Quick Reference What it is: The informal name for a tornado-prone corridor running from north Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, with secondary lobes into the Dakotas, Iowa, and Missouri. Term origin: Coined in 1952 by Air Force meteorologists Ernest J. Fawbush and Robert C. Miller, the same team that issued the first official tornado

Quick Reference What it is: A secondary tornado-prone region in the southeastern US, distinct from classic Tornado Alley. Term coined by NOAA’s Allen Pearson in 1971. States included: Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, plus parts of Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Why it is deadlier: Nighttime tornadoes (2.5x more fatal), high mobile-home density

Quick Reference #1 worst weather state: Texas. 155 tornadoes a year, 190 billion-dollar disasters since 1980, every major hazard type. Most billion-dollar disasters: Georgia at 134, the highest frequency of any state per NOAA NCEI. Most hurricane landfalls: Florida, with more than 120 documented since 1851. Most flood disasters: Louisiana, with 10 billion-dollar flood events,

Quick Reference Top picks: Lavender, salvia, yarrow, sedum, agastache, echinacea, russian sage, black-eyed susan, coreopsis, gaura. Best shrubs: Juniper, butterfly bush, ninebark, rugosa rose, smoke bush. Best grasses: Blue fescue, little bluestem, switchgrass, Mexican feather grass. Best planting time: Fall. Roots establish through winter and the plant arrives spring already drought-ready. Water savings: 50 to

Quick Reference What it is: The crescent moon is the lunar phase when less than 50 percent of the Moon’s illuminated face is visible from Earth. Two kinds: Waxing crescent (growing, lit on the right in the Northern Hemisphere, looks like a D) and waning crescent (shrinking, lit on the left, looks like a C).

Quick Reference What it is: A TikTok trend where two people compare the moon phase on the day they were born. If the two phases visually fit together to form a full moon, the trend says they are compatible. Origin: Started by TikTok creator @lexihernandezz in January 2022, went mainstream in March 2023. Hashtag has

Quick Reference Why we never see it: The Moon is tidally locked to Earth. Its rotation period (27.3 days) matches its orbital period, so the same hemisphere always faces us. “Dark side” myth: Both hemispheres get equal sunlight. “Dark” originally meant “unseen,” not “unlit.” What we have seen: About 59 percent of the lunar surface,

Quick Reference Indoor home (general): 30 to 50 percent. ASHRAE and EPA consensus. Sleep, asthma, allergies: 30 to 50 percent. Stay below 50 to suppress dust mites and mold. Hardwood floors and furniture: 35 to 55 percent. Pianos and acoustic guitars: 40 to 50 percent. Houseplants: 40 to 60 percent. Babies and infants: 40 to

Quick Reference What it is: A long, narrow corridor of concentrated water vapor moving through the atmosphere, typically 250 to 375 miles wide and over 1,000 miles long. How much water: A strong atmospheric river transports more water vapor than the Mississippi River carries on the ground. The Pineapple Express: The most famous variety, hauling

Quick Reference Category 1: 74 to 95 mph. Some damage. Roofs, gutters, siding. Category 2: 96 to 110 mph. Extensive damage. Major roof and siding failure, mass tree damage. Category 3 (major): 111 to 129 mph. Devastating damage. Well-built homes lose roof decking. Category 4 (major): 130 to 156 mph. Catastrophic damage. Severe wall and