Study: Mid-South new tornado alley

DEKALB, Ill., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. meteorologist said while the Great Plains has a higher number of tornadoes, most tornado fatalities occur in the nation's mid-South region.

Northern Illinois University meteorologist Walker Ashley determined the nation's most vulnerable region for tornado-related fatalities includes parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

Ashley cited a number of factors that combine to make the mid-South particularly vulnerable. Those factors include a higher likelihood of nighttime tornadoes, the highest percentage of mobile homes than any other region east of the Continental Divide, more forested areas, reducing visibility for both the public and tornado spotters and a lack of a focused tornado season, which can lead to complacency.

"In the South, people think tornado alley is where you get tornadoes," Ashley said. "That sort of perception also leads to complacency, which in turn leads to higher fatality rates." He noted Oklahoma is known worldwide for the frequency of its tornadoes, yet that state has fewer fatalities than Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi.

Ashley's study was reported in the December issue of the American Meteorological Society's journal Weather and Forecasting.