Tornado alley, what about that area makes so many tornados?

Question

is it because of the area surrounding by mountains? or what?

i lived in texas and we had tornado's because of a hurricane, years ago that destroyed corpes cristi (sp) - at that time i was told because of the city i lived in was in a hole and tornado fly over us.. we never got hit, they went around

so why that area, why does tornado alley get all the tornado's, what makes that area different then lets say Nevada or California?

Answer 1

There is a strong air current moving to the southeast from the Dakotas to Lousiana. Warm gulf air travels north where it meets cold Canadian air traveling south. This will produce thunderstorms and the southeast air flow can start the storms rotating. The rotation can then generate tornados. These rotating supercells can continue to move east and is why Arkansas and Tennessee can be devastated by tornados. A high altitude flow of air known as the jet stream loops down from Wisconsin and the lowest point is between Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana. The lobe travels north to south and is why central indiana has such changable weather. The jet stream carries arctic and gulf air back and forth across the state. It probably also influences the southeast air stream on the surface.

Answer 2

To put it simply, that area has all the right components during bad weather.   It is very hot,  with plenty of low level moisture just along the Mississippi River area.  The combination of those two properties and cold air aloft are a toxic mix.  

California doesn't reach the temperature extremes and for the most part there is a lot less moisture.

Answer 3

Tornadoes, usually, are more common in the central region because of the combination of varying weather patterns.  It is where warm, humid air masses from the Gulf of Mexico collide with  more cool drier air masses from Canada.

Answer 4

Because it is located in the center of the United States where the cold and hot fronts usually interact.  The north produces mostly cold fronts from the cold weather, and the south usually produces hot fronts, from the hot weather.  The middle, know as "tornado alley", gets a mix of these fronts and that is how tornadoes are usually formed, when a cold front and a warm front interact and produce bad weather.