by Playfuls Staff |
1st April 2007
Meteorologists say in recent years the high risk of being hit by a twister appears to have shifted out of [more] Tornado Alley -- Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.
So far this year, 21 people have been killed by tornadoes in Florida, 10 in Alabama and nine in Georgia, compared to two in Oklahoma and 1 in Texas.
Tim Baker, a storm chaser in Greeley, Colo., told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he believes the warming trend and the drought that has hit Texas has affected tornado patterns, at least temporarily.
"Tornado Alley shifts when the weather patterns shift," he said. "When the weather patterns shift, people need to shift their minds, and that's not what's happening."
Other experts say that the problem in Florida and other southeastern states is not more dangerous tornadoes but more risk from moderate tornadoes. People are far more likely to die in mobile homes, which are more common in the southeast.
In Tornado Alley, there is also a fairly well-defined season, but in the southeast the risk is about the same year-round.
© 2007 UPI
