The Weather in Alabama

I know I said that I would only write on political topics, but I think this might be interesting, especially to those of you who live in areas where tornadoes are common occurrences.

Our primary tornado season in the deep south runs from early March to about mid-May, although tornadoes will occurr in most any month except June, July, and August (the hot summer months). We've had lots of tornadoes reported this season, although most of the storm damage, including the damage to my house, occurred because of straight line winds.

While those of us who are used to tornadoes accept them as a way of life, many folks who live in areas where tornadoes are rare seem to be in awe of these powerful storms. When I first graduated from college, I moved to Atlanta and roomed with a girl from New Jersey. Late one stormy afternoon when I got home from work, my roommate informed me that a tornado warning had been issued for DeKalb County, and she was all in a tizzy. I asked her where the storm was located and she didn't know. The TV was on, (Mr. Gore had already invented the internet, but we didn't know what it was, nor had we ever heard the term) and we were able to find out that it was somewhere in Decatur, well east of where our apartment was. I dismissed it and indicated that it wasn't headed our way. When Ruth asked me how did I know, I responded that I had lived in the south all of my life. Tornadoes come out of the southwest/west and occassionally out of the northwest, but never out of the east. Because there were tornado watches for all of the metro Atlanta area, I told here that one may form west of us, but that the one near Decatur would not affect us. I also had to explain the difference between a watch and a warning to her. She still wasn't satisfied. Then we got a call from a couple from the northeast who lived in a lower level apartment a couple of stairwells over. They were scared and asked us to come over. I was getting over a migraine (I tend to get them when the weather is stormy) and didn't feel that it was necessary to go over there, nor did I want to go over there. Ruth indicated that she would not leave me alone and really insisted that I go with her. I assured her that what to do and what not to do if a tornado comes had been pounded into my head since I was knee-high to a duck. I would pay attention, and if a tornado was spotted that might affect us, I would go over to Jean & Don's. She finally went over to Jean & Don's, and I laid on the sofa with the TV on. Nothing happened and she returned shortly.

Severe weather coverage has improved a thousand percent since then, but one thing no one ever talks about is the reaction of animals when severe weather, especially tornadoes are approaching. If you have a dog or a cat that's not so schizophrenic (don't know if this is spelled right or not), that it's scared of its own shadow, you can watch this animal and determine if there's danger. My cat, Twister, generally doesn't react to thunder, lightening, heavy rain, and wind. He just goes about his own business. However, a couple of Sundays ago when were were having stormy weather, a tornado warning was issued for a doppler indicated tornado that was located very close to my house. James indicated that if you lived in the Pelham/Helena/Riverchase area to go to a place of safety immediately. Twister was in the living room with me and when there was a low rumble of thunder, he looked up and immediately went to the master bedroom and hid under the bed. Like all true Alabamians, I stepped outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the funnel. I live on the side of a hill with lots of trees around, so I couldn't really see anything. However, it was gray-green outside and the feeling was rather erie. The doppler-indicated tornado passed over without dropping a funnel and all was well. There was danger out there, though, and my cat sensed it and hid.

The moral of this story is...watch your animals and see how they react. They have a sixth sense and know when there's danger around. Don't just blow off their reactions.