I had dinner with family the other night and my parents brought up worries about tornadoes and extreme weather in Tuscaloosa. When they read about that nasty tornado in 2011 that 6 students, they did not hold back from worrying about how safe the area is. I was wondering if I could get people’s inputs about what the university and area does with extreme weather so that I can put my parents at ease. It would be especially nice to hear from parents about how they were able to cope with this when sending their kids to college. Thanks!
Tornadoes happen in lots of places - or hurricanes, or earthquakes, or blizzards, or floods. . . I’ve lived on place that didn’t have a high likely hood of any severe weather but such places are rare. Do you live in one of those places or is Alabama just a fear because of the tragedy a few years ago?
We live in Denver so the worse we have here is feet of snow coming down…haha. They just felt a little uneasy of the idea about being wiped out by a tornado while I was partying in an apartment or out on the street with nowhere to turn to for shelter…that was literally what they told me.
The best I can say is that large of a tornado is not normal in the south. Many small tornadoes come from thunder storms but the one that hit Tuscaloosa a few years ago is more common in midwest. The type that are common in the south destroy mobile homes but are not as severe of a threat in hard structures. I do think that since that tragedy, tornado alarms are more common on college campuses in the south than they were before but I can’t speak for Bama.
Of course tornadoes are a concern in Alabama, but after the devastating tornado in 2011, I doubt there’s a school in the country that takes tornadoes more seriously than UA. I would take the risk seriously, and go to Bama with a good weather radio and some common sense, but I would not let the fact that Tuscaloosa is in an area that gets severe weather keep me from going there. We live in the Chicago area, and we get blizzards, floods AND tornadoes. And I wouldn’t worry too much about being wiped out on the street with nowhere to turn for shelter - you will typically know that conditions are ripe for a tornado and you can act accordingly to keep yourself safe. The University will cancel classes in the event of severe weather. Frankly, I’d be more worried about a freak weather event in an area that isn’t prepared for them.
“We live in Denver so the worse we have here is feet of snow coming down…haha. They just felt a little uneasy of the idea about being wiped out by a tornado while I was partying in an apartment or out on the street with nowhere to turn to for shelter…that was literally what they told me.”
"Notice how no one ever mentions Ridgecrest North?
It used to stand where the duck pond is now.
That is, until the big tornado a few years back."
Tornadoes, specifically the outbreak of 2011, are not really a laughing matter. Many lives were across the Southeast, including others besides the six students.
If this is a serious post and you’d like to make your parents feel better about UA, Tuscsloosa, and the state of Alabama, then read about how the community came together on April 27, 2011 and continues to recover even now.
Severe weather happens here and most everywhere else. Like in any other catastrophic event, safey precautions save lives.
To answer your question about how we were able to cope with sending our daughter into an area with tornadoes . . . I bought her a weather radio and made sure she had a tornado app on her phone. I made sure she knew where the safe places on campus were, and that she knew the difference between a watch and a warning. Beyond that, I know she has common sense. I have Tuscaloosa as one of the weather locations on my phone, so I’m aware of the weather forecast. When I know severe weather is in the forecast, I start following James Spann’s blog (alabamawx dot com) and sometimes I’ll watch the live stream from his station in Birmingham when they go all-weather. Generally the university sends out e-mails, too. I will text my daughter to make sure she’s following the weather, and has her phone fully charged and a full tank of gas in her car. She saw the damage from the 2011 tornado, so she takes tornado risk seriously - she told me she wore her motorcycle helmet during the last tornado warning they had. Since I know that she and the University are prepared, I really don’t worry about it too much.
Historically, tornadoes tend to follow similar tracks, and yes, west Alabama is an area that is hit fairly regularly, but it tends to be a bit farther north of Tuscaloosa. 2011 was an unusual year because of the day-long outbreak (most tend to form late afternoon), the strength of the tornadoes, and where they hit. Spring and fall are the times of year with weather most conducive to tornadoes, although they could happen any time conditions are right.
All of the students killed in 2011 were off campus. UA’s campus was not hit, although the places it did hit were very close - just a few streets away. Campus has never been struck by a tornado. That could change, but it would be very unusual.
In Alabama, we prepare for tornadoes, just like Floridians prepare for hurricanes. First, learn the conditions that bring them about. Very high barometric pressure followed by a storm front with low pressure. Rapidly changing weather patterns. These bring about a day with unusually warm temps and sticky, humid air. There are plenty of online places to learn about tornado weather. Most of the TV stations in Alabama go through them often at the start of each tornado season.
Learn what to do - stay away from windows, cover yourself with a heavy blanket, go to an interior windowless room, preferably on the lowest floor or basement (basements are kind of rare in Alabama with our high water table). Don’t try to ride it out in a car. Find where shelters are and go to them when tornado watches turn into tornado warnings. Have ready to grab and go a bag with a couple of bottles of water, a flashlight, extra batteries, a way to charge a cell phone.
