Chasing in Dixie Alley

[Bob Hartig]

A comment by Jim Leonard in a different thread inspired the following question. I think it's appropriate for the advanced discussions; mod, if you feel it belongs in the beginner's section, please move it at your discretion.

I'm curious how many on Stormtrack chase with some regularity in the Dixie Alley--i.e. the Southeast from Arkansas and Mississippi east to Georgia. It's an area that doesn't get much discussion on Stormtrack. But after reading some stats (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/dixieAlley/img0.html) on it, I think I need to think more seriously about taking a few opportunities down there. On an average, February is the month when tornadic activity starts heating up and moving toward the peak season of March, April, and May, with the spike being in April.

What I wonder about isn't the availability of storms, but their chaseability. I'm not very familiar with that part of the country, but what I have seen of it suggests to me that forests and overall terrain present considerable challenges in many areas. Another concern is the amount of available daylight, and the fact that many tornadoes in the Southeast occur at night.

What thoughts, insights, and experiences do folks here have to offer? If you're familiar with chasing in Dixie Alley, where are some of your favorite areas, and which areas would you definitely avoid?

[Danny Neal]

I chased LA/MS in 2002. Didn't see anything at all. Wasn't worth it to try to keep up with the storms with the winding roads and forest terrain. US 84 E and W from Natchez to Waynesboro is beautiful scenery....for sightseeing lol Not much in the way of chase-able terrain down there. In the same year I did chase SE AR and I know there are chase-able areas of SE AR and NW MS. Plus LA isn't bad either. Once you hit middle Mississippi and certainly the E and SE portions of the state towards Alabama, you need to start thinking about what good hill you are going to want to be on to see the horizon. Obviously there are good area mixed in, so I will give the floor to those with more experience in this area. Those were just my personal experiences.

[Jason Boggs]

Not much insight from me, but I absolutely won't chase anywhere east of I-35. Just my personal preference.

[Adam Lucio]

Eastern AR is great chasing terrain. The big hazard there is flash flooding though and it is the only area in the county so far where Ive had to turn around due to flooded roads...I ventured into MS once but not too deep, its pretty flat near the river valley and we did have excellent visibility near Clarksdale where we caught several distant powerflashs on 5-10-08 caused by....something.

From what Ive read [but not observed first hand] is allot of tornadoes down there are the dreaded HP or embedded squall line type scenarios, not a whole lot of classic structure to be seen in those areas but theres always exceptions.

The terrain map on google or a topographic map can highlight localized areas of more favoarable terrain.

[Clarence Bennett]

Well, living in Dixie Alley, I must say that chasing in these parts is definitely different than what most of you are used to in the plains. The road networks are so different, but do-able in my opinion. You just have to really put some thought into your chase and constantly keep one eye on the gps. You can't just blindly race after a storm, knowing that there is going to be an out if you get behind. It is definitely a challenge, but I will take it any day of the week. Another plus, is that the roads aren't crowded with chasers.

Eastern AR, MO bootheel, W TN and N MS are awesome! And, the thing I love about living in Nashville is that I can drive to Little Rock and chase all the way back home using I-40 to catch up as it runs NE with typical storm motions.

Draw a line from Little Rock all the way to Poplar Bluff, MO. Anythng W of that line is junk. E of there to the MS River is flatter than Kansas.

Come on down, try it out! I would love to see some you out in our territory.

[Dan Robinson]

It's doable, but more challenging. When I can do it, it has been fun. It's really not too much different than chasing eastern OK or Missouri as far as roads or visibility.

[Heidi Farrar]

I second Clarence's advice on the Little Rock-Poplar Bluff, MO line. However, a chaser should also keep Crowley's Ridge in mind; this is a swath of hills and trees that runs north-south from roughly Forrest City, AR to around Piggot, with the widest area being north of Jonesboro. It's not the Ozarks, but it's also not flat Delta land. Check it out on a topo map and you'll see what I mean.

For northeast AR, meaning east of the Black River and north of I-40, there are several other things a chaser wants to really be aware of. While the Delta Region roads are more "grid-like" and there are good options for travelling southwest-northeast, river crossings can pose a big problem... and there are a lot of rivers and "ditches" in this area. This is especially true if you're trying to cross the Mississippi. As far as I am aware, there are only three places state-wide to cross the Mississippi, so be advised.

