Tornado Alley
Although the official boundaries of Tornado Alley are not clearly defined, its core extends from northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, into South Dakota. States such as Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and western Ohio are sometimes included in Tornado Alley. Some research suggests that tornadoes are becoming more frequent in the northern parts of Tornado Alley where it reaches the Canadian prairies.
Tornado outbreak of August 24, 2016
The Tornado outbreak of August 24, 2016 was a six-hour tornado outbreak in which a total of 24 tornadoes touched down in Ontario, Indiana and Ohio. Several of these tornadoes were strong and caused significant damage, including a high-end EF2 that struck Windsor, Ontario, Canada and an EF3 that struck Kokomo, Indiana. This particular tornado outbreak was unusual for multiple reasons, including the fact that it was largely unexpected. The Storm Prediction Center had issued only a slight risk for severe weather that day, with the threat for a tornado or two limited to parts of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. Despite this, the outbreak unfolded entirely outside of the outlined threat area as numerous supercell thunderstorms developed unexpectedly across parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, producing numerous tornadoes. Tornado outbreaks of this size and intensity are also not commonly seen during the late summer months across the Ohio Valley region. Despite the damage, few injuries and no fatalities occurred.