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.
Tornadoes of 2018
The Storm Prediction Center issued an enhanced risk of severe weather for portions of the Great Lakes region of the United States on September 20. This outlook included a 10% hatched risk area for tornadoes. A line of severe thunderstorms with numerous embedded tornadoes impacted the region that evening. Twenty-five tornadoes touched down in Minnesota alone, making September 20, 2018 the third-most prolific tornado day in state history.