Secondary roads state-wide are very often unpaved and in major disrepair, and as Adam mentioned, flash flooding can be a major issue, with "low water bridges" being the norm rather than a real bridge over creeks and streams. I have to keep this in mind at all times when I am out even short distances because I want to be able to simply get home! Here's what I'm faced with on both the north and south, which are my only options:

north:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w226/thefurmouse/0318081.jpg

south:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w226/thefurmouse/0318086.jpg


Also, while the Delta area (aside from Crowley's Ridge) is very flat, there are still areas where there are a lot of trees. Again, it is not like the Ozarks, but there are a lot more trees than one would find in the most-favored chase areas of the Plains.

Data connections with AT&T and Alltel are okay in most areas where it is flat (I don't know enough about success with other carriers to comment). I wouldn't count on a connection in hilly areas at all. My mobile internet experience with AT&T in the Ozarks is not good; cell signal strength is generally good enough for calls but not good enough for the internet, so having a good nowcaster ready is really a better option than heading to the Ozarks expecting to be able to use radar. (I imagine an external antenna would probably help, though, but I have not tried it.) A positive is that the Little Rock area has 3G with AT&T.

Everyone knows about the usually ridiculous storm mode (HP and/or squall-line imbedded) and speed (50+ MPH) for AR and surrounding areas, not to mention the likelihood of the storms happening or continuing well after dark. In the almost 6 years that I've been here, I have seen very few classic supercells in north-central AR and/or south-central MO during daylight hours. April 2, 2006 and Sept. 22, 2006 are the only two days I can think of that resulted in storms that offered any realistic chase opportunities with a starting point in the eastern Ozarks, as far as being able to see storms coming from the west and having time to get into any kind of safe position to chase using decent roads goes. On that note: Sept. 22 I stayed home (ended up in a shelter!); if I had chased, I would have been unable to get home, first because a tornado hit 1/2 mile north of my house and blocked the road with trees, then the road was flash-flooded; the tornado actually hit in the same spot shown in the "north" photo, above! If you look hard you can see trees that are still laying on the hillside to the left of the road, as well as a large tree "spike" that's a remnant of a large oak that was taken out by that (F-1) tornado... Also, April 2 quickly turned into a Delta region event, so that doesn't apply as much to north-central AR; May 2 '08 is another a good example of a decent chase day for the Delta region.

I guess my "conclusion" would be this: Northeast Arkansas is definitely chasable, but there is a lot more to be taken into consideration from a navigational standpoint when chasing here. I can't recommend chasing west of the Black River to anyone except in very special circumstances.

[Dennis Sherrod]

Heidi,
First I see you posted above our backyard Alabama Swimming Pool. Now to answer your questions, I go along with Clarence's assessment to a large part. The mid AR, Mississippi River region of MS southward to mid state LA is pretty good and fun.
Alabama...What can I say? 418 miles yesterday. in Central AL. Saw lots of trees, lots of hills, and lots of trees. Saw a few swirly clouds between all of it. As Ben Holcomb said yesterday after seeing my video stream, He said he saw some rain wrapped trees.
Most tornadoes here, from my perspective, are rain wrapped and you get to see something through the trees that you are not sure of. The road system is lots and lots of curves and you can find yourself in some hairy situations while trying to get into position or out of the way.
N. GA. NE AL. forget about it. Southern GA. would have to be really good, but is possible.
NW and N Central AL. is pretty good until Huntsville, then mountains eastward. South AL and FL. Panhandle are fairly good.

[Ben Holcomb]

Eastern AR along the river was good. Bootheel is excellent. AL and MS, at least the northwest/northeast corners (Where AL/TN/MS come together) is pretty dense forests, but there are still places you can find to observe.

Here is a picture of the Missouri Bootheel region (http://www.benholcomb.com/gallery/v/StormChasing/20080205/IMG_3507.JPG.html) and another (http://www.benholcomb.com/gallery/v/StormChasing/20080205/IMG_3508.JPG.html)

This album (http://www.benholcomb.com/gallery/v/StormChasing/20080502/) should give you a good idea of Eastern Arkansas

Even Western Tennessee isn't too bad, and I don't think it'd be too hard to chase into central TN. Eastern TN would be a bit of a different story, and into Georgia where you've got mountains and TONS of trees. If you're into chasing in this (http://www.benholcomb.com/gallery/v/BensPictures/NorthCarolina2005/IMG_1865.jpg.html) then by all means go to Western NC/Northern SC/Northern GA/Eastern TN


And yes, I saw lots of rain wrapped trees on dennis' stream. If things hadn't been SCREAMING away from him at 50-70 mph it might not have been as bad.

