America’s dreaded Tornado Alley has moved to the Midwest and Southeast as experts predict more storms in the coming years.
Tornado Alley, a term first used in 1952, describes the areas in the central United States and Canada where tornadoes occur most frequently.
Until recently, these were mainly the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
But a new study A report published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology concludes that major tornado activity has now moved to Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Neighbors walk their dog Auggie past a damaged home after a tornado in Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania
The scientists noted that the natural disaster was concentrated mainly in the central plains between 1951 and 1985
The scientists noted that between 1951 and 1985, tornadoes occurred primarily in the Central Plains, but between 1986 and 2020, more tornadoes were recorded in the Midwest and Southeast.
According to the study, the number of tornado cases in the west of the country fell by 25 percent between the two time periods: from 8,450 to 6,300.
Over the same period, tornado activity in the eastern United States increased by 12 percent, from 9,400 to 10,500.
Earlier this week, terrified passengers on a flight attempting to depart Chicago’s O’Hare airport were stranded and pleaded for help amid severe storms and a tornado warning.
More tornadoes were recorded in the Midwest and Southeast between 1986 and 2020
Earlier this week, terrified passengers on a flight trying to leave Chicago’s O’Hare airport were stranded and pleaded for help amid severe storms and a tornado warning
Video posted to social media from an airplane showed the plane being rocked by the tornado. Lightning could be seen in the night sky as heavy rain fell.
Courtney Mares, a journalist for the Catholic News Agency who shot the video on the plane, said: “Our plane is sitting on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare right now with multiple tornado warnings on everyone’s phones.
The captain announced that air traffic control and ground control have been evacuated.
‘The plane is shaking because the wind is blowing it back and forth.’
The storm was so bad that a stay-at-home order was issued, with passengers in the terminal building being forced to stay away from windows
The National Weather Service spotted as many as 10 tornadoes simultaneously in the Windy City metropolitan area, with one heading toward the international airport.
The storm was so severe that an order was issued to stay indoors. Passengers in the terminal building were ordered away from the windows and others were ordered underground.
But passengers already on outbound flights could do little but watch and wait in fear. According to FlightAware, more than 60 flights were canceled and more than 400 were delayed at O’Hare alone.
In May 2023, officials in Virginia Beach were on the streets clearing debris consisting of large fallen trees and huge chunks of homes, including entire roofs, after a massive tornado destroyed as many as 100 homes.
A tree snapped in half by the Virginia Beach tornado can be seen in the roof of a home
In May 2023, officials in Virginia Beach were out on the streets clearing debris, including large fallen trees and large swaths of homes, including entire roofs, after a massive tornado destroyed about 100 homes.
Electricity workers were also on hand to remove fallen road pylons and repair damaged power lines, restoring power to hundreds of homes.
Virginia Natural Gas also responded to homes with gas leaks, and Dominion Power, the local energy company headquartered in Richmond, sent crews to the scene.
The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city and was so intense that the city declared a state of emergency.
Electricity workers were also on hand to clear roads of fallen poles and maintain damaged power lines to restore power to hundreds of homes.
The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city just before 6 p.m. Sunday and was so intense that the city declared a state of emergency.
The National Weather Service announced that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado, meaning its wind speed was between 136 and 165 mph. The highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale is an EF-5.
Last June, a tornado ripped through a small town in Mississippi, killing one person and injuring about twenty.
The tornado touched down around 11:40 p.m. in Louin, Jasper County, a town of about 275 people. Homes were destroyed and residents were trapped under their homes. Rescue efforts continued through the night.
Last June, a tornado ripped through a small town in Mississippi, killing one person and injuring about twenty.
Aerial footage taken as the sun rose showed the extent of damage to homes and cars in Mississippi
Injured residents were lifted from the rubble onto stretchers and into ambulances and taken to South Central Regional Medical Center in Jackson.
Aerial images taken after the sun had risen showed the extent of the damage to homes and cars.
High winds blew down trees and left as many as 50 percent of residents in central and eastern Mississippi without power.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said at the time that a tornado had moved through Rankin County, southeast of Florence, that same night, but that no one was killed.