[pris1959]

I have lived in central Alabama for 33 years. I have only had 2 tornados actually cause severe damage around my area. Like the others have said, you listen to the warnings (and believe me, TV meteorologists love to stay on giving you a minute by minute update when there's a tornado anywhere in the "viewing area"). I don't ever dwell on tornados - every part of the country has its own weather problems.

[IDVague]

Originally Posted by pris1959

I have lived in central Alabama for 33 years. I have only had 2 tornados actually cause severe damage around my area. Like the others have said, you listen to the warnings (and believe me, TV meteorologists love to stay on giving you a minute by minute update when there's a tornado anywhere in the "viewing area"). I don't ever dwell on tornados - every part of the country has its own weather problems.

Your experience sounds typical. There seems to be more tornadoes now than 30-40 years ago only because we know about them as they happen, or even before they actually form. When I was a kid growing up in AL (1960's), tornadoes were only identified on the ground. No radar, satellites, etc...Basically, if it didn't hit you or someone you knew, you probably wouldn't know about it.

[Jubs01]

BAMABOUND
As someone that was not born here,I think I could tell you a lil bit more about moving here. DON"T!!!!!! My husband and I moved here from South Fla.We thought N.Alabama was a beautiful place and it is and we wanted to raise our kids in the country.We've been here for 12 yrs. now at the same location. We are still treated as outsiders,We have been acused of many things we didn't do and if you have kids,The school system sux,The drugs are out of control. and there's nothing for them to do here but to get caught up in crime or drugs.Piedmont is the drug capitol!!! As for tornados,If I knew they're were so many severe storms,tornados and so many warnings. We would of never moved here!!!!They scare the chit out of me and I've been threw many hurricaines in 30 yrs. time,including ANDREW and I would rather have to deal with hurricaines then tornados.
Many people think I'm crazy,But at least we had alot more time to get ready and find safe places. These dam tornados just drop down on you without any or very little warning.Also ask the people here about the 1993 F-5 tornado that started in Ragland and went threw Piedmont then killed 21 people in a church in Gosden and then ended up in NW Georgia.OVER 50 miles it traveled.
Or the kids that were killed in a school last year.Lets face it,There are more tornados here then they're saying and I can say that from experiance!!!!! Be smart,Rent a place here first before you buy.I wish I would of done that!!! If you don't like it here you can move alot easier!!

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by Jubs01

BAMABOUND
As someone that was not born here,I think I could tell you a lil bit more about moving here. DON"T!!!!!! My husband and I moved here from South Fla.We thought N.Alabama was a beautiful place and it is and we wanted to raise our kids in the country.We've been here for 12 yrs. now at the same location. We are still treated as outsiders,We have been acused of many things we didn't do and if you have kids,The school system sux,The drugs are out of control. and there's nothing for them to do here but to get caught up in crime or drugs.Piedmont is the drug capitol!!! As for tornados,If I knew they're were so many severe storms,tornados and so many warnings. We would of never moved here!!!!They scare the chit out of me and I've been threw many hurricaines in 30 yrs. time,including ANDREW and I would rather have to deal with hurricaines then tornados.
Many people think I'm crazy,But at least we had alot more time to get ready and find safe places. These dam tornados just drop down on you without any or very little warning.Also ask the people here about the 1993 F-5 tornado that started in Ragland and went threw Piedmont then killed 21 people in a church in Gosden and then ended up in NW Georgia.OVER 50 miles it traveled.
Or the kids that were killed in a school last year.Lets face it,There are more tornados here then they're saying and I can say that from experiance!!!!! Be smart,Rent a place here first before you buy.I wish I would of done that!!! If you don't like it here you can move alot easier!!

If you chose a rural location without researching the schools, and drug issues, it's your fault.

And - you really seem to impress the reader with the fact that a hurricane moves over a period of days...a tornado over a period of minutes. So - yes as you said, "at least we had a lot more time to get ready".

Your post concerning Hurricanes vs. Tornados is intellectually Brilliant.

I managed a business unit in Ft. Lauderdale for ten years. The drug problems, general lack of honesty/integrity in the area was readily apparent once I came there.

But DON'T Believe me....believe Carl Hiassen - a best selling author from South Florida who was quoted on 60 Minutes as saying this...

"The Sunshine State is a paradise of scandals teeming with drifters, deadbeats, and misfits drawn here by some dark primordial calling like demented trout. And you'd be surprised how many of them decide to run for public office."

Hiaasen says any politician without handcuff marks on his wrists is considered an elder statesman. He called one Miami mayor "a slagheap of mediocrity." And he called the Florida state legislature "a festival of whores."


Florida: 'A Paradise Of Scandals', Steve Kroft Talks To Columnist/Novelist Carl Hiaasen - CBS News

Enough said.

