YearFinal SPC data

1951

260 tornadoes in 1951, with 0 hail and 0 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width

Tornado deaths

Hail reports

Wind reports

F0 49 F1 100 F2 83 F3 23 F4 5

Hail and wind show significant reports only (2 in or larger, 65 kt or stronger). Click a legend item to show or hide it, or "only" to see just that. Select anything on the map to open its record.

Tornadoes by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Storm days

Every day with a tornado, hail or wind report. Warmer colors mean more tornadoes; gray days had hail or wind only; a white ring marks a day with an F4/EF4 or stronger tornado.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Running count

1951 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average

19511991 to 2020 average1950 to 1956 (other years)

260 tornadoes in 1951, 79% below the 1991 to 2020 average of 1,231.

Counts by storm day (12Z to 12Z). Reporting changed a great deal over the decades, so years far from 1991 to 2020 are not a like-for-like comparison with the average.

Busiest tornado days

#	Day	Tornadoes	F/EF4+	Deaths	Strongest	States
1	06/06/51	17	0	0	F3	CO, KS, OK, TX
2	05/30/51	10	0	0	F2	KS, NE
3	06/08/51	8	0	0	F3	AL, KS, MO, MS, OK
4	05/20/51	7	0	0	F3	CO, KS
5	06/19/51	5	1	1	F4	IA, KS, MN, NE, WI
6	02/20/51	5	0	1	F3	AL, AR, KY, MS
7	04/26/51	5	0	0	F1	KS, OK
8	04/30/51	5	0	0	F3	KS, NE, OK
9	05/09/51	5	0	0	F2	KS, OK, TX
10	05/14/51	5	0	0	F3	KS, OK
11	06/27/51	5	0	1	F3	IL, OH, PA, VA
12	11/13/51	5	0	1	F3	IL, IN, KY, MO
13	12/18/51	5	0	0	F2	FL, MA
14	05/18/51	4	1	2	F4	OK, TX
15	06/26/51	4	1	5	F4	KS, MI, WV

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together

#	Day	All reports	Tornadoes	Largest hail	Top gust
1	06/06/51	17	17	–	–
2	05/30/51	10	10	–	–
3	06/08/51	8	8	–	–
4	05/20/51	7	7	–	–
5	02/20/51	5	5	–	–
6	04/26/51	5	5	–	–
7	04/30/51	5	5	–	–
8	05/09/51	5	5	–	–
9	05/14/51	5	5	–	–
10	06/19/51	5	5	–	–
11	06/27/51	5	5	–	–
12	11/13/51	5	5	–	–
13	12/18/51	5	5	–	–
14	04/21/51	4	4	–	–
15	05/18/51	4	4	–	–

F4/EF4 and stronger

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
05/18/51	F4	Olney, Texas	TX	2.0 mi	200 yd	2	100
06/19/51	F4	Hutchinson to Anoka, Minnesota	MN	52.6 mi	330 yd	1	20
06/27/51	F4	WaKeeney, Kansas	KS	0.8 mi	300 yd	5	100
09/26/51	F4	Amherst to New London, Wisconsin	WI	26.4 mi	100 yd	6	3
09/26/51	F4	Rio to Cambria, Wisconsin	WI	9.0 mi	100 yd	1	9

Deadliest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
09/26/51	F4	Amherst to New London, Wisconsin	WI	26.4 mi	100 yd	6	3
06/27/51	F4	WaKeeney, Kansas	KS	0.8 mi	300 yd	5	100
07/20/51	F3	Deephaven to Richfield, Minnesota	MN	11.6 mi	10 yd	5	40
05/26/51	F1	Carrabelle, Florida	FL	0.1 mi	10 yd	3	0
04/21/51	F3	Ellisville to Newton, Mississippi	MS	33.5 mi	10 yd	2	16
05/18/51	F4	Olney, Texas	TX	2.0 mi	200 yd	2	100
02/20/51	F3	Starkville, Mississippi	MS	0.1 mi	10 yd	1	1
05/24/51	F1	Knox City, Texas	TX	0.5 mi	20 yd	1	0
05/25/51	F3	Clay Center, Kansas	KS	4.1 mi	440 yd	1	0
06/19/51	F4	Hutchinson to Anoka, Minnesota	MN	52.6 mi	330 yd	1	20
06/23/51	F2	Hugoton, Kansas	KS	0.1 mi	10 yd	1	5
06/23/51	F1	Rolla, Kansas	KS	0.1 mi	10 yd	1	0
06/27/51	F3	San Jose to McLean, Illinois	IL	18.2 mi	200 yd	1	15
09/26/51	F4	Rio to Cambria, Wisconsin	WI	9.0 mi	100 yd	1	9
09/26/51	F2	Baldwin, Michigan	MI	2.3 mi	440 yd	1	3

Storm days. A day here runs from 12Z to 12Z (6 a.m. CST to 6 a.m. CST the next morning), the way SPC counts storm days, so an overnight tornado counts with the afternoon and evening before it.
Reporting changed over time. Tornado counts rose from the 1990s on as Doppler radar, spotter networks and cameras caught more weak tornadoes. Counts from different decades are not directly comparable, especially for the weakest ratings.
F and EF ratings. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale replaced the Fujita (F) Scale on 02/01/07. Both estimate wind speed from damage, but they use different damage indicators, so each rating is shown with its own scale.
Ratings before the mid 1970s. The F Scale came into use in the early 1970s. Tornadoes from 1950 until then were rated afterward from newspaper accounts, photos and records, which tends to make those ratings less certain.
Early record. SPC notes that tornadoes before 1953 were likely underreported.

Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26