Tornado Alley map: where tornadoes hit most, and how that is changing
Tornado Alley usually means the Great Plains, from Texas north to South Dakota. Compare two periods below to see how much tornado activity has grown further east, in the area often called Dixie Alley.
Compare two periods
Both maps move together and share one colour scale: the darker the violet, the more tornadoes started there each year in that period.
By region
| Region | States | 1950 to 1995, per year | 1996 to 2025, per year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Tornado Alley | TX, OK, KS, NE, SD | 285 | 358 | +26% |
| Dixie Alley | MS, AL, TN, AR, LA | 99 | 236 | +139% |
| Midwest (our grouping) | IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, ND | 186 | 337 | +81% |
| Southeast (our grouping) | GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, VA | 104 | 194 | +87% |
| Rest of the US | All other states | 98 | 147 | +49% |
| All US | 770 | 1,268 | +65% |
| Region | States | 1970 to 1999, per year | 2000 to 2025, per year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Tornado Alley | TX, OK, KS, NE, SD | 328 | 352 | +7% |
| Dixie Alley | MS, AL, TN, AR, LA | 129 | 245 | +90% |
| Midwest (our grouping) | IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, ND | 227 | 345 | +52% |
| Southeast (our grouping) | GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, VA | 145 | 192 | +32% |
| Rest of the US | All other states | 137 | 139 | +2% |
| All US | 964 | 1,267 | +31% |
| Region | States | 1950 to 1987, per year | 1988 to 2025, per year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Tornado Alley | TX, OK, KS, NE, SD | 267 | 361 | +35% |
| Dixie Alley | MS, AL, TN, AR, LA | 93 | 213 | +131% |
| Midwest (our grouping) | IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, ND | 176 | 316 | +80% |
| Southeast (our grouping) | GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, VA | 92 | 187 | +102% |
| Rest of the US | All other states | 79 | 155 | +95% |
| All US | 706 | 1,227 | +74% |
| Region | States | 2006 to 2015, per year | 2016 to 2025, per year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Tornado Alley | TX, OK, KS, NE, SD | 364 | 313 | -14% |
| Dixie Alley | MS, AL, TN, AR, LA | 230 | 282 | +22% |
| Midwest (our grouping) | IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, ND | 321 | 376 | +17% |
| Southeast (our grouping) | GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, VA | 171 | 207 | +20% |
| Rest of the US | All other states | 127 | 149 | +17% |
| All US | 1,208 | 1,318 | +9% |
Tornadoes per year, because the periods differ in length. A tornado that crossed state lines counts in each region it touched. Part of any rise reflects better detection of weak tornadoes since Doppler radar, not only more tornadoes.
Why the pattern may be shifting
Part of the change is better counting. Doppler radar, which covered the country by the late 1990s, finds weak tornadoes that older records missed, and more people now live where they can report one. Researchers are also studying whether the conditions that produce tornadoes have moved east. Whatever the cause, people in the Southeast face tornado risk as real as the Plains, often at night and in hilly, wooded country where tornadoes are hard to see.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center records, 1950 to 2025.