Shreveport and Bossier City know spring storms. The phrase “new tornado alley” keeps popping up, and plenty of ArkLaTex families are wondering what that means for our tornado risk.
What “New Tornado Alley” Means
Traditional Tornado Alley is usually drawn across the central Plains. AccuWeather says recent trends show more tornadoes happening “farther south and farther east” than that familiar map, with more activity showing up in the Mississippi River valley and the Southeast. Their meteorologists point to Gulf moisture and shifting storm tracks as key ingredients.
A National Weather Service summary of a 1979–2017 study found increasing tornado frequency in parts of the Southeast and Midwest, including nearby Arkansas and Mississippi.
Is Shreveport-Bossier Included?
Northwest Louisiana is not a stranger to twisters. The National Weather Service office in Shreveport says its forecast area typically averages about 23 tornadoes per year, and the local severe weather season often runs from October through June, with March through May as the peak months.
History backs that up. On Dec. 3, 1978, an F4 tornado cut across Bossier City, causing 2 deaths and 266 injuries.
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Some versions of the “new tornado alley” corridor include Louisiana in a broader lower Mississippi Valley risk zone. AccuWeather also notes the borders are not universally agreed on. Preparedness matters either way, especially in the South where trees, hills, and nighttime storms can complicate warnings…