The Palm Beach Post featured a unique study that is examining tornadoes in Dixie Alley, which loosely includes Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and sometimes the western stretch of Florida. The southeast is heavy with ultra-vulnerable mobile homes where owners may be far from shelter. Kelsey Ellis, climatologist and UT assistant professor of geography, is a research participant in the study.
Southeastern tornadoes are more likely to come at night and stay on the ground longer, Ellis noted. “The southeast has the greatest density of tornadoes and it has the greatest number of fatalities,” she said. “People are asking why so many are dying and looking at the atmosphere in the southeast for some answers.”