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Tornadoes affect very small land areas. I wouldn't rule out NW Alabama over the possibility of losing the lottery and being in the bullseye of a tornado. While Northern Alabama is prone to tornadoes, including very strong and deadly ones, the chance of actually experiencing one directly is very slim.
"Dixie Alley was the epicenter of the 2011 Super Outbreak, which was the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, as well as the fourth-deadliest outbreak in United States history, with over 300 people dead"
Statistically, you have a real low chance of being one of those 300, but still... :x
The Tornado situation in Alabama is a tad bit overemphesized imho, not saying they don't happen because they do. Most places have something seriously dangerous they're known for, if not natural disaster then often times crime in excess. Take a visit and see how you like the area.
Oh my God lol.. Of course it will flood after a hurricane but again we have not been affected by a hurricane since Katrina.And the Dixie Alley link is sort of accurate.Mobile and Baldwin counties rarely see them while Washington, Escambia,Clarke and etc do see them more often than Mobile and Baldwin counties do.
"Dixie Alley was the epicenter of the 2011 Super Outbreak, which was the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, as well as the fourth-deadliest outbreak in United States history, with over 300 people dead"
Statistically, you have a real low chance of being one of those 300, but still... :x
It was a horrible day to be sure, and one we will never forget as we watched tornadoes live on TV rampaging through places like Tuscaloosa and the Birmingham suburbs. Even so, the vast vast majority of people in the Super Outbreak region did not experience a tornado even on that day. As far as a comparison to hurricanes... I'll take the tornadoes! In contrast to tornadoes, hurricanes do affect huge land areas at once. An entire city can be devastated, as opposed to a strip of land through a city that, in all but the worst cases, is a few hundred yards wide (or less) and a few miles long (or less).
Here's a Google Maps satellite view of Tuscaloosa, which was devastated by a strong EF-4 tornado on April 27, 2011. This was a worst case scenario and very rare for such a massive twister to barrel through a decent sized city. On the satellite view you can clearly see the light green strip almost devoid of darker green mature trees where the tornado tracked through the city. Not trying to dismiss what happened, as it was horrendous. Even so, the majority of the city of 90,000 was unaffected, and a typical tornado would have affected a much smaller land area. Days like 4/27/11 occur about once every 40 years on average, so the odds of seeing something like that more than a couple of times in your lifetime are pretty low.
"Dixie Alley was the epicenter of the 2011 Super Outbreak, which was the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, as well as the fourth-deadliest outbreak in United States history, with over 300 people dead"
Statistically, you have a real low chance of being one of those 300, but still... :x
And you are right ! Around that time Mobile had a Christmas day tornado that was the first time the city saw a tornado in years.
I think it is so strange that people are actually devoting this much attention to the question of tornados. I've lived in Alabama for 55 years. I have never seen a tornado. I have never heard a tornado. I have not had a close call with a tornado. I know nobody who has died or suffered injury from a tornado. The nearest a tornado has come to me was an F2 that came within two miles of my house in 2011. And I'm pretty sure most Alabamians have the same experience as me.
What is particularly weird is a guy from Kansas City obsessing over tornados in Alabama. I mean, what about cities such as Joplin or Andover, among many others? Does he discourage people from moving to his area? No, because it's either a lazy straw man argument or he just lacks self-awareness. Is this guy discouraging people from seeking work in Florida or the coastal regions of the Carolinas due to hurricanes? Or California due to earthquakes?
I'm just a n=1 but my (future) wife was nearly killed by a tornado that hit the eastside of Tuscaloosa, AL in the mid-1990's. She has witnessed 2 tornado touchdowns while living in AL (OTOH, I've seen none as a native Alabamian)
The state of AL has the highest number of average annual tornado deaths in the country since 1985 - additionally, AL has the highest percentage of F5 tornadoes over any other geographic area in the Southeast
Of course, the vast majority of AL residents will NEVER see a tornado - I'd argue the relative risk is higher than other areas of the SE (but the absolute risk is still quite small)
After moving to Upstate SC in 2003 (from AL), my weather radio never went off (now a phone app) - it was always going off in spring/fall in AL (again, just my n=1 observation)
Now, rationally, I would never base a job decision on rare tornado outbreaks - AL is a great state to live/raise a family
Lastly, never dismiss ANY tornado warnings/tornado sightings (even a small tornado, EF2/3) - if Jacksonville residents ignored warnings recently, many would have been injured/died
Last edited by drfranklin; 04-21-2018 at 09:53 AM..
What is particularly weird is a guy from Kansas City obsessing over tornados in Alabama...
Once again, it wasn't me who brought up the issue of severe weather. It was the OP. Read the original post! The OP was concerned about severe weather (I presume mostly tornadoes) where he/she lives in NW Alabama and wanted to go somewhere with less danger in that regard. Somebody else mentioned Mobile. I was pointing out that if somebody was concerned about dangerous weather in NW Alabama, Mobile isn't going to do you any better (and might even be worse). That is all. I was simply trying to help the OP. If you want to accuse somebody of having irrational fears of tornadoes, accuse the OP, he/she is the one wanting to leave an area because of his/her fear of deadly weather, not me.
I(currently a basic warehouse worker) have some job leads that apparently pay around $52-60K for hands-on type entry level work, where my "miscellaneous" degree would help me get in(but not required). In the NW corner of AL; very cheap rent and COL, but the weather seems fairly dangerous in that state... So, are there any similar, safer places in the US where pay is this high for entry work, and COL is low? I'm not sure what to think, as I haven't been to the state or seen any of these jobs in-person yet.
Thanks!
Does this sound like someone who would be interested in moving to Mobile? No.
And no, I did not recommend he/she move to Kansas City, either.
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