Answer to Question 1
As a result of warm moist air coming off the Gulf and cool moist air coming down from Canada, when you add in some day time heating, you get tornado alley. This is where you have the highest probability of tornadoes in the United States. These tornadoes are very active during the spring. Wyoming having the highest probability of hail which is general associated with thunderheads. A wind that comes down the Leeward side of a mountain range will be drier. Temperatures vary in a continental climate from extremely hot in the summer to extremely cold in the winter. Blizzards could be snow, wind, and cold that could have a very devastating effect.
Answer to Question 2
The Dust Bowl was basically where settlers had moved in to a relatively dry area. They had cut down trees and not used contour plowing. They were leaving fields barren. The climate cycled into its twenty year drought period, so you had large amounts of dust and unconsolidated soil that was blown into other parts of the country. The United States created the National Soil Conservation Service to help counteract this problem
