As evidenced by recent touchdowns in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Mo., tornadoes can level an entire community in a matter of seconds and carve a swath a mile wide leaving nothing behind but splintered debris.Tennessee serves as secondary tornado alley, ranking behind only the Midwest in the number of tornado strikes in an average year. While Tennessee can expect to see 16 tornadoes in an average year, every state has recorded at least one tornado and the Tennessee average has went up over the past few years. The tri-state tornado of 1925 was the worst tornado on record, covering a path of 219 miles killing 619 people.