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Jubs01

BAMABOUND
As someone that was not born here,I think I could tell you a lil bit more about moving here. DON"T!!!!!! My husband and I moved here from South Fla.We thought N.Alabama was a beautiful place and it is and we wanted to raise our kids in the country.We've been here for 12 yrs. now at the same location. We are still treated as outsiders,We have been acused of many things we didn't do and if you have kids,The school system sux,The drugs are out of control. and there's nothing for them to do here but to get caught up in crime or drugs.Piedmont is the drug capitol!!! As for tornados,If I knew they're were so many severe storms,tornados and so many warnings. We would of never moved here!!!!They scare the chit out of me and I've been threw many hurricaines in 30 yrs. time,including ANDREW and I would rather have to deal with hurricaines then tornados.
Many people think I'm crazy,But at least we had alot more time to get ready and find safe places. These dam tornados just drop down on you without any or very little warning.Also ask the people here about the 1993 F-5 tornado that started in Ragland and went threw Piedmont then killed 21 people in a church in Gosden and then ended up in NW Georgia.OVER 50 miles it traveled.
Or the kids that were killed in a school last year.Lets face it,There are more tornados here then they're saying and I can say that from experiance!!!!! Be smart,Rent a place here first before you buy.I wish I would of done that!!! If you don't like it here you can move alot easier!!

You may want to get your facts straight before sharing them. The Goshden Methodist Church was hit Palm Sunday 1994 and 22 dies. The last F5 was 1974. The school in Enterprise was struck March 2007.
If your quality of life has been so bad for 12 years you may want to consider alternatives for you and your family.

[Keeper]

Hate to tell you this but they have tornadoes in FL too which have killed people, in fact earlier this year there was one near The Villages. FL doesn't have a warning system other than the TV. There was a tornado that hit near where I lived in FL to a mobilehome park and there were no warnings at all on TV.
The 2007 Central Florida Tornadoes were a localized, but devastating, tornado event that took place in central Florida early on February 2, 2007. Initially thought to have been one tornado, but later confirmed as three separate ones, they destroyed many houses and businesses and killed at least 21 people (one of whom died two weeks after the tornado hit). It is the deadliest tornado outbreak in Florida since the Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak killed 42 people in 1998 (25 from one tornado). Damage was estimated at over $270 million.[2]

There are more warnings here true and it can be scary especially if they are saying the tornado is near you. If you are that afraid then the best thing to do is put in a storm shelter. If you look around different areas, some have shelters everywhere others don't have any shelters. Those areas are the ones prone to tornadoes.

[zenjenn]

Well, I have no idea where Bamabound is planning on moving, but I'd think Jubs dissatisfaction comes from the area lived in and not from N. Alabama overall.

I know I've only been here a week and all, but seriously, Huntsville is almost indistinguishable from my town in California in terms of basic qualify of life, qualify of schools, etc. I was never scared of earthquakes, but to me tornadoes are the superior natural disaster in terms of advanced notice and potential for destruction. Tornadoes destroy more frequently but when a big enough earthquake hits it can knock out a whole region with no warning. Yes, most of them are just a fun rumble but a big one will hit and Californians can do nothing about it but bolt shelves to walls and have provisions on hand for when that eventuality occurs.

Yet, even though I was not afraid of earthquakes at all, I am still nervous about tornadoes only because they are new to me. Same with the brown recluse spiders making me nervous even though I lived with a black widow infestation under my house in California and thought nothing of it. When you move someplace new of course it is natural to be more sensitive to the new dangers of that area. I actually keep LOOKING for brown recluse spiders because I know once I see them a dozen times they will be less scarey. The fear of the unknown is always worse.

[harry chickpea]

Keeper, I was doing one of my trips moving stuff up to Alabama during that round of tornados that hit north central Florida. There were a couple of cars off the road as I was driving in the extremely heavy rain. As I passed, I thought they just had been in the backwash of a truck, but on reflection it was more likely the start of one of those tornados.

Jubs rant points out that there are some folks who really would be better off somewhere else than in Alabama, bless their hearts.

[Threestep]

My very first road trip as proud bike owner was to Columbus GA from Anniston AL. Big and bad here refused a friend's offer to cart me and Ms Priss home. So I saw 431 in an unusual light - like a tick on a dog behind the small red light of my husband's bike, aquaplaning at its finest. Rain coming sideways. 18 Wheelers pulled over.
One redlight all the way (Roanoke) and it switched. Nothing like Opal live.

Andrew was interesting - 16th floor highrise with full glas walls in DC. You could see it coming, feel the building sway and the glas gow.

Ivan turned into a hurricane party as we had a full fridge, housebar and plenty of nice neighbors. Afterwards the chainsaws came out.

[Keeper]

I surely was not saying they aren't scary, heck my DD didn't sleep for months whenever there was severe weather. We usually end up on the phone talking to each other if the sirens go off, that was the first year. I was just trying to point out AL is not the only place with tornadoes. I don't like em either and watch my animals closely when the weather gets bad to see if they are acting strange.
Brown Recluse spiders.. well I know they are around too and I shake my shoes if they have been in the closet without being worn for a while.
Heck, I brought home a trantula in bananas one time in Panama C.A. Did you know those things can jump especially if you hit them with a broom?