Tornado Alley
Click on the map to view a full size version!
Spring is the time for birds and flowers ... and tornadoes! The season’s warming trend causes unstable temperature contrasts that spawn big storms. In the United States, May has historically had the most tornadoes: 176 on average between 1950 and 1999. But April is the deadliest month: an average of 26 tornado-related deaths over the same time period. The land in the central United States is the best breeding ground for the storms which produce tornadoes. The land in the Great Plains is very flat, which allows cold dry polar air from Canada to meet warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's along the front between the two air masses that most tornadoes form. Most tornadoes in the United States form in an area called "Tornado Alley". This area includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Storm chasers travel to this area because of the high numbers of tornadoes.
The highest frequency of tornadoes, commonly (but incorrectly) called "tornado season", shifts geographically depending on the season. During the winter months the South Eastern US receives the highest number of tornadoes. During the months of March - May the threat shifts into the central United States (Tornado Alley). Then during the summer months the highest concentration of tornadoes tends to shift farther north as the weather warms across the U.S.
Tornadoes have occurred in all 50 U.S. states and are, in fact, more common in Florida than they are in Oklahoma.Florida tornadoes are generally weak with winds around 100 mph.Tornadoes that have hit Oklahoma, on the other hand, are some of the most violent on record. A tornado that struck Oklahoma City and its southern suburbs in 1999 had winds of nearly 320 just above the ground.These tornadoes are formed by thunderstorms. Some of the tornadoes in the southern states such as Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia are caused by hurricanes.
Click on the video below to view a tornado passing through Tornado Alley!
