America’s long-feared Tornado Alley has shifted toward the Midwest and Southeast as experts predict more storms in the coming years.
Tornado Alley, a term first used in 1952, describes areas in the central United States and Canada where tornadoes occur most frequently.
Until recently, these areas were predominantly the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
But a new one study A study published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology found that the most significant tornado activity has shifted to Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Neighbors walk their dog Auggie past a damaged home after a tornado in Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania
Scientists noted that between 1951 and 1985, the natural disaster was concentrated mainly in the central plains.
Scientists noted that between 1951 and 1985, natural disasters were concentrated primarily in the central Plains, but between 1986 and 2020, a higher number of tornadoes were recorded in the Midwest and Southeast.
According to the study, gale incidents have decreased by 25 percent in the western part of the country between the two periods, from 8,450 to 6,300.
During the same time period, tornado activity in the eastern United States increased 12 percent, from 9,400 to 10,500.
Earlier this week, terrified passengers on a flight attempting to leave Chicago’s O’Hare Airport were left stranded and begging for help amid severe storms and a tornado warning.
Between 1986 and 2020, the highest number of tornadoes was recorded in the Midwest and Southeast
Earlier this week, terrified passengers on a flight attempting to leave Chicago’s O’Hare Airport were left stranded and calling for help amid severe storms and a tornado warning.
A video posted on social media from inside a plane showed the tornado shaking the aircraft. Lightning could be seen arcing across the night sky as heavy rain fell.
Courtney Mares, a Catholic News Agency reporter who took the video on the plane, said: ‘Our plane is parked on the tarmac at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport right now as everyone’s phones are receiving multiple tornado warnings.
‘The captain announced that air traffic control and ground control have been evacuated.
‘The plane shakes as the wind pushes it from side to side.’
The storm was so strong that a shelter-in-place order was issued in the area, and passengers in the terminal building were forced to move away from windows.
The National Weather Service detected up to ten simultaneous tornadoes in the metropolitan area of the Windy City, one of them heading towards the international airport.
The storm was so strong that a shelter-in-place order was issued in the area, with passengers in the terminal building asked to stay away from windows, while others were told to head underground.
But passengers already on departing flights could do little more than watch and wait in terror. According to FlightAware, more than 60 flights were cancelled and more than 400 were delayed at O’Hare alone.
In May 2023, Virginia Beach officials were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and large parts of people’s homes, including entire roofs, after a large tornado destroyed up to 100 homes.
A tree split in half by the Virginia Beach tornado is seen lodged in the roof of a residential property
In May 2023, Virginia Beach officials were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and large parts of people’s homes, including entire roofs, after a massive tornado destroyed up to 100 homes.
Power line workers were also on hand, clearing roads of fallen towers and tending to damaged transmission lines to restore power to hundreds of homes.
Virginia Natural Gas was also assisting homes with gas leaks and Dominion Power, the local energy company based in Richmond, was responding with crews.
The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city and was so severe that the city declared a local state of emergency.
Power line workers were also on hand, clearing roads of fallen towers and tending to damaged transmission lines to restore power to hundreds of homes.
The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday and was so severe that the city declared a local state of emergency.
The National Weather Service announced the storm was an EF-3 tornado, meaning it had winds of 135 to 165 mph (220 to 265 km/h). The highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale is EF-5.
Last June, a tornado ripped through a small town in Mississippi, killing one person and injuring 20 others.
The tornado touched down in Louin, Jasper County (a small town of about 275 people), around 11:40 p.m. and destroyed homes, trapping residents beneath their homes and triggering an overnight rescue operation.
Last June, a tornado ripped through a small town in Mississippi, killing one person and injuring 20 others.
Aerial images captured after the sun rose showed the extent of the damage to homes and cars in Mississippi.
Injured residents were seen being carried from the rubble onto stretchers and ambulances to South Central Regional Medical Center in Jackson.
Aerial images captured after sunrise showed the extent of the damage to homes and cars.
High-speed winds uprooted trees and in central and eastern Mississippi up to 50 percent of residents remained without power.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at the time that another tornado had struck Rankin County, southeast of Florence, that same night, though it caused no fatalities.
