Tornado Alley
The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to study severe weather in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, and Minnesota. It is largely a media-driven term although tornado climatologists distinguish peaks in activity in certain areas and storm chasers have long recognized the Great Plains tornado belt.
Tornado outbreak of June 13, 1998
On June 13, 1998, a tornado outbreak occurred across much of the United States. The day saw 45 tornadoes touchdown primarily across Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The outbreak saw the Storm Prediction Center outline two Moderate Risk areas in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and in parts of Kansas and Nebraska. Additionally, two far more expansive Slight Risk areas were delineated across much of the Central and Eastern United States. By 06:00 UTC June 14, tornadoes had struck parts of six states, including downtown Sabetha, Kansas and parts of North Oklahoma City and vicinity.