PRESS RELEASE
As part of an ongoing company-funded research study of tornadic risk assessment, by means of the Site Assessment of Tornado Threat (SATT) software, VorTek has just completed its annual compilation of the most tornado-prone cities in the United States with populations in excess of 100,000 (based on 2000 US Census data). Oklahoma City, Oklahoma remains the most tornado-prone city in the United States followed by Huntsville, Alabama. The top twenty cities, with rankings based on the latest National Weather Service data for tornadic activity from 1950 through 2006, are as follows:
|
RANK |
CITY |
ACF (%) |
ANNUAL DISTURBED LAND AREA (ACRES) |
|
1 |
Oklahoma City, OK |
0.1309 |
1053 |
|
2 |
Huntsville, AL |
0.1190 |
957 |
|
3 |
Topeka, KS |
0.1155 |
929 |
|
4 |
Little Rock, AR |
0.1112 |
895 |
|
5 |
Shreveport, LA |
0.0803 |
646 |
|
6 |
Tulsa, OK |
0.0783 |
630 |
|
7 |
Pasadena, TX |
0.0757 |
609 |
|
8 |
Jackson, MS |
0.0709 |
570 |
|
9 |
Birmingham, AL |
0.0707 |
569 |
|
10 |
Cedar Rapids, IA |
0.0698 |
562 |
|
11 |
Nashville, TN |
0.0685 |
551 |
|
12 |
Minneapolis, MN |
0.0668 |
537 |
|
13 |
Cincinnati, OH |
0.0660 |
530 |
|
14 |
South Bend, IN |
0.0659 |
530 |
|
15 |
Wichita, KS |
0.0641 |
515 |
|
16 |
Lincoln, NE |
0.0638 |
513 |
|
17 |
Houston, TX |
0.0619 |
498 |
|
18 |
St. Paul, MN |
0.0601 |
483 |
|
19 |
Baton Rouge, LA |
0.0584 |
470 |
|
20 |
Des Moines, IA |
0.0527 |
424 |
The Annual Coverage Fraction (ACF) represents the average fraction of land area within a 20-mile radius of the city annually disturbed by tornadoes from 1950 through 2006. The annual disturbed land area can be obtained by multiplying the ACF by the area within the 20-mile circle.