And watch the weather and weather people on TV. Our TV stations are very, very good at tornado coverage. Many have purchased their own extra Doppler radar units to help “see” tornadoes even before they touch the ground. Weather personnel are on the air constantly as a possible tornado front forms. TV audio is broadcast on radio stations.We take those watches and warnings seriously.
That said, tornadoes are still unusual and not at all the norm in Alabama.
@Loosabelle I apologize if I came off as ignorant of the severity of tornadoes…I was merely trying to say that to people in Colorado the worst weather we have to deal with is snow and the infrequent blizzard in the mountains. My family has no idea or experience with the tragedy of tornadoes other than what we read in the news. That’s why the 2011 story had them on edge, especially my mother. She just wants me to be as safe as possible.
Thanks everyone for the insight you could provide for my parents. My family and I are so excited to make Alabama a second home for me and we just want to get to know the experiences that make college safe and fun down there
Have your parents read A SEASON TO REMEMBER, by former Crimson Tide long snapper, Carson Tinker. Here is a description from Amazon.com:
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama the world revolves around one thing: The University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide. But on April 27, 2011 everything changed. An EF4 tornado ripped through the small college town and changed it forever.
Carson Tinker, the starting long snapper for the 2011 and 2012 National Champion Crimson Tide, was among those forever changed by the events of April 27. Tinker lost his girlfriend Ashley Harrison to the storm, but not his faith.
“In the midst of unfathomable destruction, Tinker saw love, companionship, perseverance, and triumph in a community torn apart by a natural disaster. Where everyone else saw tragedy, Carson Tinker saw blessing. Following the storm, the Crimson Tide suited up to face their most challenging season to date. Tinker’s personal story guides readers through what cannot be described any other way than a season to remember.”
This book is a great read and provides a glimpse of what happened and how the community reacted. I think you’ll like it and it will provide a better understanding of Tuscaloosa.
I’m originally from Calif where we had NO WARNINGS at all when an earlthquake would hit.
At least with tornadoes, we usually have a LOT of notice…
When the 2011 tornadoes hit, I had 2 kids on campus. At that time, people didn’t really take tornado warnings very seriously, so likely we had more loss of life simply because people ignored the warnings. Heck, one of my kids was actually DRIVING when the tornado hit. Thankfully, he on Jack Warner directly north of campus, and the tornado never hit there.
I remember exactly that time because my town was hit with EF5 tornadoes. About a week before, there were heavy warnings, and nothing happened. Then when the warning for tornadoes for April 27, 2011 came in, I think many just thought, “sure, just like last week.” Now, I don’t think people would take the warnings as lightly.
We’ve all learned a lot since that day.
No place is perfectly safe, there is no reason to fear Tuscaloosa more than elsewhere.
Tuscaloosa is not an extreme weather city. It actually is a mild weather cit.
BTW…the campus’ only physical loss that day was ONE tree.
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We live in Denver so the worse we have here is feet of snow coming down…haha. They just felt a little uneasy of the idea about being wiped out by a tornado while I was partying in an apartment or out on the street with nowhere to turn to for shelter
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I would imagine that Denver has significant loss of life from snow-related incidents.
Again…tornadoes aren’t like earthquakes. If you were to go to college in Calif, then YES, you could be at a party with NOWHERE to go for shelter if an earthquake hit. In Tuscaloosa, there would be warnings hours before…the tornado-warning sirens would be BLARING…and you’d have time to seek shelter if you took the warnings seriously.
Would your parents be opposed to you going to college in California because of earthquakes?
More people are killed by snow than tornadoes. No matter where you live, there is always some danger of a weather or geographic threat. But at least with tornado they can be tracked and they don’t stick around from October to May.
There is no denying the damage and loss of life that snow causes here in Colorado. It’s unfortunate whenever the news covers major pile ups of crashes and deaths on highways because of so much ice and snow that anyone going over 10 mph is going to lose traction and crash. The difference here is that snow is relatively non-life threatening in low amounts and does not seem “scary”, while tornadoes–big and small–are terrifying and dangerous. I guess–at least from what I see and what my parents feel-- it is media perception that tornadoes strike at any moment and that there is little to no chance to get to safety once it’s in the area. My mom kept asking me what would I do if I was walking off campus or I was driving a car and a tornado strikes. Since my family and I are not used to hurricanes and tornadoes, we are unfamiliar with how much preparation towns and people take into consideration for this weather. But in the end @lostaccount is correct: everywhere has its own dangers and it’s part of being responsible citizens to watch out for trouble.
This has been an enlightening discussion and it will make for a great dinner conversation tonight Thank you everyone for your thoughts!
