A question about tornadoes. I have lived in SC my whole life (60-odd years), and I don't

[raccoon]

remember ever hearing of local tornadoes until about the 1980's or so.

As a kid and young adult, I thought tornadoes were something that only happened in Kansas.

Several possible explanations:

(1) in the '50's and '60's there were tornado watches/warnings in SC, but being a kid I just didn't pay attention.

(2) Weather patterns have changed and tornado watches/warnings in SC are much more common than they were then.

(3) Weather forecasting has improved and now tornado watches/warnings are easier to predict.
Your thoughts?

[alarimer]

1. You may be right about all of those

I know that forecasting has improved, with the use of Doppler radar. Not sure of the details or how it works exactly, but by looking at it, they can tell where a tornado is likely to form. I don't know that it's always accurate.

Every place I've ever lived has had at least some risk from tornadoes. In some places they are much less common than they are in the Midwest. But I honestly couldn't tell you if the frequency has changed anywhere.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. I suspect it would be a little bit of all three reasons you have listed.

Add to that the increased reporting on storms and the almost constant coverage in the news and weather channels of the aftermath.

[dballance]

3. I Think All Three of Your Possibilities Are Partially Correct

I grew up in middle TN in the 60's & 70's (weather probably not all that different than SC - except no hurricanes). As I kid I do remember tornado watches and warnings. I actually lived through two tornadoes that did some major damage to our small town and killed people and livestock. We also had tornado drills in school when I was in elementary school. Everyone would be ushered into the hallways (no windows, so less flying glass and debris was the thought) and crouch facing the wall covering our heads.

Climate change has had an impact on tropical storms and hurricanes. It's reasonable to assume it has some impact on the formation of storms that spawn tornadoes.

Weather forecasting has certainly improved so I think they're able to see the squall lines that portend possible tornadoes sooner and more easily.

Did you have to do the Cold War air raid drills in the 50's?

[raccoon]

6. If we did the Cold War air raid drills, I don't remember them. I do remember

hearing grownups discuss a community fallout shelter (never materialized)
and in 5th grade hearing talk about getting everybody dog tags. I didn't realize then
the purpose of the dog tags. That never materialized, either.

[Yo_Mama]

4. Most places have better weather coverage and more warnings

Tornadoes always happened everywhere - they're just more common in wide flat terrain.

I live in a tornado-prone location (south central GA), and I have had multiples hit near the farm. In one case, a small one came through, chopped the tops of two pine trees, and picked up a tractor that was sitting not six feet from a shed, and dumped pieces of that tractor almost a hundred yards away on the other side of the house. However there was no damage to either the house or the shed.

Small tornadoes like that are far more common. The massive funnel clouds that can cut right through a town leaving a wide swath of destruction are very uncommon and seem to be almost confined to flat level terrain.

When I was a kid, in the 1970s, I was up in NJ. I think it was about 60 miles from the coast? A weather system came through and spawned some small tornadoes, one of which clipped off a tree about 40 feet from the house that I was in. The next day I went out, and you could see that the tornado funnel had begun to drop down there. From there there was a drop off into a small wooded stream valley. I followed the trail through the woods and it was as if a giant weed whacker had been swung through the woods.

Those types happen anywhere.

[Jamastiene]

5. It wouldn't hurt to read about the Enigma Tornado Outbreak.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_tornado_outbreak

Tornadoes have always been here, but with the internet and better technology, they are able to warn us more. They can give watches to make sure we know the conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes and warnings so we know to get to whatever safety we can find. That cuts down on the number of deaths. They are doing it to save lives as best they can nowadays.

Granted, I wasn't aware of just how many there have been in this area through the years until the last 10 years or so, but most of that is due to access to the internet. Before that, I, too, thought they were increasing in frequency here.

For the record, this area (I'm in NC, right on the border with SC) is just outside of what is called "Dixie Alley." Some maps include NC and SC in Dixie Alley and some do not. That is probably because the deep south has more EF4+ tornadoes than NC and SC. Our tornadoes in the Carolinas tend to be EF3 or lower in recent years, at least. That is not to say we cannot have an EF4+ tornado here(Refer back to the Enigma Outbreak where an F4 came through my county on the NC/SC border), but just that most are not that bad in the Carolinas, thankfully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_alley

Every state in the U.S. has had tornadoes. No state is immune to getting them. If you read up on the the jet streams and how all of it comes together to form tornadoes, it all becomes much clearer.

It is a very fascinating topic.

[Fumesucker]

7. Here's historical map of tornado tracks in the USA

There seems to be an area in eastern GA and SC that doesn't get as many as much of the rest of the eastern US.

It's also interesting how few the Appalachians get.

[Downwinder]

8. Tornado History Project

Tornadoes in South Carolina
http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/South_Carolina