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That article really surprised me because it seems like TWC is generally talking about warnings in the more northern parts of Tx. I just chose Fort Worth because it's mentioned a lot and according to CD, it has a much greater chance of tornado activity then Houston has. Does Harris Co. maybe have a much larger land mass?
Does Harris Co. maybe have a much larger land mass?
. . . Not a larger land mass but Harris County (Harris County is made up mostly of the city of Houston) is very close to the Texas Gulf coast so has more thunderstorm activity than those counties in Texas "Tornado Alley". Hurricanes and other Gulf of Mexico storms also spawn tornadoes. However, these (coastal) tornadoes are not normally as powerful as those located in Tornado Alley. So, it's like getting hit head-on by an SUV rather than an 18-wheeler.
MM, that is a fascinating chart. There are charts showing that Tx. has the most tornadoes, but it's such a huge state that just having the highest number doesn't tell the whole story. That chart does.
There's something else I was thinking when I saw that my own state is number nine in one of the sections. The states south of here have a longer period of time for tornado season. For instance, it may be 80 degrees and humid in Tx. in March and it's still below freezing up here.
Southern Plains where the cool air coming down from the Rockies mixes with the warm air coming up from the gulf, ie., Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas panhandle, however with climate changing such as later snow melting, cooler winters and warmer summers, "tornado alley" in the United States has grown larger, all the way up to Wisconsin. One must note tornados are unpredictable in any standard but here is a general map to go by.
Its like the Harris county thing;they have torandoes but they are more like twisters and limted damge as they seldom touch down long. Now when I was in Oklaghoma I saw real tornadoes. Big suckers there.It like the diffeence between a Cat 1 and Cat3 hurrocanes;big differnces if you have ever been thru either.
Random fact: Did you know that the country with the highest average number of tornadoes per sq. km is in fact Britain? I live slap-bang in the middle of tornado alley.
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