Dixie Alley

Nickname for areas of the southern United States which has strong or violent tornadoes "Dixie Alley" is a colloquial term sometimes used for areas of the southern United States which are particularly vulnerable to strong to violent tornadoes. Some argue this is distinct from the better known Tornado Alley and that it has a high frequency of strong, long-track tornadoes that move at higher speeds. The term was coined by National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC) Director Allen Pearson after witnessing a tornado outbreak which included more than nine long-track, violent tornadoes that killed 121 on February 21–22, 1971. Geography The Dixie Alley region indicated by red shaded area. Dixie Alley includes much of the area of the lower Mississippi Valley. It stretches from eastern Texas and Arkansas across Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and mid to western Kentucky to upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina; the area reaches as far north as southeast Missouri. Another source places all of Arkansas within Dixie Alley. Tornado risk Although tornadoes are less frequent in these states than they are in the southern Plains, the southeastern states have had