RFDMap
A high-quality interactive archive of historic tornado tracks and severe weather paths. Built for researchers, meteorologists, and emergency management professionals who need richer geospatial data than existing tools provide.
Mission
RFDMap exists to make authoritative tornado and severe weather data freely accessible through a professional, research-grade interface. Existing public tools often present data in formats that are difficult to work with — small maps, no path geometry, limited filtering, and no access to the underlying records.
Every data source used in RFDMap is publicly available and in the public domain. No data is locked behind a paywall or proprietary API.
Team
Russell Land
Founder & Developer
I am a weather enthusiast who has been interested in severe weather since I was a kid. I enjoy the similar website Tornado Archive, but there were many thing about it that I wanted to change, so I did. I am a software developer for the US Air Force, working the AI field, and enjoy web development in my free time.
Data Sources
All primary datasets are sourced from US federal agencies and are in the public domain. International data uses open-license sources with attribution.
| Dataset | Source | Coverage | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Tornado Tracks Path geometry, EF/F ratings, dimensions, impact data | NOAA Storm Prediction Center (SPC) — SVRGIS (opens in new tab) | 1950 – present | Public Domain |
| Storm Event Narratives & Damage Event descriptions, episode context, property and crop damage | NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (opens in new tab) | 1996 – present | Public Domain |
| Damage Survey Polygons NWS ground-truth EF-zone polygons from post-event surveys | NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT) (opens in new tab) | ~2010 – present (~40% coverage) | Public Domain |
| Post-Event Aerial Imagery High-resolution (~35 cm/px) aerial photography after major events | NOAA National Geodetic Survey (NGS) (opens in new tab) | Major federally declared events | Public Domain |
| Satellite Imagery Pre/post-event multispectral imagery for EF2+ events | ESA Sentinel-2 via Copernicus Data Space (opens in new tab) | 2015 – present (10 m resolution) | Copernicus Open Data |
| European Tornado Records Tornado and severe convective storm reports across Europe | European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) (opens in new tab) | Historical – present | CC Attribution Required |
Data Quality Notes
- SPC tornado tracks use straight lines between the recorded start and end points — they are not actual ground-surveyed paths. True path curvature is only available where NWS DAT polygon surveys exist.
- The EF scale was adopted in the United States in February 2007. Events before this date carry F-scale ratings. RFDMap stores both and distinguishes them in the record display.
- Damage estimates in the NCEI dataset are recorded in the dollar value of the year the event occurred and are not adjusted for inflation.
- SPC data typically has a finalization lag of approximately one year as events are reviewed and quality-controlled.