[Lanny Dean]

Back in my "early days" when Randy Hicks and I were chasing together, we use to chase that area quite often (this would be pre- 1999). In fact, Randy was the one who introduced me to that area back then. I personally have had some success in this area, most notably April of 1999?. Randy and I intercepted a nice supercell and tornado in Stoddard Co. MO near Advance. I have always really liked the Missouri boothill and South into Eastern Arkansas and points East but as Heidi says, you have to be VERY careful with "local" road conditions.
I have not chased that area since 2006 but Randy contiues to do so and has had much luck.

I might add: becareful where you try to cross the river though, as some roads are not bridged even though they appear to be on a map.

[Bob Hartig]

Is it any wonder that I love Stormtrack? The members here are the best! Lots of information, freely shared. You've all been very gracious. Thank you!

[Wes Carter]

I live in Middle TN and have successfully chased a few tubes in this area. What presents a challenge in much of TN, KY, AL, and GA is not only the hills but also the dense trees in much of the area. I am always in awe when I go out to the plains where I can see so much of the storm's structures that is so challenging to see here. Also, the supercells tend to be HP more often. The road network is not a grid. Many of the roads were originally laid out in the 1800's and followed natural terrain features such as streams, valleys, and wildlife trails. And there is more traffic here than in the Great Plains.

If you ever make it to Middle TN/Northern AL to chase, drop me a line.

[nickgrillo]

I can definitely vouch for the MO bootheel, it offers some INCREDIBLE views... I chased a slow-moving supercell (http://photos.photosig.com/photos/43/74/1757443-bf384351e38d8e4c.jpg) from it's initiation in the northern portion of the bootheel on 5-25-06 and I got some incredible views (http://photos.photosig.com/photos/52/74/1757452-ca1d59c92e706c05.jpg) as it slowly meandered southeast (that storm briefly lowered it's base and exhibited a nice wall cloud, but too much insolation and associated convective mixing with an already shallow low-level moist layer ended up screwing that storm). I've chased central MO on a few different occasions, including 3-12-2006 and 4-2-2006 -- both days featuring extremely fast-moving, kinematically-driven supercells -- with views generally obscured by trees and hills besides for the eastern half of the state. I also chased a nocturnal tornadic supercell from southeast AR into northwest MS on 4-29-2005... Once we passed Indianola and continued east to Greenwood, foilage became more dense and good viewing locations became nearly non-existent.

Western KY also offers some good viewing locations.

I don't have any stuff online right now, besides for those two pics hosted off PhotoSig. Otherwise, I'd post some caps from said regions.

[Bob Hartig]

I've actually chased in the MO bootheel and eastern AR. That's the one part of Dixie Alley I'm somewhat familiar with. Heidi, I threaded through Crowley's Ridge on the way to Little Rock on a 1,800 mile, nonstop bust chase. I know that, barring the Ridge, the area on the Mississippi flood plain is great chasing, and Memphis isn't bad, but the caveats about river crossings and flooding are much appreciated. The rest of Dixie Alley, once you get away from the Mississippi flatlands, is what I've wondered about. As for Missouri, barring the bootheel, I haven't really thought of that as Dixie Alley, but the definition of exactly where any of the so-called "alleys" begin and end appears to be somewhat subjective anyway. I've done a few chases around the Columbia, MO, area, including 6/12-06 and 1/7/-8, and in my experience, the topography is a pain in the butt for the reasons Nick has stated.

From the sound of it, a lot of Dixie Alley is unchaseable, but I also gather that, in addition to the Mississippi floodplain, there are some other parts that aren't bad. I'm going to have to sit down with a map and crunch these notes.

Again, thanks all.

