This satellite image, taken on April 28, 2014, at 13:01 UTC, shows that the storm system that generated the recent severe weather has moved to the east. PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA/NOAA GOES PROJECT When Americans imagine tornadoes, many tend to think of them churning through plains states like Kansas or Oklahoma. But destructive twisters strike hard in a very broad area of the eastern United States. The tornadoes that have left at least 31 dead over the past two days—wreaking havoc in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and elsewhere—are not extraordinary in terms of their strength, location, or numbers.