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 May 26–31, 2013
On May 29, the Storm Prediction Center issued a moderate risk for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The outlook included a 10% hatched risk for tornadoes. A separate slight risk was issued for parts of New England. In the main risk area, only scattered weak tornadoes touched down, though a mile-wide EF2 wedge tornado touched down in upstate New York near Schenectady. On May 30, for the second day in a row, the Storm Prediction Center issued a moderate risk with a 10% hatched risk of tornadoes, this time for eastern Oklahoma and a small part of Kansas. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including a few that were strong. An EF2 ripped through the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow, resulting in severe damage to homes and businesses. A brief EF1 near Tull, Arkansas unfortunately caused a fatality due to a falling tree.