The National Weather Service-Seattle tweeted that it was the strongest tornado to hit Washington state since 1986. As news of this tornado spread, I suspected people might say that Washington state never gets tornadoes. These facts suggest that tornadoes are "rare" in Washington, but that they do happen. According to the NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory website,About 1,200 tornadoes hit the U.S. yearly. According to a 2016 blog by Washington State University, Texas experiences approximately 146 twisters each year followed by Kansas (92) and Oklahoma (65).

Source: Forbes December 20, 2018 13:46 UTC