Storm Claims Overblown: Data Show No Significant Increase in Tornado or Hurricane Severity

As the U.S. prepares for another storm season, claims linking climate change to more frequent or severe tornadoes and hurricanes lack empirical support. Experts from The Heritage Foundation, including Kevin Dayaratna, Joe D’Aleo, and Roy W. Spencer, highlight that long-term data show no significant trends of increasing storm intensity or frequency.
Meteorological records reveal that hurricane landfall intensity and tornado severity remain within historical norms, with some trends even declining since 1970. The rise in reported weak tornadoes (EF0-EF1) from 1950 to 1990 is attributed to improved detection technology, such as Doppler radar, rather than an actual increase in storm activity.
The perception of worsening disasters is further complicated by economic factors. While the dollar value of damage has risen, this reflects increased property values, inflation, and population growth—not greater storm intensity. Normalizing disaster costs for these factors shows a decreasing trend for tornadoes and stable trends for hurricanes, undermining claims of climate-driven storm escalation.
Despite this, media narratives often conflate economic impacts with meteorological severity, perpetuating fear to advance political agendas. As the debate over climate policy intensifies, it is critical to rely on factual data rather than alarmist rhetoric to inform decision-making.

Published: 6/29/2025