[Randy Bowers]

Take a look at this map: Mississippi Embayment (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/Mississippi_Embayment_shaded-relief_1.jpg). It clearly shows the area that others have mentioned, from the bootheel south and southwest along and either side of the Mississippi River to northeast Louisiana. Aside from storm mode (which most often isn't as ideal as out west), it's a great place to chase. Of course, there are always exceptions (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c336/rb4341/406d.png) to storm mode :D.

[Terry Tyler]

I find chasing in the South to be a different experience than in the Central Plains. If youve got the equipment, logistically it might not be different. But the facts of Southeast severe weather events do not change. There are several factors that separate the Southeast from other states in their severe weather set-ups. One of the biggest obstacles is terrain. Depending on the State your chasing in, whether it be Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, or Arkansas. You will have to deal with the rolling hills and trees that plague the region. Since storms do not have reguard to political or geographical boundarys, sometimes you need to take a windy backroad, or state highway. Thats leads to the second problem. Storm motions are very high. Almost all of the major south-east events occur during the transitional months. These storms often form in low CAPE, low instability environments and are often dominated by the extremely powerful deep-layer shear in the atmosphere. They move in speeds upward of 50mph and can be as strong as any Central plains storm. The third thing is the road network. Most of the roads really arent that bad, but in some parts of some states the visibility is unacceptable. If your left to taking state highways and backroads, they can weave and wind, be subject to being blocked due to flash flooding, downed trees or other hazards. Plus they limit the speed your able to drive. When your trapped on one of those winding roads, there is no other alternative. You cant drive faster then the road will let you, and you can become trapped in the path of the storm.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n9/wxchaser420/DSC02587.jpg

With that said, there are alot of great places to chase in the south. Some places are over grown but there are places where you can get some incredible views of storms. Some of the best spots ive seen for storms are around eastern, AR and the delta in Mississippi. Terrain out there is almost plains like, and you can see for miles. Assuming its not one of those rainy stratified set-ups.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n9/wxchaser420/DSC00340.jpg

A place i always hope a storm forms is locally. Here in Northeast, MS we have a special geographical feature called the black prairie. This place is rich in soil and nutrients and is very flat. You can ride 45 South from Tupelo past Verona and go all the way past Shannon and towards West Point. The terrain down that way is almost as close as your going to get to the plains, and even beats some places out there. This link includes some information about that black prairie for those who are interested. I learned about it in my Mississippi studies class.

http://mississippientomologicalmuseum.org.msstate.edu//habitats/black.belt.prairie/BlackBeltPrairie.htm

The last big thing about events in the south is the big thing about any other severe weather event. The timing is critical. Since over %60 of southeast tornadoes occur during transitional months, some events occur at night leading to the lack of documentation and chasability. I can tell you, ive waited on lines to come across the Mississippi river only to find them get warned when the sun goes down at 5PM. When you factor in all the different varibles into a chase out here, theres alot more then just the set-up itself. You try to hope a storm forms in a good visibility location, with limited or no cloud cover. Its rare, but events like 11/15/05 and 5/2/08 have provided limited cloud cover, but nothing like a dry-line type set up. Dixie alley tornadoes are particularly deadly, mainly because of the aforementioned reasons. Leading scientists and researchers claim that the reason for the large amount of fatalities in Southern states is because of the population density, the time of day, and because alot of people live in modular homes. When you factor in the terrains visibility, the cloud cover, the time of day, the speed the storms are travelling and the roads the storms are on. Its not hard to see the difference.
Heres some information on some Southern severe weather events.

http://alagenealogy.com/Historical%20Information%20pages/Tornado%20Information/Magazine%20Article%20of%20Tornado%201932.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/wtordead.htm

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/srnews/stories/2008/mississippi.htm

One can look at a graph of tornadoes on a national level, and see no distinction in the number of storms per state. Northeast, MS can hold its own with Central, OK

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Tornado_Alley.gif



http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n9/wxchaser420/msTors1950_2006.gif

Events in the late season provide a higher chance of severe weather during the off hours. Wont lie and say im a weather expert because im self taught, but thats how i feel about the subject and thats all i got to say about that.

[Scott Weberpal]

One can look at a graph of tornadoes on a national level, and see no distinction in the number of storms per state. Northeast, MS can hold its own with Central, OK

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Tornado_Alley.gif



Two problems with your chart showing that Northeast Mississippi hold it's own against Central Oklahoma. First, this map is F3-F5 tornadoes only; second, the largest bin (>25) is very vague. Oklahoma could be a 48 and Mississippi a 26 and they would both be bright red. Yes, the deep south gets it's share of tornadoes, but I highly doubt Northeast Mississippi can compare to Central Oklahoma.

