Geographical place in the United States where tornadoes commonly occur
A diagram of tornado alley based on 1 tornado or more per decade. Rough location (red), and its contributing weather systems
Tornado Alley (also known as Tornado Valley ) is a loosely defined location of the central United States and Canada where tornadoes are most frequent.[ 1] The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to study severe weather in areas of Texas , Louisiana , Oklahoma , Kansas , South Dakota , Iowa , Nebraska , and New York. Tornado climatologists distinguish peaks in activity in certain areas[ 2] and storm chasers have long recognized the Great Plains tornado belt .[ 3]
As a colloquial term there are no definitively set boundaries of Tornado Alley, but the area common to most definitions extends from Texas, through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota , Wisconsin , Illinois , Indiana , Missouri , Arkansas , North Dakota , Montana , Ohio , and eastern portions of Colorado , New Mexico and Wyoming .[ 4] [ 5] Research suggests that the main alley may be shifting eastward away from the Great Plains,[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] and that tornadoes are also becoming more frequent in the northern and eastern parts of Tornado Alley where it reaches the Canadian Prairies , Ohio , Michigan , and Southern Ontario .[ 9] [ 10]
^ Glickman, Todd S. (2000). "Tornado Alley" . Glossary of Meteorology (2nd ed.). Boston: American Meteorological Society. ISBN 978-1-878220-34-9 . Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
^ Cite error: The named reference smaller alleys
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Prentice, Robert A. (Nov–Dec 1992). "When to Chase". Stormtrack . 16 (1): 8–11.
^ https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/stalley.gif [bare URL image file ]
^ "Tornado Alley" (PDF) . Smithsonian Institution. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013 .
^ Levenson, Michael; Patel, Vimal; Grullón Paz, Isabella; Ives, Mike; Choi-Schagrin, Winston (December 11, 2021). "Tornado outbreaks seem to be occurring in greater 'clusters,' but the role that climate change plays in them is unclear" . The New York Times . Retrieved December 11, 2021 .
^ Gensini, Vittorio A.; Brooks, Harold E. (17 October 2018). "Spatial trends in United States tornado frequency" . npj Climate and Atmospheric Science . 1 (1): 38. Bibcode :2018npCAS...1...38G . doi :10.1038/s41612-018-0048-2 . S2CID 134206119 .
^ Coleman, Timothy A.; Thompson, Richard L.; Forbes, Gregory S. (29 April 2024). "A Comprehensive Analysis of the Spatial and Seasonal Shifts in Tornado Activity in the United States". Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology . 63 (6): 717–730. doi :10.1175/JAMC-D-23-0143.1 .
^ Cite error: The named reference usask
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Stein, Emma; Marini, Miriam; Moran, Darcie (27 May 2022). "Michiganders should take tornadoes more seriously after Gaylord, experts say" . Detroit Free Press .