GMT Written by Jennifer Brill, DisasterRelief.org Writer Victims of this week s tornadoes in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi had adequate warning time but 42 people still lost their lives. The deadly funnel clouds occur mostly in the central plains states. There are several reasons, says David Imy, a meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
People living in the plains states live on flat land.
They can see a tornado coming for miles, Imy says. In the southeast, trees are plentiful and quite tall, perhaps 40 to 60 feet high, blocking views of any tornado touchdowns to the earth. Yet in the southeast, clouds may only be 1,000 feet above the ground, limiting visibility even further. Also, Imy explains that There s more moisture in the southeast. More moisture means clouds are lower.