[Dan Cook]

Two problems with your chart showing that Northeast Mississippi hold it's own against Central Oklahoma. First, this map is F3-F5 tornadoes only; second, the largest bin (>25) is very vague. Oklahoma could be a 48 and Mississippi a 26 and they would both be bright red. Yes, the deep south gets it's share of tornadoes, but I highly doubt Northeast Mississippi can compare to Central Oklahoma.

Plus Oklahoma's terrain will beat out Mississippi's.

[Doug Mitchell]

I love chasing storms moving 50knts after dark through hills and trees in February.

[mikegeukes]

Here is something to look at:
A Comparison of Tornado Statistics from Tornado Alley to Dixie Alley (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/dixieAlley/)
-

[Scott Weberpal]

Here is something to look at:
A Comparison of Tornado Statistics from Tornado Alley to Dixie Alley (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/dixieAlley/)
-

Interesting how it states Dixie Alley has more violent tornadoes, however, when you consider Dixie Alley has a higher population density, in theory there are more structures to base tornado strength. There could reasonably be just as many strong tornadoes in tornado alley as there are in Dixie alley that just don't hit anything. You can rate a tornado based on damage to trees (which are plentiful in Dixie Alley), but not on open prairies.

[Andrea Griffa]

I chased in those zones this year and I was not satisfied at all.
To me, it depends on where you go: East Arkansas and maybe east MS is a chase territory but the rest is not so much chaseable. I think that if you see a good risk for tornadoes and if the next days there's nothing to do in the Plains, you can go.

[Richard Dickson]

This past spring, I was with Tempest Tours (wonderful bunch of folks) for eleven days for the second year before going out chasing on my own for several days. We were in very Southwest Missouri and drove across Arkansas to Little Rock trying desperately to catch up to a fast moving storm system headed east before finally giving up (5/2/08). We were back in Missouri again on 5/10/08 and just missed the Seneca tornado but filmed some of the damage. Both trips, I kept thinking to myself as we traveled through the forests and winding roads that we were just like the proverbial dog chasing a car. What the heck are we really going to do with it if we caught one?

Both of these sessions helped solidify my thinking about where to go. Just about anything east of US 75 through Kansas and Oklahoma and east of I-35 in Texas is off limits for me. I’m too much of a ‘flat lander’ and won’t waste my time or fuel in areas that have poor road networks along with very limited views of the horizon. I certainly won’t knock the folks that enjoy chasing in those areas because sometimes you just have to be happy with what is available locally, but I will take possible long views of storms any day over short, fleeting glimpses of “did I see something over there or not?” On the positive side, the blooming trees and hills were beautiful and quite photogenic that time of year and the folks were very warm and friendly.

[Shane Adams]

My only experience even close to "Dixie" land chasing I guess would be SE Arkansas, which was pretty good (except it was night when I was there). I've never chased further east that far south.

From what I remember from my "normal" travels in that region, Mississippi and Alabama are pretty awful.

[Chris C Sanner]

Here is something to look at:
A Comparison of Tornado Statistics from Tornado Alley to Dixie Alley (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jan/dixieAlley/)
-

Very good link Mike, good comparisons there.

The killer tornadoes is definitely because of the timing, at least IMO. Since climatology trends indicate tornadoes hit later in the day/overnight in Dixie Alley, more people wouldn't be prepared for the storms.

As far as frequency of more violent storms...I wonder if population density has anything to do with it? I don't know how dense the population is in the south, I would bet it is at least comparable to the areas on the plains...but that is one working theory (more structures vs. the plains so more likely strong damage).

Either way, there is no doubt Dixie Alley is a very active place for tornadoes. Despite just about every condition being non-conducive towards chasing, I'd love to chase there sometime if the opportunity presents itself.

