This week has been Severe Weather Awareness Week in Alabama. The purpose of the exercise is for all Alabamians to review their severe weather safety rules.
There were a record 77 tornadoes in Alabama in 2005. This easily beat the old record of 56 tornadoes set in 2005. There have only been seven years with more than fifty tornadoes in Alabama. Those years were 1957, 1973, 1974, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
But the record is a bit of a special case. You see, 49 of the 77 tornadoes occurred in conjunction with landaflling tropical weather systems. There were five tornado outbreaks in the state this past year. An outbreak is defined as five or more tornadoes. Those outbreaks occurred on April 30th, July 6th (Tropical Storm Cindy), August 28-29 (Hurricane Katrina), September 25 (Hurricane Rita) and November 28th.
It certainly seems there are more tornadoes these days. Nationwide, tornado counts are up. This is not a factor of global warning or weather gone wild. It is a factor of better verification. National Weather Service meteorologists have more opportunities and better ways to do post storm investigations. Doppler radar signatures are more accurate at pinpointing where potential tornado tracks may have occurred.
The top five Alabama counties for tornadoes since 1950: Baldwin (83), Mobile (70), Jefferson (69), Cullman (51), Tuscaloosa (50), Take a moment to review your personal tornado safety plan. Know basic tornado safety rules and be prepared to act when severe weather threatens.
There were a record 77 tornadoes in Alabama in 2005. This easily beat the old record of 56 tornadoes set in 2005. There have only been seven years with more than fifty tornadoes in Alabama. Those years were 1957, 1973, 1974, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
But the record is a bit of a special case. You see, 49 of the 77 tornadoes occurred in conjunction with landaflling tropical weather systems. There were five tornado outbreaks in the state this past year. An outbreak is defined as five or more tornadoes. Those outbreaks occurred on April 30th, July 6th (Tropical Storm Cindy), August 28-29 (Hurricane Katrina), September 25 (Hurricane Rita) and November 28th.
It certainly seems there are more tornadoes these days. Nationwide, tornado counts are up. This is not a factor of global warning or weather gone wild. It is a factor of better verification. National Weather Service meteorologists have more opportunities and better ways to do post storm investigations. Doppler radar signatures are more accurate at pinpointing where potential tornado tracks may have occurred.
The top five Alabama counties for tornadoes since 1950: Baldwin (83), Mobile (70), Jefferson (69), Cullman (51), Tuscaloosa (50), Take a moment to review your personal tornado safety plan. Know basic tornado safety rules and be prepared to act when severe weather threatens.
on February 25, 2006, 10:40 pm
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