Tornado Alley

[tawr-ney-doh al-ee]

noun

1. (sometimes lowercase),  a North American zone where tornadoes occur more frequently than elsewhere on the continent: an unofficial and variable designation, Tornado Alley lies within a wide vertical swath of the central United States, from northern Texas into Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, often extending into other areas, including Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Canadian prairies.

   Living outside Tornado Alley is no guarantee you’ll never see a tornado—just ask the folks in any state in New England.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tornado Alley¹

First recorded in 1950–55