Why the US has so many tornadoes

Tornado Alley experiences more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world — why?

The United States experiences more tornadoes than any other country, averaging over 1,200 per year. Most of those twisters are touching down in the central part of the country in an area called “Tornado Alley.” While the boundaries of this tornado hotbed are disputed, there’s no denying that something is going on here — and it all has to do with geography.

Information on tornado averages and trends can also be found at NOAA:

You may have noticed on our graphic around the one-minute mark that many of the Southeastern US states are prone to tornadoes as well. This is because they’re part of an area called “Dixie Alley.” The main difference between this area and Tornado Alley that tornadoes in Dixie Alley are more likely to touch down in the fall, while Tornado Alley experiences twisters in the early spring. This happens for the reasons outlined in the video above. This article offers a fairly compelling comparison of the two:

Finally, this video offered a simplified explanation of a really complex weather phenomenon. This National Geographic article does a really great job breaking it down again and also offers information on why it’s so hard to track and predict tornadoes:

[Vox]

Hey everyone! Our Production Manager Ashley and I had a little too much fun researching footage for this video and wanted to share some of our favorites with you. Head over to the Video Lab to check out our recommendations for some of the best tornado videos on the internet (and a little karate too).
www.youtube.com/vox/join

- Kim

[pondererofpointlessdreams]

I live in Tornado Alley, and at this point, tornado warnings during thunderstorms don't even faze me anymore

[jesuscovarrubias]

West America: Earthquakes
Mid American: Tornadoes
East America: Hurricanes

[HyphenSam]

0:21 Guess New Zealand is safe because you're not showing it on the map.

[pdmings]

You know you're in for a tornado sighting when the air has that creepy feeling, the light is all wrong, it's eerily quiet, and several neighbors are outside with video cameras.

[toasted_.coconut]

I live in Southern Missouri --- after 39 years of living here if the early evening sky looks a bit yellow-ish you just know it's gonna be a bad night.

[waw]

It is important to point out that tornadoes often come at night in the Southern Alley, so there are more deaths there. The main tornado alley often has less rain wrapped tornadoes, so they are prettier to film.

[SDFRiver]

I live in Norman. I remember when the May 20th tornado came to visit. It was the first time I saw that kind of damage up close. They're no joke. Still blows my mind how Oklahomans really just come out of their homes to make sure there's a tornado outside before taking shelter.
Thanks for this great video, Vox.

[maximuslee]

What did the tornado say to his girlfriend at the club?

"Lets go for a spin"

[DowntownTasty]

Trust me, the tornado alley definitely extends further East well into Illinois.
We get a LOT of tornadoes

[mmmk]

I love where I live, in the Pacific NW. No tornadoes, no hurricanes, no super snow storms. Mild weather for the most part all year. Lots of rain, but that's what keeps us green :) Well, there was this one year when we had a volcano erupt but other than that... lol 😂

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

We should be somewhat grateful that our weather phenomena is somewhat mild compared to the natural disasters that occur in other planets. Other planets have natural disasters that only our wildest imaginations can create.

[christophergrant]

Fun Fact: Every state in the US has tornadoes.
Yes, even Alaska and Hawaii 🏔️🌴

[TheBrokenEclipse]

It's not a proper tornado if it doesn't have cows...

[jvfouen]

No one gonna talk about how good they explained it? Those props made it really easy to understand.

[wadood]

I read the titles as "why the US has so many Tomatoes"

[kwichris]

Gotta love how Florida is an outlier here with 66 tornadoes in an average year. Between that and hurricanes/severe thunderstorms, the weather in Florida is always interesting. :)

[arlopaden]

as someone who lives in Kansas i can say that people do like to watch tornados we had a small one come through town and people were sitting on their porch watching it

[brysonrodden]

I live in Tulsa Oklahoma. If there is a warning and sirens we go outside to watch it.

[TommoCarroll]

Oh man, I LOVE Twister! The perfect example of a 90s movie. Anyone else have any nostalgic favourites from the 90s?