9 Things Alabamians Grew Up Believing About the Weather That Aren’t True

Grandparents mean well when they pass along weather advice, but some of it can leave you at risk when a storm rolls in.

Here’s what weather experts say about old Alabama weather advice, so you’re ready for the next storm.

1. Opening the Windows

Many people grew up hearing that you should open a window before a tornado hits.

The National Weather Service office in Mobile says the old belief that rapid pressure changes damage a building is not true.

Whether your windows are open or closed won’t make any difference in a tornado.

Every second you spend at a window is a second you’re not getting to shelter.

The best spot is the lowest level of your home, in a basement or an interior room without windows.

Put as many walls as you can between yourself and the outside.

If you live in a mobile home, the Mobile office says to get out and take shelter in a sturdy building or storm shelter.

2. Lightning Without Rain

Lightning doesn’t need a rainy sky over your head to reach you.

Many people figure a dry patch of sky means a thunderstorm can’t reach them.

Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of a thunderstorm, far outside the rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Bolts from the blue can land 10 to 15 miles from the thunderstorm.

Many lightning casualties happen because people don’t seek shelter soon enough.

If you hear thunder, you’re likely within striking distance of the storm.

When thunder roars, go indoors.

3. Hurricane Category Numbers

Many Gulf Coast families grew up reading a hurricane’s category number as its full threat.

The National Hurricane Center describes the Saffir-Simpson scale as a 1 to 5 based only on a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed.

It leaves out storm surge, rainfall flooding and tornadoes, three potentially deadly hazards.

Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores on September 16, 2020, as a strong Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds.

Rainfall totals reached 15 to 30 inches across Baldwin County, and Orange Beach recorded 29.99 inches.

Wind wasn’t the whole story.

When a storm heads for the Gulf Coast, you’ll want the surge and rainfall forecasts along with the category.

And if you’re told to evacuate, the National Weather Service says to do it immediately.

4. Overpass Shelter

An overpass can look like cover when a tornado warning catches you on the interstate.

Don’t take cover under an overpass, says the National Weather Service office in Mobile.

It doesn’t provide adequate shelter during a tornado and can increase wind speeds through a tunneling effect.

If you’re in a vehicle, get out and into a sturdy shelter if you can reach one safely.

If one isn’t available nearby, get to a low spot and cover your head from flying debris.

5. Lightning Striking Twice

The old saying promises that lightning won’t hit the same spot twice.

Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, the National Weather Service says, especially a tall, pointy, isolated object.

The Empire State Building is hit an average of 23 times a year.

If a storm catches you outside, you can’t count on that old saying.

6. Hills and Rivers as a Shield

Many people grew up believing a tornado won’t cross the ridge or river near their home.

The National Severe Storms Laboratory says a significant tornado has crossed every major river east of the Rockies.

A gully could make a tornado more intense.

On the afternoon of November 15, 1989, an F4 tornado hit Huntsville.

It crossed Garth Mountain, Huntsville Mountain and Chestnut Knob on the way.

It destroyed shopping complexes, office buildings, an apartment complex and churches as it crossed Airport Road.

Twenty-one people died, and 463 were injured, the National Weather Service reports.

If you live near a ridge or a river, a tornado warning still applies to you.

7. Trucks in Floodwater

A pickup truck doesn’t make floodwater safe for you to drive through.

Many drivers figure a truck or sport utility vehicle can handle water a car can’t.

It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars, according to the National Weather Service.

Two feet of rushing water can carry away sport utility vehicles and trucks.

Six inches of fast-moving floodwater can knock an adult off their feet.

Over half of all flood-related drownings happen when someone drives a vehicle into hazardous flood water.

Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road.

Your truck isn’t the exception.

8. Spring-Only Tornado Season

Tornado season in Alabama doesn’t stop when spring does.

Many people think of tornadoes as a spring thing.

The fall stretch typically begins in early November and wraps up in mid-December, based on the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.

November and December produced 21% of Alabama’s tornadoes from 2001 through 2019, or 228 of 1,072.

The Mobile office calls its region one of the few places in the world with two distinct severe weather seasons.

The Birmingham office ranks a November 24, 2001, outbreak of 36 tornadoes in 24 hours as the third largest in Alabama’s recorded history.

You can’t put your storm plan away in May.

Fall counts too.

9. Trees as Shelter

Many people duck under a tree to stay dry when a thunderstorm moves in.

The National Weather Service says being underneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning casualties.

Dry isn’t worth it.