Is Tallahassee in tornado alley?<\/p>\n
Likely not, but there is still concern.<\/p>\n
For the past 20 years, the Florida Panhandle has maintained an average of eight to 10 tornado watches per year, according to a graphic from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).<\/p>\n
As recent as 2024, Tallahassee became well acquainted with tornadoes thanks to the May 10 tornado outbreak with three twisters tearing through the capital county and causing over $60 million in damages.<\/p>\n
And these types of storms are something to think about heading into the spring.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t go to say that we’re in Tornado Alley … but anytime we get into the spring months, tornadoes do become more favorable,” said Wright Dobbs, a meteorologist with the local NWS.<\/p>\n
Dobbs said that there is no way they can tell if there will or won’t be tornadoes in the coming months but he urges people to prepare for whatever severe weather may come, just in case.<\/p>\n
He also explained the path from severe weather to tornado watch: “The local weather forecast office, which is here in Tallahassee, and all the other offices in the country, work in collaboration with the Storm Prediction Center.<\/p>\n
“… So when the Storm Prediction Center and the local weather forecast office see conditions that could make severe storm have a better potential to produce tornadoes, we’ll work together to draw up a large geographical area that has a tornado watch.”<\/p>\n