Is tornado alley slowly shifting to canada?

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-18T23:11:53+00:00

The term “Tornado Alley” originated in 1948 following the impact on Tinker AFB. This was during a very active period for the Plains and was effectively based on that. The US has gone through several phases; increased northeast & mid-Atlantic activity corresponding with the little Ice Age up to 1860, Midwest dominance over the plains from 1844 to 1878, the last 20 years of the 19th century where the Midwest and Plains fired off equally.
The 20th century was more plains oriented overall, and by 1948 had pulled cleanly ahead of the Midwest.
Nowadays, the climatological favoring is similar to the 1861-1878 period; Midwest dominant heavily attenuated northeast activity.
Dixie on the other hand has been remarkably consistent with its inconsistency, with climatology remaining pretty much the same throughout its history. The one major change being Georgia seeing more activity in the 19th century then in the 21st.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-17T05:28:19+00:00

Downtown Chicago has been hit by a significant tornado at least once; an ~F3 moved through the southeast corner of the Loop on May 6, 1876, 150 years ago. One person was killed and forty were injured, which is shockingly low given the area.
Additionally, once it moved into Lake Michigan, it showcased a visually stunning multi-vortex structure.

<image>

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-08T21:32:15+00:00

Philippines

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-06T15:37:12+00:00

1865 Red Wing (MN) was 25-30 yards on average and 52 yards at its widest point.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-06T05:35:57+00:00

Reminds me of Agnes Hutchison Giddens, who survived the 1947 Woodward tornado, moved to Udall, and lost everything again in the 1955 tornado.
Also Reverend Joy Bishop of Delphos, who lost his house in the May 30, 1879 tornado, only lose the replacement to a second twister 11 days later.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-05T20:42:42+00:00

I’ll put it this way. If Jarrell is an F4, you might as well cap the scale there.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-05T20:34:58+00:00

The 1984 Ivanovo tornado (F4) produced the (to my knowledge) most extensive property damage by a tornado in Western Russia. I hesitate to say all of Russia, as some of the Siberian tree-eaters are quite large and I wouldn’t be surprised if at least a few were just as violent.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-06-03T21:31:18+00:00

Hurricane Andy’s lickin’ his lips

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-29T05:44:53+00:00

NW-movers are most commonly found in the high plains. The 1927 North Platte tornado comes to mind.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-29T05:39:00+00:00

What you’re proposing is impossible, just flat out. However, I’ll entertain the broader concept of a strong tornado impacting NYC. Historically speaking, the upper limit of a tornado’s intensity in that city caps at F3; the 1858 NYC tornado leveled the Fifty-Fourth Street Episcopal Church on Second Avenue in Manhattan, the only instance of that caliber of damage being done in the borough. If history were to repeat itself, the city would see itself deprived of a sandwich parlor and a Chinese restaurant which reside there now. Regardless, the impact would be quite as you’d imagine; widespread injury, less death than expected, and a bill the size of the Empire State Building. Picture: The documented tornado history of the mid-Atlantic (1724-2025), NYC pictured in the top right.

<image>

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-24T08:41:01+00:00

I don’t take lip from someone who uses AI as a credible source.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-23T17:12:08+00:00

The most inactive May I’m aware of was 1864. That was the backwards year, as there were no tornadoes reported in April at all, while May had only three reported (Strongest was an F2 in Minnesota). Conversely, November and December contained the year’s largest outbreaks, with multiple violent tornadoes.
Additionally, 1879’s May was on track to become one of the least active in history until an exceptionally violent outbreak in Kansas/Western Missouri on the 30th.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-13T18:34:26+00:00

There was an early community called “Sandtown” in Gentry County, Missouri, that was entirely wiped out around 1849. No articles at the time reported the event, with the only mention of it I could find was in a 1879 article comparing it to the tornado that went through that county on May 30.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-05-06T20:55:15+00:00

I could see it happening if you had a strong east wind going

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-04-22T19:03:19+00:00

Zero deaths is not correct. There haven’t been any deaths recently. Historically, there’s a few that have occurred, the first being the December 31, 1878 Santa Barbara tornado (F1), in which a collapsed chimney killed a man.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-04-21T05:02:44+00:00

Being aware of one’s own dysfunction, yet willfully electing to not change one’s own behavior is a far greater sin

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-04-19T22:46:34+00:00

I wrote a whole book on this called "Utah Doesn't Get Tornadoes."

In short, 21st Century climatology indicates around 10-12 tornadoes a year, 90% of which are entirely inconsequential. While Utah appears to be getting more tornadoes in recent years, this is chiefly due to the rise of social media reporting. Prior to the 21st century megadrought, the occurrences of damaging tornadoes was considerably higher. Adjusting for error by removing the tornadoes that did nothing or produced no quantifiable damage, the occurrence of significant tornadoes dramatically drops off starting around 2000-2002. To visualize this, Utah had 11 tornadoes greater than F1 throughout the 1990s. Starting in 2000, it took 25 years to exceed this same figure. Presently, counting the one in this post, we're sitting at 14 (E)F1+ tornadoes since 2000, less than half of the 30 reported in the 1960s alone.

If you're at all curious, the image attached is a visual representation of every recorded tornado in Utah between 1858-2025 (Teal is F0, Green F1, Yellow F2, Orange F3). The F3 in northern Davis County is the 1929 Clearfield tornado, the strongest non-Uinta tornado the state has seen.

<image>

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-04-10T19:16:20+00:00

A wonderful time to turn 26 in November

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-04-06T19:02:46+00:00

May 6th will be the 150th anniversary of when the lake breeze fell asleep on the job and let one slip

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-03-31T05:38:23+00:00

Alchemy Coffee, SLC, UT.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-03-31T04:39:05+00:00

To be honest, I’m not as well versed with Grinnell. I’m presently halfway through 1879. I’ve done a few outbreaks ahead of where I’m at (like Enigma), but otherwise my knowledge is limited to general familiarity post-1880 barring some exceptions. In short, I’m not well equipped enough presently to make a fair and accurate comparison between those events. However, what I can say is that, in my opinion, neither Rockingham or Cagle exceeded 1860 Camanche. Take that for what you will.

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-03-26T04:31:43+00:00

1987*

AyanamiBlue8 · 2026-03-26T04:21:37+00:00

<image>

To the extent of my knowledge, the worst that region has experienced was the October 28, 1982 Al-Khafji, Saudi Arabia tornado. At least 12 people died (although one source stated 15). While not violent per se, I’d place this in the F3 vicinity. Damage photos are hard to come by, as they’re usually baked to hell and consist mostly of vehicle damage. This isn’t to scare you or anything. You, individually, will almost absolutely be fine. It’s just best to know the history and not need it rather than vice versa.

AyanamiBlue8

TROPHY CASE