Relocating to Huntsville Al but Afraid of Tornados! (Madison, Anderson: 2014, houses)

[NoleFanHSV]

Living in Florida for years, we got at least one Hurricane warning a year. Sometimes the hurricane would brush us and we'd end up with 10 feet of water with flooding. We also had a couple of F0 and F1 tornadoes but nothing severe.

This is an interesting map up to 2006:

File:Tornado Alley.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It appears North Alabama has a high occurance of severe tornadoes. Obviously its even worse since 2006 with the 2011 outbreak.

[Renaldo78]

This thread led me to this youtube link of the monster F4 April 27 that took out WAFF's radar


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLI7aJQvTpg

Anybody watching at the time? I was out chasing it on I65.

[SarahBellum]

I was watching then. That was one time when there was no doubt that something very big and very bad was happening very near by.

[FatTails]

Originally Posted by CoreLysium

To stay safe from the weather here, the number one thing to remember is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (when it's hot.)

I'd agree with that. I've seen far, far more people in my life injured from dehydration than any other natural occurrence. I've seen it a lot with swimmers too. You still sweat in the pool/ocean.

[lsuee]

As stated multiple times...
1) Live in an area that is not prone to the more serious tornadoes (3+). Look at the map people have linked in this post.
2) Monitor the weather during potential violent storm systems. I've been here almost 4 years, and I've never been surprised by a violent storm system moving through.
3) Get a basement or storm shelter if you have the funds and really feel you need the extra peace-of-mind.

The April 27th situation was pretty crazy. A tornado passed approximately 50 yards away from my office at work, and the big one passed a little over a mile away. Even though I experienced those situations, I feel far more safe in my home than on the roads (especially the country roads). There are times where I'm concerned and nervous for my family when the systems pass through, but they are brief (this is likely due to my personal experience). I do not have a shelter, and personally would not invest in one where I live (Madison). That said, there's NO way I would live in the area of the map where those EF5 tornadoes have traversed. I saw the path the one took on April 27th, and I won't bother describing it.

I grew up in New Orleans, and I would choose hurricanes over tornadoes any day. However, following rules 1 and 2 above I manage just fine here with barely any stress related to the weather.

[FiveDime]

Look up the definition of an EF-5 tornado. Your house will be wiped clean off the foundation...the only "rubble" will be whatever scraps and splinters the tornado drops on your now-barren slab after it passes.

[NoleFanHSV]

The good thing is that they've gotten so much better at predicting tornadoes. Many of teh ef-4 to ef-5 tornadows in 2011 were long lived. Obviously if they start right on top of your house there isn't much warning.

[weaverra]

Originally Posted by Krissy2696

Anyone have any advice to ease my mind about relocating to Huntsville Al? I've lived in the west 85% of my life, and now I may be coming to Alabama, and I'm freaking out about the tornadoes. Mostly because of my 4 yr old daughter and my 4 animals. We talked about putting in a safe room in whatever house we end up buying, but is that enough? Do any of you live in constant fear of that next big tornado? When you see a cloudy day and it looks like thunderstorms, do you fear it will be a tornado coming too? Silly questions I'm sure to most, but they are serious questions to me. I have alot of family that have migrated to the East, and my husbands family is on the East Coast (NY). So when a job possibility opened up for Huntsville, we applied, to get closer to family. Any advice???? Thanks!

C. From Utah.

Truth is by doing a little research there is one place you probably don't want to live and that is Anderson Hills. That same subdivision has been hit twice and once before it was a subdivision. There are areas that get hit more frequently than others. I've lived in the North Alabama area for 27 years and never once been involved with one. There are places that tend to get the brunt of most of the severe cells.

[Southlander]

Been in Decatur since April 1961. I've seen some ugly clouds, and on April 27, 2011 a yellow sky, but I've never seen a tornado.

[writerwife]

I'd rather be here dealing with the possibility of tornadoes than living in hurricane or earthquake country.