Tornado climatology
Tornadoes have been recorded on all continents except Antarctica and are most common in the middle latitudes where conditions are often favorable for convective storm development. The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, as well as the strongest and most violent tornadoes. A large portion of these tornadoes form in an area of the central United States popularly known as Tornado Alley. Other areas of the world that have frequent tornadoes include significant portions of Europe, South Africa, Philippines, Bangladesh, parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and southern and southeast Brazil, northern Mexico, New Zealand, and far eastern Asia.
Tornado outbreak of May 26–31, 2013
By far the most significant tornado of the outbreak was an extremely large EF3 that struck areas near the town of El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31. With a maximum width of , it was the largest tornado on record. The second highest wind speeds recorded on Earth, around , were also observed in this tornado. The twister was responsible for eight deaths, including famous storm chaser Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and Carl Young as a result of being caught off-guard by the tornado's unprecedented width. In addition, the tornado caused an unknown amount of injuries.