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 ultimately 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 Pathak's full article on tornadoes that she wrote for the publication Eos.
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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy and edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Geoff Brumfiel. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.
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