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.
List of tornado-related deaths at schools
The state with the highest number of tornadoes with deaths at schools is Alabama at 8 events. Illinois is second with 6 tornadoes. Missouri and Oklahoma are tied for third with 5 tornadoes. Fifth is Georgia with 3 tornadoes. Sixth are Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Arkansas, each with 2 events. One school fatality tornado event has occurred in Ohio, Louisiana, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Florida (the probable downburst in New York is not included).