One of the more popular questions people ask about tornadoes are, "which city gets hit by the most tornadoes across the United States"?
Oklahoma City is first on the list with 123 tornadoes hitting the city limits. That number dates all of the way back to 1890 when we began keeping records. National Weather Service meteorologists use a 20 mile radius around cities to determine that number.
The second city o the list to be hit from tornadoes is Huntsville, AL. Their number stands at 101 followed by Topeka, KS and Tulsa, OK.
Oklahoma City's geographical location and topography are the perfect combination to be a harm's way. First, the land is flat. What this does is not disrupt the airflow as storms develop. That is why mountainous areas do not see many tornadoes, including Arizona.
Second the city sits right in the middle of the battlefield between warm, moist Gulf air flowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and the cool, dry air coming down from the Rockies. The result is a collision of air masses resulting is rising air and when the wind direction changes with height, there is a good bet there will be tornadoes forming.
The peak season for tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area is late April through early June.
The deadliest tornado to hit Oklahoma City occurred on May 3rd 1999 when an F5 tornado crushed the city killing 36 people with injuring 583 others. 2,500 homes were damaged and 1,800 were destroyed. This was also the 100th tornado to hit Oklahoma City since 1890.
