April has been a prolific month for tornadoes across the U.S.

ROANOKE, Va. – It’s severe weather season in the United States, with April being especially active in regards to tornadoes across the country. So far this month, 236 tornadoes have been confirmed by various National Weather Service offices.

Four of the twisters reached EF-4 status, including one in southern Mississippi that killed 8 people on Easter Sunday. That one had winds of 190 mph and was deemed the 3rd-widest on record at 2.25 miles wide.

168 of the 236 tornadoes reached at least EF-1 status. Thankfully, no EF-5 tornadoes have been confirmed so far. 40 deaths have been attributed to tornadic activity across the U.S.

For perspective, the United States sees 155 tornadoes on average during the month of April. States that typically see a lot of tornadic activity include Texas, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Although there have been tornado warnings in our viewing area during April, no confirmed tornadoes have been reported here or across the state of Virginia. During the averaging period (1991-2010), two tornadoes have typically occurred in the Commonwealth during April.