The Shift: Why Tornado Alley may be drifting away from its origins

Two years ago, Collin Rieck was taking part in wall-to-wall tornado coverage at the University of Oklahoma. He studied meteorology there for a year before transferring to the University of Miami On April 27, 2024, Collin was on-air when Sulphur, Oklahoma, was hit by a devastating EF-3 tornado. In the days following, he drove down with a camera, gathering footage he never knew what to do with.

Enter UMTV, and this story, two years later: “The Shift,” which looks at why Tornado Alley may be drifting away from its origins, and how its “shift” may be related to a warming climate. During his reporting, Collin re-visited the National Weather Center and sat down with the team at NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center to see why their work matters, and how the forecasts they issue can be the difference between a normal night and the worst one of someone’s life. He also spent time in the recent path, following storms across Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa during mid-April’s multi-day severe weather outbreak, and visiting the community of Aroma Park, where an EF-3 tornado on March 10 became one of the most violent tornadoes to hit the Chicago area in recent years.