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.
Emergency management in American universities
A tornado is a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Although the weather channel can sometimes attempt to predict when an tornado will hit and where, sometimes they occur with little or no time for a warning to be given. Generally tornadoes occur near the trailing end of a thunderstorm and can sometimes be seen forming. It is a common misconception that tornadoes only occur in areas like Tornado Alley, however they have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. Since Tornadoes have the ability to strike quickly with no warning and cause extreme devastation American universities are learning to be aware of their vulnerability and risk. All Universities prepare for the worse even if tornadoes do not typically happen in their vicinity.