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Notorious tornado alleys in your area...

Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:22 pm
Posted by Govt Tide
Member since Nov 2009
9584 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:22 pm
Moore, Oklahoma's notorious tornado history shows that some areas are particularly prone to repeatedly having violent tornadoes. What are some notorious areas where you live or have lived in the past?

I lived in Birmingham for a number of years and the west and northwest side of the metro area has a ridiculous tornado history. The Pleasant Grove, McDonalds Chapel, Bessemer, Smithfield are just west/northwest of downtown Birmingham was constantly getting hit. This narrow area has been hit by F4 and F5 tornadoes on April 27, 2011, April 8, 1998, April 4, 1977, March 5, 1963, and April 15, 1956. Those are just the F4/F5 tornadoes and don't even count storms like the January 2012 F3 tornado that tracked just barely north of this area and did severe damage in the Trussville area. Some areas have so many violent tornadoes that you almost have to question living in certain areas.
Posted by TupeloReb
Member since Nov 2012
10744 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:26 pm to
I haven't lived there but Huntsville always seems to get a good number of tornadoes
Posted by Bama Bird
Pittsburgh, PA
Member since Mar 2013
22887 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:26 pm to
I 20/59. Tornadoes are always going on that path
Posted by reggierayreb
Member since Nov 2012
19778 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:31 pm to
Jackson, TN gets hit hard every couple years it seems like.
Posted by Pigimus Prime
Arkansas
Member since Feb 2012
4095 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:32 pm to
We have had numerous ones over the years where I am from in Northeast Arkansas. Some have hit the same exact places.
Posted by Govt Tide
Member since Nov 2009
9584 posts
Posted on 5/20/13 at 11:54 pm to
Yeah, the Tanner, AL community near Huntsville got hit twice by large tornadoes ON THE SAME DAY during the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak. That area and much of Huntsville also got hit hard by an F4 in November 1989 during rush hour and got hit on April 27th, 2011. Those are just a few off the top of my head.
Posted by bgoodwin
Cullman, Al
Member since Sep 2011
600 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 4:16 am to
Both the Tanner tornadoes in 2011 caused damage at the mill where I work. Had a rotating cloud pass directly over us a couple of weeks ago.After the 2011 storms, the company installed several underground shelters, we've used then twice this year.
Posted by oklahogjr
Gold Membership
Member since Jan 2010
40237 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 9:34 am to
Anywhere in oklahoma along I40 storms seem to follow the interstate.
Posted by mizzoukills
Member since Aug 2011
40686 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 9:42 am to
What the Weather Channel refers to as the I-44 Corridor.

Storms generally move northeast along the I-44 Corridor through Oklahoma City, OK, Tulsa, OK, Joplin, MO, Springfield, MO and eventually into St. Louis.
This post was edited on 5/21/13 at 11:23 am
Posted by Jma313
Member since Aug 2010
5245 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 10:00 am to
It always seems like Benton county, Arkansas is always getting told to seek shelter on the news stations here in Memphis. Must suck
Posted by BamaChemE
Midland, TX
Member since Feb 2012
7569 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 10:15 am to
In Tuscaloosa, it's usually Hwy 69 in Taylorville to McFarland Blvd via Skyland Blvd. The one from two years ago followed an exactly parallel path, but was offset a few miles to the north and really f'ed up 15th street and University Blvd in Alberta
Posted by Miz Piggy
La Petite Roche
Member since Jan 2012
3171 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 10:19 am to
Little Rock has taken a direct hit 4 times in the past 16 years.

ETA: 2 of those followed almost the exact same path - Northeast around Mississippi Ave towards the river.
This post was edited on 5/21/13 at 10:36 am
Posted by Govt Tide
Member since Nov 2009
9584 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 10:32 am to
quote:

In Tuscaloosa, it's usually Hwy 69 in Taylorville to McFarland Blvd via Skyland Blvd. The one from two years ago followed an exactly parallel path, but was offset a few miles to the north and really f'ed up 15th street and University Blvd in Alberta


Yeah, that area is notorious as well. I remember the Dec 16, 2000 F4 that took that exact path. I remember seeing a bicycle wrapped around a bent flag pole along Highway 69 right across from the shopping center that was destroyed. That bent flag pole was still there when I drove by there a few years ago. The only tornado I've actually seen in person was an F2 in January 1997 that followed that path and eventually hit the 5 points area of East Tuscaloosa.
Posted by PepaSpray
Adamantium Membership
Member since Aug 2012
11080 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 12:30 pm to
Tanner, East Limestone, and Harvest area near Huntsville is a cursed little tornado alley.
Posted by wmr
North of Dickson, South of Herman's
Member since Mar 2009
32518 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 2:44 pm to
quote:

It always seems like Benton county, Arkansas is always getting told to seek shelter on the news stations here in Memphis. Must suck


Benton County has had a few, albeit very small, tornadoes over the past several years.

Its the flatter end of the NWA metro and a little too close to the plains of KS and OK.

I will say that the Memphis TV folks could save their breath on that one, as nobody in NWA gets Memphis news, or even Little Rock news, for that matter.
Posted by au21tigers
Thursday
Member since Nov 2009
12548 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 2:52 pm to
quote:

Huntsville


Mainly Anderson Hills, Harvest, and New Market.
This post was edited on 5/21/13 at 2:54 pm
Posted by Jma313
Member since Aug 2010
5245 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 3:18 pm to
Maybe they are talking about a county in Mississippi then? Who knows they are always under sever storm/ tornado watches
Posted by JombieZombie
Member since Nov 2009
7687 posts
Posted on 5/21/13 at 9:36 pm to
Lawrence county and Athens.
Posted by Gr8t8s
Member since Oct 2009
2585 posts
Posted on 5/22/13 at 12:29 am to
UAH did a study of the Huntsville Metro Area and found that there really is a "Tornado Alley" through there. They concluded that it somehow came down to the topography of the area that pushed tornados is the same general direction, along the same general path.

That path runs about 3 miles SE of my house 2 years ago, the BIG tornados went through there. A year later a much smaller tornado went along the same path within 1/4 to 1/2 mile.
Posted by Govt Tide
Member since Nov 2009
9584 posts
Posted on 5/22/13 at 1:57 pm to
quote:

Tanner, East Limestone, and Harvest area near Huntsville is a cursed little tornado alley.




I found some pretty neat stuff when googling "tornado history". Tanner, AL was included in the strange coincidences category along with Moore, Oklahoma.


Exceptional coincidences

Codell, Kansas

The small town of Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on the same date three consecutive years. A tornado hit on May 20, 1916, 1917, and 1918.[28] The U.S. has about 100,000 thunderstorms a year; less than 1% produce a tornado. The odds of this coincidence occurring again is extremely small.

Tanner, Alabama

A small town in northern Alabama, Tanner, was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1974 during the Super Outbreak and was struck again 45 minutes later by at least a high-end F4 (some sources say F5), demolishing what remained of the town. 37 years later, on April 27, 2011, during what some meteorologists have dubbed Super Outbreak II, Tanner was hit yet again by the EF5 Hackleburg tornado, producing high-end EF4 damage in the southern portion of town.



Moore, Oklahoma

Moore was hit by devastating tornadoes in 1999, 2003, 2010, and 2013, all of which were of F4 strength or greater.
This post was edited on 5/22/13 at 1:59 pm
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