Titan Archive
YearFinal SPC data

1997

1,148 tornadoes in 1997, with 7,667 hail and 9,012 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width
68
Tornado deaths
F0 743 F1 281 F2 85 F3 29 F4 9 F5 1
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

Jan: 50Feb: 23Mar: 102Apr: 114May: 225Jun: 193Jul: 188Aug: 84Sep: 32Oct: 100Nov: 25Dec: 12
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Hail reports by month

Jan: 263Feb: 26Mar: 534Apr: 831May: 1,567Jun: 1,725Jul: 1,205Aug: 771Sep: 304Oct: 238Nov: 180Dec: 23
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Wind reports by month

Jan: 245Feb: 361Mar: 374Apr: 860May: 1,103Jun: 1,896Jul: 2,233Aug: 1,213Sep: 318Oct: 280Nov: 74Dec: 55
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

1997 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average
19971991 to 2020 average1992 to 2002 (other years)
03757501,1251,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1992: 1,297 tornadoes1993: 1,172 tornadoes1994: 1,082 tornadoes1995: 1,237 tornadoes1996: 1,173 tornadoes1998: 1,424 tornadoes1999: 1,339 tornadoes2000: 1,075 tornadoes2001: 1,215 tornadoes2002: 934 tornadoes19971,1481991-20 avg1,231

1,148 tornadoes in 1997, 7% 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

#DayTornadoesF/EF4+DeathsStrongestStates
105/25/975300F2AL, CO, IL, KS, MD, MO, OK, TX, VA
203/01/9747726F4AR, KY, TN, TX
304/30/973000F1IA, IL, IN, MO, OR
405/26/972900F3AR, MO, OK, TN, TX
503/28/972802F3GA, IN, KY, TN
604/23/972400F0AZ, FL
706/16/972400F1AL, FL, KY, OK, TX
807/02/972402F3FL, IN, MI, MT, OH
910/23/972300F2LA, MS, TX
1005/27/9722228F5CO, MS, TX
1106/11/972200F3CO, FL, IL, KS, NE, SD, TX, WY
1201/24/972011F4AL, KY, LA, MS, TN
1304/10/972001F2TX
1410/26/972000F2AL, FL, GA, NC
1507/01/971900F3MN, WI

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together
#DayAll reportsTornadoesHailWindLargest hailTop gust
108/16/9735112622773.5 in75 kt (86 mph)
206/16/97350241531735.5 in76 kt (87 mph)
306/13/9732413902212.75 in175 kt (201 mph)
404/22/9732071381754 in144 kt (166 mph)
506/20/9730851002033.5 in87 kt (100 mph)
607/16/97285111081664.5 in85 kt (98 mph)
705/26/97278291351143.5 in74 kt (85 mph)
805/18/97260141301164.5 in105 kt (121 mph)
903/28/9725128148754 in76 kt (87 mph)
1007/28/972434352041.75 in75 kt (86 mph)
1107/18/972419371952 in80 kt (92 mph)
1201/24/9723720158592.75 in60 kt (69 mph)
1305/02/972258123943 in80 kt (92 mph)
1405/01/972241166572.75 in61 kt (70 mph)
1507/14/972201511681.75 in65 kt (75 mph)

Largest hail

top 15
#DateSizePlaceNote
106/16/975.5 inMcIntosh County, OK
203/14/974.5 inHidalgo County, TX
304/22/974.5 inWood County, TX
404/22/974.5 inCass County, TX
505/13/974.5 inCowley County, KS
605/17/974.5 inMiami County, KS
705/18/974.5 inDelaware County, IA
805/27/974.5 inFalls County, TX
905/27/974.5 inBell County, TX
1006/09/974.5 inWheeler County, TX
1106/11/974.5 inWheeler County, TX
1206/15/974.5 inBrewster County, TX
1306/16/974.5 inMcIntosh County, OK
1407/13/974.5 inMinnehaha County, SD
1507/16/974.5 inLincoln County, WI

Strongest wind gusts

top 15, measured first on ties
#DateGustmphTypePlaceNote
106/13/97175 kt201Not givenMadison County, KY
204/22/97144 kt166Not givenBossier Parish, LA
309/15/97124 kt143Not givenSlope County, ND
405/27/97106 kt122Not givenBexar County, TX
505/18/97105 kt121Not givenCounty 009, WV
607/23/97103 kt119Not givenWard County, ND
704/22/97100 kt115Not givenCaddo Parish, LA
805/27/97100 kt115Not givenOuachita Parish, LA
906/13/97100 kt115Not givenTitus County, TX
1007/13/97100 kt115Not givenDunn County, ND
1107/17/97100 kt115Not givenValley County, MT
1208/31/97100 kt115Not givenBent County, CO
1310/05/97100 kt115Not givenDelta County, MI
1410/05/97100 kt115Not givenSchoolcraft County, MI
1501/04/9795 kt109Not givenHouston County, TN

F4/EF4 and stronger

10
DateRatingTornadoStateLengthWidthDeathsInjuries
01/24/97F4Murfreesboro, TennesseeTN6.5 mi300 yd018
03/01/97F4Prescott to Arkadelphia, ArkansasAR27.0 mi1,053 yd6100
03/01/97F4Arkadelphia to Traskwood, ArkansasAR24.0 mi527 yd011
03/01/97F4Bauxite to Shannon Hills, ArkansasAR14.0 mi1,407 yd1040
03/01/97F4Shannon Hills to North Little Rock, ArkansasAR11.0 mi1,407 yd5180
03/01/97F4Manila to Blytheville, ArkansasAR20.0 mi200 yd00
03/01/97F4Blytheville to Newbern, TennesseeTN15.0 mi200 yd115
03/01/97F4Newbern to Rutherford, TennesseeTN10.0 mi200 yd00
05/27/97F5Jarrell, TexasTX5.1 mi650 yd2712
05/27/97F4Point Venture to The Hills, TexasTX5.6 mi440 yd15

Deadliest tornadoes

DateRatingTornadoStateLengthWidthDeathsInjuries
05/27/97F5Jarrell, TexasTX5.1 mi650 yd2712
03/01/97F4Bauxite to Shannon Hills, ArkansasAR14.0 mi1,407 yd1040
03/01/97F4Prescott to Arkadelphia, ArkansasAR27.0 mi1,053 yd6100
03/01/97F4Shannon Hills to North Little Rock, ArkansasAR11.0 mi1,407 yd5180
03/01/97F2Bradford, ArkansasAR8.5 mi1,053 yd230
01/04/97F1Albany, KentuckyKY0.3 mi100 yd12
01/24/97F2Tuscaloosa, AlabamaAL10.0 mi200 yd110
02/20/97F1Booneville, ArkansasAR5.0 mi100 yd13
03/01/97F1Bruce to Sherman, MississippiMS15.0 mi400 yd14
03/01/97F2Diaz to Swifton, ArkansasAR23.0 mi880 yd130
03/01/97F3Bono to Marmaduke, ArkansasAR15.0 mi200 yd15
03/01/97F4Blytheville to Newbern, TennesseeTN15.0 mi200 yd115
03/28/97F3Munfordville to Upton, KentuckyKY9.0 mi1,200 yd114
03/28/97F2Columbia to Liberty, KentuckyKY10.0 mi200 yd16
04/10/97F1Crosbyton, TexasTX0.2 mi50 yd11
  • 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.
Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26