Tornado Threat??? (Birmingham, Pleasant Grove: home, school, earthquakes)

[newtracy]

In doing research on the Birmingham area for a possible move down there, I have come across MANY articles about the threat of tornadoes in the area. I had no idea that they had so many....like most people, I did not realize 'Tornado Alley' has changed/moved...still thought Oklahoma was the worst state for twisters, but it looks like Alabama is just as bad if not worse.

I grew up in SE Michigan, where we had plenty of Tornado Warnings...I remember often taking shelter in the basement, or in the halls at school. But in 30+ years, we never actually had a twister do any damage to our area. The idea of going through something like what happened in April of 2011 is pretty frightening!

Those of you who live in the area...how bad is it really? How often do you deal with tornadoes??

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by newtracy

In doing research on the Birmingham area for a possible move down there, I have come across MANY articles about the threat of tornadoes in the area. I had no idea that they had so many....like most people, I did not realize 'Tornado Alley' has changed/moved...still thought Oklahoma was the worst state for twisters, but it looks like Alabama is just as bad if not worse.

I grew up in SE Michigan, where we had plenty of Tornado Warnings...I remember often taking shelter in the basement, or in the halls at school. But in 30+ years, we never actually had a twister do any damage to our area. The idea of going through something like what happened in April of 2011 is pretty frightening!

Those of you who live in the area...how bad is it really? How often do you deal with tornadoes??

Depends on the year. 2011 was a generational event.

First off, you pay attention to the weather from November-April. After that the chance of a tornado plunges. Even then, your instincts tell you when one will be coming. The air gets a greasy, unsettled kind of feel.

So you keep abreast of the weather. My motto is, "If it's hittin' the fan, watch James Spann," a boffo local weatherman with almost psychic abilities predicting twisters (Snow? Not so much. But that's a different story entirely). The NWS here is first class, and there is a huge network of tornado sirens.

While the precise touchdown of a tornado is extremely hard to predict, the weather that causes them is pretty easy. You can pretty much watch the systems forming in Louisiana and Mississippi which gives you plenty of time to prepare. Personally, I will never live in a home without a basement. I've volunteered in areas where F4s and F5s have gone through and there's nothing left above ground.

Which leads to the next thing: Tornados follow general paths. For example, northwest of Birmingham all the way to the Tennessee and Mississippi lines, it's like a freaking highway for the things. And in the NWern suburbs of Birmingham such as Pleasant Grove or Pratt City, you might as well be sitting in the barrel of a gun. Over the past fifty years, several F4s and F5s have gone through that area.

Meanwhile, the southeastern part of town gets very few, typically the F0s, F1s, and the rare F2.

In fact, here's an amazing little website: Tornado History Project: Maps and Statistics that has maps of all the tornado tracks. Just key in the data into the search engine and you get an amazing picture.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by newtracy

In doing research on the Birmingham area for a possible move down there, I have come across MANY articles about the threat of tornadoes in the area. I had no idea that they had so many....like most people, I did not realize 'Tornado Alley' has changed/moved...still thought Oklahoma was the worst state for twisters, but it looks like Alabama is just as bad if not worse.

I grew up in SE Michigan, where we had plenty of Tornado Warnings...I remember often taking shelter in the basement, or in the halls at school. But in 30+ years, we never actually had a twister do any damage to our area. The idea of going through something like what happened in April of 2011 is pretty frightening!

Those of you who live in the area...how bad is it really? How often do you deal with tornadoes??

Remember that an area may be prone to have tornados or other weather phenomena, but that does not mean the entire area is engulfed. It can rain in one part of town and not another.

Tornados have been very specific in Birmingham. Only once in my life has one entered the area I live in. (and meteorologist have not agreed it was actually a tornado) In fact, from my experience, I am quite surprised if they are ever outside of the southwestern and northeastern older suburbs. The terrain in Birmingham causes them to touch down and then bounce into the air. So there are not many cases like you find in the west where there are miles of devastation due to continuous contact.

I have seen only one tornado in my life and it was not in Alabama. I only point this out because I know that looking at something through statistics can be misleading. The numbers may look very bad, and yet if you go out and interview people most will have never had first hand experience, or even seen one.

Hurricanes and earthquakes would bother me more.

Good luck,
raj