Much of west Alabama remains vulnerable to unseen tornado

HALE COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - Closing the tornado gap; that was the discussion Friday in Hale County during a roundtable called by Congresswoman Terri Sewell.

EMA leaders and lawmakers talked about building a tornado radar that will help protect more people and detect tornadoes in more areas in west Alabama.

The new tornado radar has yet to be built in that crucial part of west Alabama, but those who want it say they’re not surprised and they remain optimistic it will happen.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell laid out the cold hard facts about weather in west Alabama.

“We know that we in the Black Belt live in tornado alley,” said Congresswoman Sewell.

And it seems as though Hale County has been hit more frequently in recent years by tornados.

“We know that Alabama has some of the most deadliest tornadoes in the nation,” congresswoman Sewell added.

Now more than ever; the big push to build a new tornado radar in the heart of west Alabama, one that could close the so-called tornado gap consisting of around 14 counties. To put it another way, there no meaningful radar coverage in a 75 mile range.

Wilcox County EMA director Melissa Dove says she’s not really all that surprised a radar hasn’t been built. After all, they’re expensive to build and maintain. Still, Dove feels it will eventually happen.

“I do remain optimistic. It’s more and more everyday, look around the country, there’s more bad weather and more flooding,” Dove said.

But recent advances in technology have helped. For example, a radar in east Mississippi near Meridian is expected to come online soon and that will offer some coverage. Also, regional radars can now lower the radar beam. In other words, see a little a closer to the ground.

“So they can catch some of the tornados that are low-lying that haven’t been able to catch normally,” said Hale County EMA director Russ Weeden.

Lowering the radar beam is considered a short-term fix until funds are found for a much more powerful radar to complement the one in east Mississippi.

“Will give us some security, but we still worry about our citizens though,” said congresswoman Sewell.

Until then, those who live in the so-called gap hope and pray another tornado doesn’t come calling.

There are several reasons why the new west Alabama radar hasn’t been built; mainly because it takes time when you factor in the cost, almost $2 million to build one and then you have to do an environmental study; how does the radar affect things like wireless signals and television broadcasts.

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