, CO (BKF) | 70 | Pine Belt, MS (PIB) | 35 | |
| Winter Haven, FL (GIF) | 68 | N. Little Rock, AR (LZK) | 34 | |
| Oklahoma City, OK (OKC) | 67 | Topeka, KS (FOE) | 34 | |
| Pensacola, FL (PNS) | 65 | Ann Arbor, MI (ARB) | 34 | |
| Beaumont, TX (BPT) | 62 | Newton, KS (EWK) | 32 | |
| Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FXE) | 58 | Waco, TX (ACT) | 32 |