TempestTours®  SCE

Tornado Frequency in Tornado Alley

Which tour offers the greatest chance of seeing tornadoes and supercell thunderstorms?
Our tour dates and base cities are selected to coincide with the highest frequency of tornadoes in Tornado Alley.    All tours offer an equal chance of seeing tornadoes and supercells, on a per day basis.  Naturally, the longer the tour, the greater the chance of seeing significant storms.

Tour #1 (early May) produced more tornado days for us in 2002 & 2003 than any other.
Tour #6 (late June 2003) produced more tornadoes for us in one day (14) than any other.

Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas  and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Our first base locations of the spring storm season are Dallas-Ft. Worth and Oklahoma City.  In a typical spring, these locations offer easy access to regions that experience high tornado activity in May and early June.  It is common for the Southern Plains (Texas and Oklahoma), to experience the most significant severe weather during this period.  That is why Dallas-Ft. Worth and Oklahoma City were chosen for our early tours.

The map below depicts average tornado activity in May.
MAP CREATED BY TEMPEST TOURS FROM NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS LABORATORY SOURCE

Denver, Colorado
Our late season base location is Denver, Colorado.  In a typical spring, Denver offers easy access to regions that experience high tornado activity in June and early July.  It is common for the Central and Northern Plains (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas), to experience the most significant severe weather during this period.  The plains of Eastern Colorado are particularly active during June and early July. That is why Denver was chosen as the base for our late tours.

Stormy periods tend to be more regular in June, allowing us to offer shorter tours during that time. 

The map below depicts average tornado activity in June.
MAP CREATED BY TEMPEST TOURS FROM NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS LABORATORY SOURCE