Why is Oklahoma and Kansas so bad about having tornadoes?
346138
Their climate causes tornadoes. When a hot and cold front meet, it creates a storm that can lead to a tornado. Tornadoes are caused by warm weather.
365692
The US averages around 900 tornadoes per year.\n\nSome years it is much higher. Increased hurricane activity sometimes causes a rise in tornadoes reported. So particularly active hurricane seasons will cause there to be more than normal.\n\n:)
636472
I live in tornado alley and used to live in a mobile home it was just less expensive at the time.  I now own a home but you know I hear of more houses getting hit by tornadoes than trailers.  I guess you just take out insurance and hope for the best.
977927
Yes, tornadoes have formed in Arizona but Arizona is not part of "Tornado Alley". How "bad" they are is really more dependant on the atmospheric conditions.\n\nYou shouldn't be too concerned though. Tornadoes are small focused events, and the chances of you receiving a direct hit from one (even in tornado alley) is pretty small.\n\nHere's a link showing tornado activity in Arizona. Most tornadoes don't mak it past F1.\n\n~X~
447138
The U.S. is definitely the tornado capital of the world.\n\nhttp://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wtorwhat/wtorwhat.htm
24870
Per square mile, Oklahoma has the most tornadoes of all US states.
145471
Tornados don't have a season, unlike hurricanes, they occur year round in different parts of the country. Generally, most tornadoes occur in the Spring time and into Summer, in an area called "tornado alley", where warm air from the Gulf of Mexico clashes with cold air from Canada, and the Jetstream is usually over those 2 as well and creates a spin to the atmosphere, to initialize the tornadic activity.
92110
Tornadoes are formed by the clashing of drasticlaly different masses of air known as fronts.  A high pressure front meets with a low pressure front and the difference in their temperatures and pressures creates a strong wind that can form into the funnel clouds known as tornadoes.  This is not to say that all colliding fronts will yield tornadoes, but there are certain elements that can increase the likeliness of a tornado forming.  The swath of the mid-west United States from N. Texas / Oklahoma through Kansas / Nebraska and into Iowa / Missouri is known as "Tornado Alley" because there are more tornados per year in this area than anywhere else in the world.
222466
Dave in NC answered it perfectly.  Ill just add, if you are asking why tornados form over land- The rapid increase in heat needed to cause formation of tornados generally occurs only over land, since water modulates changes in heat.  However, sometimes they do form, but they are called waterspouts, and usually occur near hurricanes.
847338
i read in a tornado book that i bought, tornado alley in the U.S. gets the most tornadoes in the whole world.  Conditions are just right for it here.  There is nowhere else that tornadoes are common, but tornadoes can happen anywhere
985665
The primary reason why we don't get many tornadoes in the New York area is the influence of the cooler Atlantic Ocean.  Cooler air nearer the coast acts as a stablizing influence and takes some of the zap out of tornado producing thunderstorms.  While there are exceptions, usually as strong cold fronts approach the coast they weaken and these fronts are often responsible for the heaviest thunderstorm activity.\n\nAs far as earthquakes go, we do not live near the edge of continental plates where there are more earthquakes of stronger magnitude, but just because we haven't experienced a big earthquake in New York in our lifetime, doesn't mean that it cannot happen.  Actually there is a fault that runs under 125th St. in Manhattan.  There are several others in Westchester County.  Some geologists have discovered that there is evidence that there have been some pretty big earthquakes in the New York area in the past, they just don't happen very frequently.  Not all major earthquakes happen near and along where different continental plates come together.
601189
Cold fronts, fast-moving jet stream, dry line, occluded front, and cold dry air moving into warm moist air will all contribute to extreme weather.  Often, in the southwest by the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma as well as New Mexico, several of these factors will occur at the same time which can result in a severe weather outburst with several tornadoes, large hail, and lots of rain.
170035
Texas has the potential for most bad weather.  Snowstorms in the panhandle, Tornados, Thounder storms, wind storms, Floods, and Huricanes. Texas like Cal is a big state and has the potential for all types of bad weather.
274665
The definition of a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to ground level.  The circulation MUST go all the way to the ground and all the way to the cloud base.  There does not need to be a visible funnel for a tornado to occur.  The visible funnel often is the result of debris or rain being wrapped into the circulation.  This is why tornadoes come in different colors.  A tornado that moves over the red dirt of Oklahoma may take on a red hue, while one that moves over black soil may look black.  There are even "white" tornadoes, which get their tone from moisture being wrapped in.\n\nRadar is useful for determining if a thunderstorm has the necessary circulation in the mid levels to produce a tornado or that a storm COULD produce a tornado, but it can't tell if that circulation is actually on the ground.  Only human eyes can tell that.  As a result, the National Weather Service works with specially trained volunteer weather spotters through a program called SKYWARN.  These spotters are mostly volunteers, most of whom are licensed Amateur Radio operators.  These spotters monitor the storms from the field and radio reports of tornadoes or other hazardous weather to a liaison or directly to the NWS.  Some spotters also "chase" storms.  They watch the weather forecasts and may travel to areas where storms are likely to form.\n\nI'm a SKYWARN weather spotter, and have seen several tornadoes over the years.  It's a real trip to see a tornado form, move and eventually "rope out" and die.  However, it's very dangerous to get close to one (obviously!).  I was just in the right/wrong place at the time...\n\nThe sites I have listed below are ones that I have found useful over the years.  You can even get your own local weather by going to the first link (NWS) on the list and entering in your ZIP or by clicking your area on the map.\n\n*Edited to add another great link (SPC website)
424052
sure but then again who isnt afraid of something that destructive? you may just have been in shock or somthing. maybe in 9-10 years, learn more about tornadoes so u know more about them and are ready and prepared!
1157667
The land in the central United States is the best breeding ground for the storms which produce tornadoes. The land in the Great Plains is relatively flat, which allows cold dry polar air from Canada to meet warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's along the front between the two airmasses that most tornadoes form. \n\nMost tornadoes in the United States form in an area called "Tornado Alley". This area includes parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Storm chasers travel to this area because of the high concentration of tornadoes. These tornadoes are formed by thunderstorms. Some of the tornadoes in the southern states such as Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia are caused by hurricanes.
657105
Ever heard of May 3rd? The F5 tornado that damaged much of Oklahoma was the most awesome and yet most frightening storm I have ever seen.  Total devastation as far as you could see.