Almost a year ago, a deadly tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011 swept the Southeast and affected Mississippi and the surrounding states.
Late February through April is considered tornado season and as the end of the season approaches, storms in Mississippi this spring have not spawned the record number of tornadoes that damaged and destroyed towns and lives last April.
At Mississippi State University, tornado season provides opportunities for the students and teachers of the department of meteorology and climatology to further their knowledge of tornadoes and the storms that breed them.
Brittney Bell,  senior broadcast meteorology major, said a set of storms as destructive as the storms on April 27, 2011 is not something that occurs often and likely will not be something to fear each tornado season.
“An outbreak like that is very rare,” she said. “It had so much impact because it hit populated areas.”
Bell said MSU’s meteorology and climatology department and her fellow students actively participated in keeping track of the storms as they approached Starkville with mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety.
“We get an adrenaline rush from it,” she said. “We’re so passionate about it that we can’t help but tweet about it and look at the radar.”
Bell said despite the havoc the storms wreaked on several Mississsippi towns, with neighboring Smithville being hit especially hard, she thinks the tornado outbreak has positives to counter all of the negativity.
“It helped raise awareness, people are more awarew about their surroundings and severe weather,” she said.
Bell also said the storms helped her view weather as something more than just science.
“As a meteorologist it really put things into perspective,” she said. “This tornado is not something that’s just on the radar, it’s affecting people’s lives.”
Bell said the Mississippi climate is conducive to tornadoes.
“A lot of the reason is that we’re near the gulf,” she said. “We have a lot of moisture in the air and there’s warmth.”
Bell also explained how thunderstorms become strong enough to produce tornadoes and carry them across the ground.
“A thunderstorm is just an updraft and a downdraft,” she said. “Rotation separates the updraft and the downdraft, which keeps it stronger and alive longer.”
Tyler Castillo, junior professional meteorology major, said due to the active tornado seasons the South experiences, the meteorological community has given the region an appropriate nickname.
“They’re calling it Dixie Alley,” he said.
Castillo said the name comes from the area known as “Tornado Alley” in the midwestern United States.
He also said typically the South sees the majority of its tornadoes early in the season and storms later in the season are in the midwest.
According to Castillo, tornado activity is not limited to tornado season because weather is unpredictable and storms can always produce tornadoes under the correct conditions.
“They can happen anytime,” he said. “But prime time is right now.”
Although they are dangerous, Mike Brown, associate professor of meteorology and climatology, said tornadoes offer an opportunity to educate students on safety precautions to take in severe weather situations.
“I think the most important thing we need to do is educate our students on what to do,” he said. “They may not be from tornado-prone areas.”
In severe weather emergencies, MSU uses the Maroon Alert system to notify students of approaching or threatening storms.
Brown said knowledge of severe storms is becoming more abundant.
He said it is easy to pinpoint conditions favorable for tornado formation, but until a storm has formed, it is hard to predict where it will go.
“As a meteorological community, we’re learning more about these storms,” he said. “We’re doing a better job of dissecting these storms.”