Tornado Alley  'Tornado alley' claims average 80 lives every
year  The plains of the central United States are no strangers
to tornadoes. About a thousand occur every year in 'Tornado
Alley', killing on average 80 people and leaving a trail of
devastation in their wake at a cost of 300 million dollars.
Tornado Alley> <b>'Tornado Alley' </b>stretches across the
states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. On these vast
plains east of the Rocky Mountains, hot and humid air from the
Gulf of Mexico hits dryer, fresh air from California and Canada.
<p class= April to June is high season as the clash of air types
results in violent storms that produce lightning, hail and
hundreds of tornadoes. While the vast majority - around 79
percent - are insignificant, the strongest can produce twisters
with wind speeds up to 400 kilometers an hour (244 mph), which
travel at more than 100 kilometers an hour (62 mph) and can stay
on the ground from 20 minutes to