Significant Tornadoes 1974-2022 chronicles every "significant" tornado (F2 or EF2 and above) that has struck in the United States during those years. It lists the state where each tornado has hit, date, time, death and injury total, path length, and the F/EF scale rating. This is followed by a description of the event. We have gleaned information from NWS surveys, hundreds of journal papers, tv stations, online blogs and newspaper sites. The total descriptions add up to 6599 tornadoes, 702 pages, and 654 figures.

The "tornado outbreaks" section is small but very important. For the first time it defines an outbreak in a unique way. With its OIS (Outbreak Intensity Score) we will make it clear that the exact number of deaths has little meteorological importance. Surely we understand the tragic circumstances involved, no matter the number of people killed or injured. We will list those totals, but not use them in any calculation.

To understand how outbreaks are involved with climate change, the intensity estimate and season of the year are meteorologically the most important.