Tornado Shelter/ Rest Area

This is a rest area along interstate I-40 in Texas.
TxDOT has completely updated the state's Safety Rest Areas to provide more services and a safer experience for Texas travelers they are now also Tornado shelters. If you notice this one is underground.

This is along a major interstate. there is nothing but flat land for miles, this area is what is called tornado alley.

An average of 132 tornadoes touch Texas soil each year. The annual total varies considerably, and certain areas are struck more often than others. Tornadoes occur with greatest frequency in the Red River Valley of North Texas.

Tornadoes may occur in any month and at any hour of the day, but they occur with greatest frequency during the late spring and early summer months, and between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

In the period 1951–2011, nearly 62.7 percent of all Texas tornadoes occurred within the three-month period of April, May, and June, with almost one-third of the total tornadoes occurring in May.

More tornadoes have been recorded in Texas than in any other state, which is partly due to the state's size.

Tornado Occurrences 1951–2011

Between 1951 and 2011, 8,007 funnel clouds reached the ground, thus becoming tornadoes. Texas ranks 11th among the 50 states in the density of tornadoes, with an average of 5.7 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year during this period.