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 mid-November 2005
The tornado outbreak of mid-November 2005 was a tornado outbreak on November 15, 2005, in the Midwestern United States. It occurred along a cold front separating warm, humid air from the southeast from cold Arctic air to the north and northwest. At least 50 confirmed tornadoes have been reported in the central United States in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee over that afternoon and evening. Strong winds and large hail caused additional damage throughout the region. The National Weather Service confirmed 49 tornado touchdowns during the outbreak.