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 records
The greatest number of tornadoes spawned from a hurricane is 118 from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Caution is advised comparing the raw number of counted tornadoes from recent decades to decades prior to the 1990s since more tornadoes that occur are now recorded than in the past.