Approximately 1,200 tornadoes blow through the U.S. each year, AccuWeather reported, with many of those occurring in Tornado Alley—an area in the central U.S. coined by meteorologists in the mid-1900s. The term originally referred to a swath of land centered around Kansas and Oklahoma, extending from South Dakota to northern Texas where tornadoes frequently occurred. But meteorologists have since considered that Tornado Alley seems to be shifting the last few years, partially influenced by climate change.
Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer thinks "expansion" is a better term for how Tornado Alley is changing, given that the Great Plains will continue to present prime conditions for tornadoes to form.
The changing climate is now also presenting ideal conditions for tornadoes in other states.
"With climate change and the Gulf of Mexico always being so warm, it does seem like the moisture availability for these storm systems is usually not an issue anymore, even during winter months," Timmer told Newsweek.
That means there will be more tornadoes occurring outside of tornado season, which is typically in the spring and summer for most states. Timmer said he believes that the changing climate is pushing a Tornado Alley expansion south and east—into Louisiana, Florida and further into Texas.
AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter also voiced similar beliefs in a 2022 report by the forecast service.
"When you look at the trends in where tornadoes have occurred in recent years, it's very clear that there have been more tornadoes farther south and farther east away from what people have typically known as the Tornado Alley across the Plains," Porter said....
