This was my view looking down the lane toward our west pasture this afternoon. About 2 miles away

Yikes! I hate those Devil Vacs!

tornado alley was the name for a airforce research project in the 50s.

alabama actually gets more tornados and there often more dangerous due to heavier rainfall with them you cant see the storms funnel shape. they also occur anytime of the year.

trainzkid88 wrote:

tornado alley was the name for a airforce research project in the 50s.

alabama actually gets more tornados and there often more dangerous due to heavier rainfall with them you cant see the storms funnel shape. they also occur anytime of the year.

Not sure where you get your data for AL but according to NOAA they rank about number nine in tornados per area.  Probably a lot more damage done in AL than KS due to the sparse population here.  NOAA ranks KS number two on the list of F5 tornados. This past week we have had at least 12 tornados touch down within 20 miles of our house.
It is quite amazing to watch a super cell form and if there is going to be a tornado it will be at the base of the super cell.  The moist warm air spiraling upward to a height of 30,000 ft gives the tornado its tremendous energy in a small area. 
Below is a small blurb about a tornado that hit about 15 miles east of us way back in 1942, at the time one of the strongest tornados in the US and thankfully short lived and not all that large. This was before our early tornado warning systems.
www.gendisasters.com/kansas/11176/oberli...destruction-apr-1942


 

the idea was that its not just tornado ally that gets them its any where east of the great divide that is affected. the area of tornado alley is the most studied location. researchers are now saying the term is out dated and the text books are too. and people think the dangerous ones only happen in that area which is far from true. we have cyclones over here and its surprising how far inland they can travel they will follow a river if the conditions are just right. our most costly cyclone yassi was 600km wide and cost 3.5 billion in damage but didnt kill anyone itself 1 bloke died from monoxide poisoning from a generator he ran inside his house. the deadliest was mahina in 1899 which killed 300 people thanks to storm surge.
and we also have tornados too there was one only 15km from my place it damaged the tree out front. closer to the storm some people lost roofing and it uprooted trees.