Global InformationTornado Alley information
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Tornado Alley 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 and Nebraska. 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 and Wyoming.[4] Research suggests that the main alley may be shifting eastward away from the Great Plains,[5][6] 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.[7][8]
- ^ Glickman, Todd S. (2000). Glossary of Meteorology (2nd ed.). Boston: American Meteorological Society. ISBN 978-1878220349. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
smaller alleyswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Prentice, Robert A. (Nov–Dec 1992). "When to Chase". Stormtrack. 16 (1): 8–11.
- ^ "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. (October 17, 2018). "Spatial trends in United States tornado frequency". npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 1 (38). Springer Nature. doi:10.1038/s41612-018-0048-2. S2CID 134206119.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
usaskwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Michiganders should take tornadoes more seriously after Gaylord, experts say".