[Kelley Austin]

About the eastern 1/3rd of Arkansas, maybe a little less,. is very chasable terrian. I live in North East Arkansas, Newport to be exact, and I am very familiar with the entire Mississippi Delta region. I have chased from the Missouri bootheal all the way south into Louisiana. The land is very, very FLAT with nearly all in cultivation, Rice Soybean and cotton farms abound. There are areas with some bottomland trees that can get in the way of veiwing storms, although not enough to compleaty cause any problems with chasing in the area. As has been discussed is the fact that more storms than not occure after dark, but if you know ahead of time if it is going to be a daytime event don't give it up. You can chase some remarkable storms in this part of Dixie Alley.

[Kevin Myatt]

http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal/files/2009/01/tornado-011799.jpg

Northeast Arkansas was home sweet home for me from 1970 to 1999, before I moved to Virginia. It's coming up on the 10th anniversary of one of my best chases, January 17, 1999, when I caught this tornado from wall cloud to rope out along the Poinsett/Jackson county line southwest of Jonesboro (at Grubbs, not far from Newport, where Kelley lives) and a second one at 1/4 mile range about 15 miles east near Weiner about a half-hour later. Yes, one of my best chases was in January!

If A-plus terrain is western Kansas or the Texas Panhandle, Northeast Arkansas would rate a good solid B. Lot of open flat land, interspersed with wooded slough areas. Some of the Missouri Bootheel might even make an A-minus. Would concur with everyone here who warns about the big ditches and easily flooded roads, though.

[Dave Gallaher]

Nice thread, Bob. My avatar is my only tornado catch in Dixie Alley (or anywhere), near Silver Creek, AL.

I have done a lot more chasing in Dixie than TX/OK, and have enjoyed both zones. Everyone has well documented the major differences between the two areas quite well.

But the challenge of seeing anything in the Deep South is part of what makes it interesting, and I have yet to see a chaser convergence anywhere. At best, I've seen one or two other chasers out (other than spotters and LEOs), and I've never had a hassle or been told to move away from an area yet.

While the Huntsville area has had some significant storms and some busy periods, my opinion is that the area around Tuscaloosa and over to the Mississippi border are getting more frequent tornados these days.

The one item I'd hope to focus on here is the small-cell storms, perhaps mini-supes, that can produce great structure and style without the big dynamics and area coverage of the Alley storms. I have seen and posted (and frequently missed video documentation) about many interesting rotational figures that were in very small storms.

I am hoping the price of gas will stay down this year, below $2 anyway. This will get me out on more storms than I was able to go after in 2008.

Last year I saw a Baron Services DOW parked at the UAH campus. I didn't know they had one, and don't know what their program is (and as a private firm, they have a wide-open field of options), but the idea that a DOW might operate in Dixie Alley is encouraging. Of course, they may take it west instead, or use it for landfalling tropical systems.

[Paul Austin]

Take a look at this map: Mississippi Embayment (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/Mississippi_Embayment_shaded-relief_1.jpg). It clearly shows the area that others have mentioned, from the bootheel south and southwest along and either side of the Mississippi River to northeast Louisiana. Aside from storm mode (which most often isn't as ideal as out west), it's a great place to chase. Of course, there are always exceptions (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c336/rb4341/406d.png) to storm mode :D.

You got to it before me. This is the map I was going to post:

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/?action=view&current=Dixie_Alley_Chase_Terrain.jpg%22%20target= %22_blank%22%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Dixie_Alley_Chase_Terrain.jpghttp://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Dixie_Alley_Chase_Terrain.jpg

In my experience:

NW to NC to C to WC AR pretty loaded with trees and hills/mountains. SW to SC AR deeply forested in pine and native hardwood, with some spotty open areas. Jackson, MS southward is very forested and hilly. AL has some chaseable terrain, but no large notable area. The southern 1/2 of GA has some chaseable terrain as well. FL panhandle to Jacksonville is lined with trees, but there are spotty open areas. Southward toward Orlando is pretty densly forested as well. There are some open areas further south of the hills near Orlando, but I have yet to chase the wide open everglades ;)

I concur with what most everyone else has contributed here. The challenges are multitude and different, but if you're one for a challenge, can afford the effort, and suffer from SDS, the area becomes quite attractive for certain setups.

