What is Dixie Alley?

There’s not much coming our way in dangerous storms for the next several days. It’s snowy in Oklahoma, and wet in East Texas and Louisiana, but we’re not looking at Big Bad storms anytime soon.

So, instead, I thought I’d talk a little bit about Dixie Alley. Most of us are familiar with the term, Tornado Alley. That’s our prime tornado season. Not only does Tornado Alley describe a place - Central Texas all the way up through the Great Plains and into the Great Lakes region - but it also includes a time. Tornado Alley season is from mid-spring through late summer, with the bulk of the tornadic activity moving north as the season progresses.

There is also another tornado season, known as Dixie Alley. A small section of Dixie Alley overlaps Tornado Alley in area. That includes East Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Northwest Louisiana, and Southwest Arkansas. But, Dixie Alley also extends further east into Georgia and even South Carolina. Dixie Alley also includes a different time frame than Tornado Alley. While Tornado Alley is mostly a spring and summer season, Dixie Alley is a late fall and early winter season.

I’ve posted a picture from the Storm Prediction Center showing all of the locations where they have issued Tornado Watches so far this year. Since it’s currently late January, I thought this image did a pretty good job of showing you the physical location of Dixie Alley, and it makes it fairly obvious where the Alley gets its name. It runs right through the heart of Dixie!

I’ve spent my meteorological career in the area that overlaps both Tornado and Dixie Alleys, so for me, watching out for dangerous weather is a year round habit. Add in the fact that most of the biggest hurricanes to hit the U.S. in the past 20 years traveled through this exact same area, and you’ll understand why we’ve decided to launch this project called Storm Guides.

We know that dangerous weather can strike during any month of the year, and at any hour of the day or night. But, we also know that a little preparation goes a long way! So, let your friends and family know about our new project and the Storm Guides’ Big Bad Weather Blog so they can be prepared before the next storm does arrive.