[knicksin8]

Generally speaking, how susceptible is Tallahassee to hurricanes and tornados in comparsion to the rest of the state of Florida?

[SoFLGal]

Florida gets the majority of the news and appears
that it is the only State in the path of Hurricanes.
Florida Hurricane Coastal Strike Probability

Hurricane strike probabilities are only statistical
estimates. Be prepared as storms approach.

[yamahastar]

It really a crap shoot. They can spring up anywhere. If you like to play the odds, people will tell you its better there than other places, especially better than the southern coast, but there is no guarantee anywhere. Florida, and that means ALL of it, has more tornadoes and more hurricanes than any of us like to think about.

[rogercobb]

Keep in mind that while the frequency of tornados in Florida is a bit higher than most other states they are almost always VERY SMALL and induced by hurricanes and TRopical storms that make landfall. You would be foolish to not move to Florida because of the possibility of a weak funnell cloud. We don't have the upper air dynamics and contrasts in temperature to support large tornados like other southern states and the Midwest.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by knicksin8

Generally speaking, how susceptible is Tallahassee to hurricanes and tornados in comparsion to the rest of the state of Florida?

Depends on which part.

Southern Tallahassee sits on a flat, coastal plain that is much more prone to flooding and (it seems*) more prone to tornadoes. The north side is on considerably higher ground (the Red Hills geological area) and flooding isn't as much of an issue. Many neighborhood on the north side are Red Cross Disaster Resistant certified.

Hurricanes will generally come from the south (the Gulf) so the topography of your neighborhood, even your individual lot, can make a big difference. Generally speaking the wind from the hurricane proper will be coming either from the south, or from the east, since they rotate counterclockwise. Got a hill east of your house? Good news for you. As the hurricane passes the wind shifts of course, but by that time the storm will be weakened.

Trees are the main problem in Tallahassee. We like our trees. The city is essentially forested for the most part (making parts of it largely invisible from the air). Downed trees and resulting power outages or home damage is the only thing most Tallahasseeans worry about. If you take a direct tornado hit you are screwed anyway, so no point in worrying about that.

Then there's the weirdness. After living here for 20+ years I have noticed some microclimatic effects. I'm not a meterologist so this is my totally unprofessional opinion, but it seems like the tornadoes born of cold fronts and the odd supercell start NW of Tallahassee and pass south of the city, through northern Wakulla county*, or they brush Cairo and pass north, between Thomasville and Tallahassee. Just my observation...








*Especially the Winn Dixie parking lot in Crawfordville, for some reason.

[Aconite]

LOL, Strel! Have you ever been to Tropical Weather... Done Better!™ Great hurricane tracking site.