5/25/2006 near Sikeston, MO - nice little cell complete with inflow tail:

http://family.webshots.com/photo/2149895670100066693hfLQCZhttp://family.webshots.com/photo/2149895670100066693hfLQCZhttp://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/25763/2149895670100066693S500x500Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/42034/2024090440100066693S500x500Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/44750/2874067770100066693S500x500Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/33814/2037320860100066693S500x500Q85.jpg

And here are some vidcaps of a post-sunset Tornado-warned cell in NW AL with ground-scraping wall cloud and meso structure:

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Alabama/wallcloud3.jpg

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Alabama/wallcloud.jpg

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Alabama/tornado2.jpg

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Alabama/mesolightning.jpg

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Alabama/JPG_0008enh2.jpg

Winding roads and road conditions, lack of a consistent grid such as those found in farm country of KS, and towns with stop signs/signals located every few miles, etc. present some difficulties. Storm mode can make a "success" quite unsatisfying, but the challenge often makes success quite satisfying. There certainly are exceptions to the HP/bowing embedded/linear/50+mph storm setups. Just look up radar presentation of the Enterprise, AL tornado of 2007, SE AR and MS 5/2/2008, AR 1/21/1999, etc. The rarity turns those exceptions into gems, if you successfully chased them. BTW, where's Laubach on this thread? He had a nice catch near Memphis, TN last year.

Photography is very difficult in these areas. Aside from the aforementioned trees and hills, the typical south storm nature makes it a difficult subject. The storms move fast, the LCL's are typically very low, haze can be extremely high, power lines and other obstructions are everywhere, rain-free bases are often in short supply, and contrast is often quite low. On the other hand, if you document something significant, chances are, you are alone.

I would say in many of these areas, sticking to interstates as much as possible might be advisable if you are not from the area. I would try to position where there is visibility and make the most of the window of opportunity I have as a targeted storm approaches/passes, depending on pursuit possibilities. And not to sound like a broken record, but do plan your Mississippi crossing hours beforehand. The bridges are in short supply and separated by hours of driving. Good luck to those of you who take up the challenge!

[Paul Austin]

...As Ben Holcomb said yesterday after seeing my video stream, He said he saw some rain wrapped trees.

Well if you're going to count those, my stats for FL are pretty good, LOL!

[Kevin Myatt]

Take a look at this map: Mississippi Embayment (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/Mississippi_Embayment_shaded-relief_1.jpg). It clearly shows the area that others have mentioned, from the bootheel south and southwest along and either side of the Mississippi River to northeast Louisiana. Aside from storm mode (which most often isn't as ideal as out west), it's a great place to chase. Of course, there are always exceptions (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c336/rb4341/406d.png) to storm mode :D.

Oh to have been on that exception ... I usually go visit my parents at Jonesboro one or two weekends in the spring, and I almost picked the weekend that included April 3, 2006, when the long-lived Marmaduke-Caruthersville tornadic supercell occurred ... I could have driven north 20 miles and intercepted this tornado in open terrain and then possibly intercepted again in the Bootheel ... from the video/photos I've seen, mostly from residents and by-chance travelers, it would have been an amazing catch comparable to the best in the Plains ... we took our college/high school chase team through Caruthersville a month after it happened, and the damage scene gave them a real learning experience about what living in tornado country can be like ...

[Brett Adair]

When you chase Dixie Alley in every event like I do, you get used to the terrain. You eventually learn to remember the great spots that you have found before and new spots for a visual that you come upon. When you are a hardcore chaser....you will chase anywhere; anytime. As far as storms moving at 50kts, those are the only ones I chase! ;) What fun is a 15kt moving supercell......those are easy! :D

Dixie Alley is certainly dangerous chase territory because of our high frequency of dangerous night time tornadoes. Not to mention, our climatologically favored low LCL's due to the bath tub to our south. E AR/W MS is some of the best chase territory around from the visual aspect, but it's also great to watch it become a river during training supercells.

Anyway, it's always a challenge chasing in the southeast. Trees and powerflashes can become your best friend in the forest. The NWS does appreciate damage verification even though they don't really advise storm chasing in the south.

[mikedeason]

After moving back to Alabama in April 2006, I resigned myself to the fact that my chase days were probably over for at least a few years until I could get back out on the Plains in spring time. However, you've got to scratch the itch when it's bad enough and I have chased a few times down here over the past several years.

I really can't add much than has already been said, especially concerning the hills, trees and road networks. But if you'll willing to work at it and be patient, you can successfully chase here in the Southeast. So here's a few pics from a couple of chases over the past few years to give everyone a graphic idea of what you're facing while chasing (no rhyme intended) in the Heart of Dixie Alley.

