Tornado Alley: Home Of Extreme Winds
11:08 Share

Each year, the United States has about 1,200) tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very broad swath of the U.S. that shifts seasonally. This area gets at least ten times more tornadoes than the rest of the world. Science writer Sushmita Pathak) says that huge difference can be chalked up to one word: geography. But there's a slice of South America with similar geographical features that gets comparatively fewer tornadoes, so what gives? Sushmita wades into the research weeds with guest host Berly McCoy), one of Short Wave's producers. **Read Sushmita's full article) on tornadoes that she wrote for the publication Eos).***Have other science weather stories you think we should cover on the show? Let us know by emailing [email protected])! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)