Any info on the climate in this area. I understand that there are tornados. Is that true? How often? Hurricane damage? Any info on the climate is greatly appreciated. Thank you

I don't know the answer to your question but I wanted to tell you about another forum I saw the other day that was very active in the Huntsville area. You may get a good answer there too. It's About.com. Just click on Cities and then Huntsville and then Forum. You can sign in as a Guest without having to register.

Hi there! We have all four seasons here, to every extreme. For example, right now it is so hot and humid I wouldn't consider even going to the pool over staying in the A/C! And in January we usually get a VERY light dusting of snow. Because our roads and workplaces are not well-equipped for snow, at those times the whole city shuts down and everyone stays inside (after emptying the stores of milk and bread). Both of these extreme temps usually only last a couple of weeks, though. The fall and spring are both heavenly weather here--absolutely PERFECT.

As for tornadoes and hurricanes: we ususally get residual effect from hurricanes--lots and lots of rain coming our way now from Cindy on the gulf. We do get severe weather sometimes, ususally in the form of windy thunderstorms which may bring tornadoes. A big tornado tore through Huntsville in the late 80s and everyone is still talking about "the tornado". I would say this is something we are aware of, but is not life-altering in any way, unless of course, one actually does appear, but that the statistics of getting hit by a car are much worse, I am sure.

Bottom line: we moved here from Fort Myers, Florida and we LOVE the difference. We enjoy all four seasons, and we don't feel threatened by the weather nearly as much as we did there, with lightning storms and hurricane threats. I wouldn't let the weather hold you back from relocating here at all.

Thank you the info. I was concerned about tornados but sounds like it's not really an issue. We're from Connecticut where there is a TON of snow. It would be nice to live in a place where only gets dustings and the area shuts down!! (We're looking at Alabama to get away from the cold/snowy winters!! Thanks again...

I can't say tornados are not really an issue AT ALL, because they do occur. But they are not what I would call prevalent. I have lived in this general area of Alabama (before moving away and returning) for over 15 years and I have never personally seen nor experienced damage from a tornado. Other, however, have had their homes hit by them. It's just like any other area of the country: everywhere has some type of severe weather threat at some point during the year. Right now Dennis is about to hit the coast, so everyone here expects major rainfall and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Depending on the severity of the hurricane once it hits land, we may get severe weather (i.e. tornado warnings) on those days. No one around here will do anything to prepare for them or anything like that; we're all just sort of rolling our eyes because we can't go to the pool next week and our kids are stircrazy during the summertime! LOL

You'll definitely get a break from the snow. It does snow here sometimes, but rarely do we get any accumulation (not like what you are used to anyway) and the town seriously shuts down. You can expect a couple of unexpected "snow days" home from work in the winter.

It's really a nice climate overall. It's HOT here in the summer, and pretty humid, but the rest of the year is very nice.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

I agree with what bamakelly has told you. To put the tornado issue more into perspective, you can compare the tornado threat in Huntsville to that which will exist anywhere in the eastern U.S. -- that is, severe thunderstorms will occasionally spawn a tornado, but nothing like the midwest. Since the 1960s when I went to live in Huntsville (I'm not living there now) I have heard of a few -- probably 3 or 4 tornadoes that occurred somewhere close to or inside the city. That's not bad for 40 years or so. So don't worry; Huntsville is a great town and you will love the area.