The first seven images were taken on September 22, 2006. Several tornadoes struck Jefferson and Blount Counties, Alabama causing F2 damage and several injuries:
http://deasonimages.com/1.jpg
This is the supercell looking west from about 25 miles away. Not very impressive.
http://deasonimages.com/2.jpg
I drove west to Birmingham and them up US31 north to capture this wall cloud as it move just north of Gardendale.
http://deasonimages.com/5.jpg
This image and the next two demonstrate what can make chasing down here pretty frustrating at times. In this image, there was very good rotation going on with cloud tags being pulled vertically from near the surface rapidly. Was it a tornado? I called it no, just a low hanging wall cloud...
http://deasonimages.com/4.jpg
What's hiding behind the trees?
http://deasonimages.com/3.jpg
And the view doesn't get better here. Now some of you may have written this off as nothing more than junk at this point. But, lo and behold, I drive eastward for another mile or two and...
http://deasonimages.com/6.jpg
A decent wall cloud with a tornado (on the right side of the wall cloud, it was the dying Locust Fork F2) which several minutes later produced...
http://deasonimages.com/7.jpg
...the F2 Oneonta Tornado.

The next three images represent a minisupercell chase from this past August when the remnants of TS Faye passed through the area.
http://deasonimages.com/fay1.jpg
This is a view of a minisupe near Jasper, AL The view is to the west and the storm is moving northwest. Quite surprisingly, I was able to keep up with it!
http://deasonimages.com/fay2.jpg
This is near Nauvoo, AL and once again, is it a tornado? I couldn't tell conclusively so I said no. As in one of the earlier pics, it could have been a very low hanging wall cloud. However, notice the tornado magnet in the foreground. :)
http://deasonimages.com/fay3.jpg
And finally, a funnel cloud near Lynn, AL.

Hopefully, some of these images give you an idea of what chasing can be like down here in Dixie Alley.

[Paul Austin]

Nice pics, Mike. You should come down here to the "jungle". There aren't too many areas in my neck of the woods as open as those in your pics. You have to know where they are ahead of time. There's one such area just south of where I live called Payne's Prairie, but it is only a few miles in breadth from north to south. The view east to west is perfectly open, and north to south is mostly open, but you can only view storms as they approach and leave. There are no E/W roads through the prairie, and north is Gainesville proper, south is "jungle". You only benefit from this view if a storm tracks across this area.

Here's a sat view from GoogleMaps:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/StormGuyFromFlorida/Paynes_Prairie_Sat.jpg

You can see all of 2 miles of I75 or US441 passes through. This is usually a prairie, but occasionally fills with water to become a large shallow lake. And this is some of the best viewing anywhere near where I live.

I usually opt to chase up into GA if a setup offers that option.

[Dave Gallaher]

Nice images there, Mike--I love the mini-supes around here, and at times they pop up without much fanfare from forecasters. I've been surprised by a few.

Speaking of surprises, I was driving to a gig this afternoon in Winfield, AL (Hamilton County). I didn't think about the weather after reading the 'see text' on SWODY 1. But as we drove across western Winston County, visual conditions became very intriguing in between small very intense rain showers. At one point, driving west on US278 between Double Springs and Natural Bridge, we encountered a very dark flat rain-free base with a sharply defined wedge-shaped lowering. We could only view it sporadically between valleys and trees, but it held its shape pretty well as it disappeared to the northeast. Now I grant that this is probably a classic sheriffnado scudbomb, but the darkness of the updraft area was certainly interesting. Several points we saw today had these VERY black clouds. I reference all cloud blackness to the updraft of the 1989 Huntsville F-4 that I saw (briefly) from about three miles north; this is still the blackest cloud I've ever witnessed.

I've emailed Andy at NWS HSV to ask what the velocity scans were like in that area at that time. Someone who came to our show said there had been tor-warnings south of there.

Brett makes some great points, by the way.

EDIT: Andy Kula has emailed reflectivity/velocity archive from that time and location; the intense rain shows well, but there's only minute rotational markers, if at all, so we must have been viewing straight updrafts. Andy indicated in his email that all those storms had inflow notches on them, so inflow was significant. I would attach the radars here, but the file is a .png, and my computer won't store it.